Does Exposure to the Global North have Psychological Externalities? Evidence from Ghana

Last registered on March 10, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Does Exposure to the Global North have Psychological Externalities? Evidence from Ghana
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015518
Initial registration date
March 06, 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
March 10, 2025, 9:28 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Ghana
Region
Upper East, Ashanti

Primary Investigator

Name
Richard Gallenstein
Affiliation
The Catholic University of America
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
John P. Dougherty
PI Affiliation
Loyola University of Maryland
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Eric Acheampong
PI Affiliation
Ashesi University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Kady Sanogo
PI Affiliation
Catholic University of America
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Matthew Johnson
PI Affiliation
Catholic University of America
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2025-02-28
End date
2025-04-04
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
Hope, Self-Efficacy, Media, Development, Moral Universalism, Human Flourishing
JEL code(s)
O19
Secondary IDs
O12
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
his research aims to investigate the effects of economic development projects and ex-
posure to Western media on psychological determinants of economic development and well-
being, namely self-efficacy, aspirations, optimism, universalism, and human flourishing. De-
spite extensive literature on external constraints such as credit limitations, there is still
little known about internal psychological factors. This project will focus on communities
from the Upper East and Ashanti Regions of Ghana with varying levels of exposure to
development programs and Western media. We will use various methodologies to estimate
the impacts: (1) a survey experiment, (2) propensity score matching (PSM) to analyze
differences between communities with higher and lower levels of exposure to economic de-
velopment activity, and (3) regression discontinuity (RD) to measure the impact of media
exposure. This comprehensive approach will allow us to better understand the effects of
Western media consumption and development programs exposure independently.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Acheampong, Eric et al. 2025. "Does Exposure to the Global North have Psychological Externalities? Evidence from Ghana." AEA RCT Registry. March 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15518-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Our project implements a survey that measures exposed to the global north through development programs and western media. It also measures psychological factors that influence development including hope and aspirations. We randomize the order of the survey modules so that in the treatment groups the psychological module comes after the questions about experience with media or development programs so as to measure whether priming on these subjects influence the measures of psychological determinants of development.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-02-28
Intervention End Date
2025-04-04

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Hope index, moral universalism index, aspirations index, human flourishing index
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomize order of survey modules in a household survey to measure the impact of survey priming on psychological outcome variables.

Control group answers the outcome variables module before answering the module on media exposure and development programs.

Treatment 1 group answers the outcome variables module after the survey module about media to create a priming effect for media exposure.

Treatment 2 group answers the outcome variables module after the survey module about experience with development programs to create a priming effect for development program exposure.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Roughly 480, exact sample will depend on budgetary factors.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Roughly 480, exact sample will depend on budgetary factors.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Roughly 160, exact sample will depend on budgetary factors.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB at Catholic University
IRB Approval Date
2025-01-08
IRB Approval Number
24-0100
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