Evaluation of the Impact of the Introduction of Electronic Point of Sale (ePOS) Machines in the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Jharkhand

Last registered on December 20, 2018

Pre-Trial

General Information

Title

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0001620

Initial registration date

April 14, 2017

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

April 15, 2017, 1:09 PM EDT

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

Last updated

December 20, 2018, 3:01 PM EST

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

Locations

Country

India

Region

Jharkhand

Primary Investigator

Name

Sandip Sukhtankar

Affiliation

University of Virginia

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

PI Affiliation

PI Name

PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2016-06-20

End date

2019-07-31

Keywords

Governance

Additional Keywords

Food Security

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Abstract

How does biometric authentication impact the delivery of in-kind social programs? To contribute to the evidence base on this question we are conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the rollout of biometric authentication in the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the Indian state of Jharkhand. The PDS functions as a means of combating food insecurity by providing subsidized food (rice, wheat, sugar) and non-food items (kerosene) to households monthly through government-assigned "Fair Price Shops" (FPS). However, the PDS is plagued with leakages and plugging leakage is one of the top priorities of the government. One potential way to plug leakages is via electronic Point-of-Service (ePOS) machines that can be used to biometrically authenticate and electronically record transactions that take place at the FPS. The Government of Jharkhand is in the process of rolling out ePOS machines in the state and has agreed to randomize the rollout.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of the government’s deployment of ePOS machines on the value delivered to eligible benefi ciaries, costs of delivery, and leakage, through a standard Randomized Control Trial (RCT) design, using data collected from multiple rounds of surveys in 10 districts of Jharkhand. The study also aims to inform policy decisions since results garnered will provide useful insight into operational difficulties and will have nation-wide policy applications, since most states are expected to switch to this system in the near future.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Muralidharan, Karthik, Paul Niehaus and Sandip Sukhtankar. 2018. "Evaluation of the Impact of the Introduction of Electronic Point of Sale (ePOS) Machines in the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Jharkhand." AEA RCT Registry. December 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1620-6.1

Former Citation

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

The intervention involves the introduction of an ePOS machine in PDS shops in order to authenticate the identity of beneficiaries receiving subsidized staple foods and commodities, as well as to electronically record transactions of these commodities. The intervention is being implemented by the Government of Jharkhand.

Intervention Start Date

2016-09-01

Intervention End Date

2017-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Value delivered to eligible bene ficiaries (V), costs of delivery (C), and leakage (L). Please see Pre-Analysis Plan for details and secondary outcomes.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

This study aims to evaluate the impact of the government’s deployment of ePOS machines through a stratified Randomized Control Trial (RCT) design, using data collected from multiple rounds of surveys in 10 districts of Jharkhand. Please see Pre-Analysis Plan for details.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization was done by a computer based on a coded algorithm; please see Pre-Analysis Plan for details.

Randomization Unit

Block

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

132 blocks

Sample size: planned number of observations

3960 households

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

87 blocks treatment, 45 blocks control

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name

Institute for Financial Management and Research

IRB Approval Date

2016-06-04

IRB Approval Number

IRB00007107

IRB Name

University of Virginia

IRB Approval Date

2016-06-14

IRB Approval Number

2016022200

IRB Name

University of California at San Diego

IRB Approval Date

2016-07-25

IRB Approval Number

160866SX

Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-Analysis Plan for Impact of Reconciliation Intervention

MD5: 7bd3417cbe6d6f28f1936614240fd5e5

SHA1: e96d78fbc851ca8364cde8b8a7d2394e1fe04b26

Uploaded At: April 26, 2018

Pre-Analysis Plan

MD5: 13081a41e9620f79d298c3d9cfe549b0

SHA1: df3a3eb3dffd2d2a71d6263bcb27c611e94e4723

Uploaded At: April 17, 2017

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?

Yes

Intervention Completion Date

November 30, 2017, 12:00 +00:00

Data Collection Complete

Yes

Data Collection Completion Date

November 30, 2018, 12:00 +00:00

Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)

132 blocks; 87 treatment, 45 control

Was attrition correlated with treatment status?

Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations

132 blocks; 3960 households

Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms

87 treatment blocks, 45 control blocks

Data Publication

Is public data available?

Yes

Public Data URL

https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/YEKB95

Program Files

Yes

Program Files URL

https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/YEKB95

Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Abstract

We study the impact of reforms that introduced more stringent, biometric ID requirements
into India's largest social protection program, using large-scale randomized and natural experiments.
Corruption fell but with substantial costs to legitimate beneficiaries, 1.5-2 million of whom lost
access to benefits at some point during the reforms. At the same time, adverse effects appear
to have been driven primarily by decisions about the way the transition was managed, illustrating
both the risks of rapid reforms, and how the impacts of promising new technologies can be highly
sensitive to the protocols governing their use.

Citation

Muralidharan, Karthik, Paul Niehaus, and Sandip Sukhtankar. "Identity verification standards in welfare programs: Experimental evidence from India." Review of Economics and Statistics (2023): 1-46.

URL

https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article/doi/10.1162/rest_a_01296/114767/Identity-Verification-Standards-in-Welfare

Evaluation of the Impact of the Introduction of Electronic Point of Sale (ePOS) Machines in the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Jharkhand

Pre-Trial

General Information

Locations

Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Registration Citation

Interventions

Primary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes

Experimental Design

Experiment Characteristics

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Analysis Plan Documents

Post-Trial

Study Withdrawal

Intervention

Data Publication

Program Files

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials