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Eliminating Behavioral Barriers to Saving through a Tablet App for the Base of the Pyramid in Paraguay

Last registered on March 14, 2017
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Eliminating Behavioral Barriers to Saving through a Tablet App for the Base of the Pyramid in Paraguay
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002080
Initial registration date
March 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
March 14, 2017, 5:30 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Paraguay
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Jeanne Lafortune
Affiliation
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
José Tessada
PI Affiliation
Associate Professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2016-10-15
End date
2018-04-30
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Low-income individuals rarely use formal savings products and seem to show little response to traditional incentives as a result of constraints and behavioral barriers. The treatments in this evaluation, which can be implemented in any standard tablet and are easily scalable by traditional banks, propose the use of an app to give simple information to poor individuals and help them move forward with a savings plan, reinforced with the use of SMS reminders. Starting in April 2017, a pilot will be rolled out testing the effectiveness of a tablet on savings and the use of precautionary methods.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Lafortune, Jeanne and José Tessada. 2017. "Eliminating Behavioral Barriers to Saving through a Tablet App for the Base of the Pyramid in Paraguay." AEA RCT Registry. March 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2080-1.0
Former Citation
Lafortune, Jeanne and José Tessada. 2017. "Eliminating Behavioral Barriers to Saving through a Tablet App for the Base of the Pyramid in Paraguay." AEA RCT Registry. March 14. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2080/history/14987
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The purpose of the intervention is to answer research questions such as: 1) what are the key barriers that the Base of the Pyramid faces in terms of savings, 2) can financial products that are feasible to implement for a traditional bank solve these barriers and can researchers promote savings using a precautionary motive and 3) can a tablet-based intervention solve some of the barriers faced by individuals at the moment of saving?
Intervention Start Date
2016-10-15
Intervention End Date
2018-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
savings
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Baseline data collection has been ongoing since mid-October 2016 through a face-to-face survey with the use of tablets. At the end of the survey, individuals are randomly assigned to one of the 5 app-based treatment groups or to the control group. If they agree to answering the survey, they receive an incentive through cell phone minutes. The treatments are as follows:

#1: receive a short message on screen of the tablet reminding the importance of saving (control group).
#2: treatment is the same message as #1 including a monthly SMS reminder for a maximum period of six months (this period applies to every case a SMS is offered).
#3: the tablet will automatically calculate how much money the individual is currently saving based on income and spending data. The participant will use this as a reference to build a (flow) goal. The surveyor will include and show this goal on screen to the treated individual.
#4: same treatment as #3, including a monthly SMS reminding they can save their monthly goal.
#5: individuals shall pick a good or service of their interest (product, housing, holiday, etc) and declare how much they would be willing to save in order to contribute to its future purchase. Participants will also be offered to receive a monthly SMS reminding to save $X for Y good/service.
#6: app will calculate the individual’s need for buffer stock savings, depending on unforeseen income or expense variations declared in the baseline survey. A SMS will also be sent reminding to save $X to avoid income/expense shocks.


Starting in April 2017 a pilot will be carried out.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Not specified
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
n/a
Sample size: planned number of observations
4000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
667
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Comite etico cientifico de Ciencias Sociales, Artes y Humanidades, PUC-Chile
IRB Approval Date
2015-11-18
IRB Approval Number
151013001
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