Assessing the Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Education: A Randomized Control Trial

Last registered on June 24, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Assessing the Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Education: A Randomized Control Trial
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001566
Initial registration date
September 09, 2016

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
September 09, 2016, 5:26 PM EDT

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

Last updated
June 24, 2019, 4:15 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Delaware

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Rice University and NBER
PI Affiliation
Rice University and University of Southern California
PI Affiliation
University of California, San Diego

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2016-07-01
End date
2020-10-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Many resources, such as business acumen are thought to feed into entrepreneurial success. However, an open question is whether the tools and frameworks available to nascent startups are causally related to their successes in the areas of financing, employment and revenue growth, valuations, etc. In this study, we use a large-scale RCT to assess the impact of entrepreneurship skills training on startup decisions and outcomes across the U.S. In the study, startups associated co-working spaces are offered payment to complete a series of surveys tracking their outcomes over two years. A randomly-selected group of startups within each co-working space is sent through an educational program, while the remainder of enrolled startups are not. In tracking all participants through surveys and interviews we measure not only potential “outcomes” but also a broad suite of interim behaviors that may indicate change in approach by the entrepreneurs and that are likely to indicative of future outcomes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Fehder, Daniel et al. 2019. "Assessing the Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Education: A Randomized Control Trial." AEA RCT Registry. June 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1566-2.0
Former Citation
Fehder, Daniel et al. 2019. "Assessing the Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Education: A Randomized Control Trial." AEA RCT Registry. June 24. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1566/history/48634
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2016-07-01
Intervention End Date
2017-09-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
financing, employment and revenue growth, valuations, exits, etc.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Please email for further details
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Computerized randomization
Randomization Unit
Randomize within incubators at the startup level
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
15 incubators
Sample size: planned number of observations
300 startups
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
150 treated, 150 control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Rice University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2016-06-20
IRB Approval Number
859884-2

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