Experimental Design
Type of study: The present study is a randomized control group experiment (RCT) with random assignment at the individual level, designed to identify the causal effect of different information frames on the willingness of informal workers in the construction sector to formalize within the RESIMPLE regime.
Target population: The population of interest is made up of informal workers in the construction and maintenance sector (masons, carpenters, electricians, painters, installers, among others) who are not registered with the DNIT or affiliated with the IPS. The study will be implemented mainly in Asunción and cities in the Central department, with the possibility of extending it to rural communities to analyze territorial differences.
Experimental design and treatment groups
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups following an additive structure:
Control Group – C0 (Informational Placebo): Will receive a neutral video on occupational safety on construction sites, unrelated to taxation, registration, or formalization decisions. This group controls for attention, engagement, and exposure to video content, allowing for the isolation of the causal effects of treatment-relevant information.
Treatment 1 – T1 (Administrative Information): Will receive an informative video with basic explanations about the RESIMPLE regime, its eligibility criteria, the registration procedure, and the amounts to be paid.
Treatment 2 – T2 (Economic Benefits): Will receive all content from T1, plus additional information on the private economic benefits of formalization, such as the ability to issue invoices, access formal clients, credit, stability, and protection from sanctions.
Treatment 3 – T3 (Social Benefits or Social Norms): Will receive all content from T2, plus a prosocial framing that emphasizes the collective benefits of formalization, the contribution to the common welfare, fairness, and the importance of following the social norm of "doing things right" as part of a progressing community.
This nested design allows for the identification of the marginal effect of each informational component through adjacent-arm comparisons: the effect of administrative information is identified by comparing T1 to C0, the additional effect of economic information by comparing T2 to T1, and the marginal contribution of the prosocial framing by comparing T3 to T2.
Each participant will watch only one of the four videos, individually, without knowing the existence of other groups or versions.
Procedure
The interviewer will introduce himself and inform the general objectives of the study.
The eligibility criteria will be verified: not to be registered in DNIT or affiliated with the IPS, to work in the construction sector and to be between 18 and 65 years old.
The participant's consent to participate will be confirmed directly within the survey.
The interviewer will make the random assignment and play the video corresponding to the assigned group.
Then, the participant will complete a structured survey on socioeconomic aspects and perception of formalization.
Finally, you can choose between two options:
Receive a transfer of PYG 20,000, or
Receive personalized assistance to formalize, including the first three months of contribution covered by the project, the printing and sending of a RESIMPLE receipt book and accompaniment to take care of it yourself after the first three months (this package is equivalent to PYG 200,000).