Reducing Charcoal Consumption of Enterprises: The Role of Information Nudges on WTP for Solar Water Heaters

Last registered on February 05, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Reducing Charcoal Consumption of Enterprises: The Role of Information Nudges on WTP for Solar Water Heaters
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015305
Initial registration date
January 31, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
February 05, 2025, 8:46 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Tanzania, United Republic of
Region
Dar es Salaam

Primary Investigator

Name
Yonas Alem
Affiliation
University of Gothenburg
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2025-01-20
End date
2025-02-25
Keywords
Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
Information Nudge, Charcoal, Deforestation, CO2, Solar Water Heaters, Credit
JEL code(s)
D22, H32, L23, O13, O14
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Charcoal is the key fuel used for cooking by households, enterprises, and other institutions in urban areas of Africa. Charcoal consumption has serious environmental, climate, and health negative externalities. Previous experimental studies investigating biomass fuel use, including charcoal, almost exclusively focused on households. This project focuses on the charcoal use behavior of enterprises, more importantly, restaurants and pubs. We conduct a randomized controlled trial on 1,200 enterprises (120 clusters) in urban Tanzania and test the impact of an awareness-enhancing information nudge on the willingness to pay for solar water heaters that substitute charcoal water boilers.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Alem, Yonas. 2025. "Reducing Charcoal Consumption of Enterprises: The Role of Information Nudges on WTP for Solar Water Heaters." AEA RCT Registry. February 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15305-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention involves treating half of the sample restaurants (600) with an information nudge treatment and provision of standard information to the control group (600).
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-01-20
Intervention End Date
2025-02-25

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Perception about the market value of solar water heaters, cost savings, and Willingness to pay for solar water heaters.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We randomize restaurants into a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group will be given an information nudge that details the environmental and private costs of using biomass fuel (charcoal) together with how solar water heaters work and their benefits. The control group will only be provided with neutral information that describes how solar water heaters work.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Coin flip.
Randomization Unit
The randomization units are streets (also called sub-wards). Streets are the lowest administrative units in urban Tanzania.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
120 streets (clusters)
Sample size: planned number of observations
Treatment = 600 restaurants, Control = 600 restaurants.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment group = 60 clusters, Control group = 60 clusters, Total = 120 clusters
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Dar es Salaam Research Clearance
IRB Approval Date
2024-06-28
IRB Approval Number
AB3/12B
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials