Measuring Worker Value Added

Last registered on April 29, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Measuring Worker Value Added
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018428
Initial registration date
April 28, 2026

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 29, 2026, 4:26 PM EDT

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

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Primary Investigator

Name
Paolo Falco
Affiliation
University of Copenhagen
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-04-22
End date
2026-07-31
Keywords
Firms & Productivity, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study measures the value of workers to firms in a developing country. The project focuses on small and medium-sized garment manufacturing firms in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

We directly elicit managers’ willingness to accept (WTA) compensation to release specific workers for one day using an incentive-compatible Becker–DeGroot–Marschak (BDM) mechanism. This approach identifies the shadow cost of a one-day absence.

The design experimentally varies the following dimensions: (i) whether a specific or generic replacement worker is offered to the firm, and (ii) whether the absence is anticipated or unanticipated. These variations allow us to test for production complementarities, firm-specific human capital, and planning failures.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Falco, Paolo. 2026. "Measuring Worker Value Added." AEA RCT Registry. April 29. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18428-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2026-04-22
Intervention End Date
2026-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Worker-level WTA for a one-day absence

We'll study heterogeneity by key firm and worker characteristics, including size, profitability, gender, age, education, ethnicity, and tenure.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We interview managers in garment SMEs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Each manager evaluates 9 non-managerial workers.

Managers state their WTA to release each worker. A price is randomly drawn; if price ≥ WTA, the worker is released and the firm is compensated.

Treatments:

(1) Known vs generic vs no replacement worker;
(2) Advance notice vs unanticipated absence.

For Treatment 1, randomization occurs at the worker-level within the firm. For Treatment 2, randomization occurs at the firm level.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is carried out by the survey software.
Randomization Unit
For Treatment 1, randomization occurs at the worker-level within the firm.
For Treatment 2, randomization occurs at the firm level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
We plan to survey 150 firms and elicit WTA for 9 workers per firm.
Sample size: planned number of observations
1350 (150 firms x 9 workers)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Timing (between-firm, firm-level randomization):

- 75 firms tomorrow
- 75 firms in 8 days (expected, 50/50 randomization)

Replacement condition (within-firm, worker-level randomization):

- 450 workers with no replacement (150 firms × 3 workers)
- 450 workers with a generic replacement (150 firms × 3 workers)
- 450 workers with a sector-skilled replacement (150 firms × 3 workers)

Combined cells (6 total, worker-level, expected):

- 225 workers tomorrow × no replacement (75 firms × 3)
- 225 workers tomorrow × generic replacement
- 225 workers tomorrow × sector-skilled replacement
- 225 workers in 8 days × no replacement
- 225 workers in 8 days × generic replacement
- 225 workers in 8 days × sector-skilled replacement
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Research Ethics Committee at the Department of Economics at University of Copenhagen
IRB Approval Date
2025-03-10
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan