Barriers to the Adoption of Durable Technologies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Case of Electric Three-Wheeler Batteries in Bangladesh

Last registered on May 21, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Barriers to the Adoption of Durable Technologies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Case of Electric Three-Wheeler Batteries in Bangladesh
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015987
Initial registration date
May 09, 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
May 21, 2025, 11:50 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Bangladesh
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Amrita Kundu
Affiliation
Georgetown University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Yewon Kim
PI Affiliation
Stanford GSB
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PI Name
Erica Plambeck
PI Affiliation
Stanford GSB
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-05-12
End date
2025-07-31
Keywords
Behavior, Environment & Energy, Finance & Microfinance, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We study what deters the adoption of durable technologies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and how to lower the barriers, using the case of lithium-ion batteries for electric three-wheelers (E3Ws) in Bangladesh. Despite their social and private benefits including no lead
contamination and improved durability, lithium-ion batteries hold only an insignificant market share, dominated by short-lived, informally manufactured lead-acid batteries. We hypothesize that consumers have low willingness to pay for lithium-ion batteries due to 1) low preference for durability (low perceived value from future use) and 2) skepticism toward durability claims (low consumer trust). We test the effectiveness of several interventions – warranties of varying lengths, a microfinance loan, a lease-to-own model, and a buyback program – designed to address these barriers.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kim, Yewon, Amrita Kundu and Erica Plambeck. 2025. "Barriers to the Adoption of Durable Technologies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Case of Electric Three-Wheeler Batteries in Bangladesh." AEA RCT Registry. May 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15987-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Through our incentivized experiment, we elicit individual-level willingness to pay for high-quality batteries under experimentally manipulated product features, as well as individual-specific characteristics such as present bias, cost of capital, and economic insecurity (see Section 5 for details). We directly test our hypotheses by regressing willingness to pay on battery features interacted with
these individual-level parameters.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-05-12
Intervention End Date
2025-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Willingness to pay for battery bundle
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
To elicit true willingness to pay for a battery under different product features and payment terms, we will use an incentivized choice experiment based on the method developed by Becker et al. (1964), commonly known as the BDM method.

In the study, a battery is characterized as a bundle of key attributes (e.g., battery type, lifespan, price, financing option, and warranty), and users are asked whether they would accept the bundle at the price shown on each screen. The displayed price decreases until the user agrees to accept the offer, and the first price at which they respond “yes” is recorded as their willingness to pay for that bundle. Each participant will evaluate three batteries, that are randomly selected. Exit surveys will be conducted at the end of the experiment, some questions will be randomly assigned to individuals.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1300 owners of electric three wheelers
Sample size: planned number of observations
1300 owners of electric three wheelers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
At least 100 owners of electric three wheelers
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
Stanford Graduate School of Business
IRB Approval Date
2024-12-20
IRB Approval Number
78008
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