Back to History Current Version

Private vs. Public Mental Accounts: Experimental Evidence from Savings Groups in Colombia

Last registered on January 08, 2014

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Private vs. Public Mental Accounts: Experimental Evidence from Savings Groups in Colombia
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000210
First published
January 08, 2014, 1:01 PM EST

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

Locations

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2011-07-15
End date
2012-12-15
Secondary IDs
Abstract
I designed and implemented a Randomized Controlled Trial to study whether relatively simple modifications to how a commitment savings product was framed and labeled could affect savings accumulations and other outcomes of low-income individuals in newly formed Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in Colombia. Motivated by hypotheses from behavioral economics the experiment tests hypotheses that behavioral responses should vary depending on whether subjects are led to label and create ‘mental savings accounts’ in private or public ways. Individuals in the private-labeling treatment groups were led to label their savings as earmarked for a particular purpose and to state savings accumulation targets, information which was shared only privately with a member of the research team. Individuals in the public-labeling treatment groups received the same intervention but were then asked to publicly reveal and announce their chosen goals to other members of their savings group. The average treatment effects of the public-labeling intervention are very strong and significant. Savings accumulations increased by an average of 35% and savings goals were 21.5% more likely to be reached in comparison to those untreated. Further explorations strongly suggests evidence of differentiated behavioral responses of individuals in the private-labeling treatment group: private commitment to a savings goal is more effective for individuals who, after random assignment but prior to the intervention, had been measured to be less constrained by economic circumstances and institutional barriers. The analysis and interpretation of results was enriched by mixed methods for data collection: households’ survey data, administrative records and qualitative data from focus groups discussions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Salas, Luz Magdalena. 2014. "Private vs. Public Mental Accounts: Experimental Evidence from Savings Groups in Colombia." AEA RCT Registry. January 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.210-1.0
Former Citation
Salas, Luz Magdalena. 2014. "Private vs. Public Mental Accounts: Experimental Evidence from Savings Groups in Colombia." AEA RCT Registry. January 08. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/210/history/832
Sponsors & Partners

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

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The RCT randomly assigned 137 newly formed Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), mainly in rural areas from nine municipalities of Colombia into two treatments and a control group. Individuals in the control group were exposed to the standard VSLA model. In the private-labeling treatment members received an additional module with a short organized guided conversation aimed at discussing and highlighting the difficulties of committing to a savings path and the potential role and use of mental accounts in strengthening those commitments. I asked participants to voluntarily state in writing a savings purpose and weekly savings goals. This was intended to help guide individuals to form and label their mental ‘savings’ account to privately commit to achieving that savings purpose. Goals were not stated publicly. The public-labeling treatment was similar except that the group discussion encouraged members to make commitments to themselves as well as to others in their group in order to explore the possibility that this might lead to different outcomes. As in the private-labeling treatment members were asked to voluntarily state a savings purpose and weekly savings goals in writing, but in this intervention, those commitments were shared with all members of the group. By doing this, individuals explicitly label their ‘mental savings account’ and publicly commit to their own decision. Individuals were not informed about the (public) nature of the treatment prior to the public announcement. This module included a trust building game and a guided conversation aimed at highlighting the achievements of group commitments.
Intervention Start Date
2011-08-15
Intervention End Date
2011-11-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Savings accumulations (number of shares purchased and savings balance in first savings cycle) and likelihood of goals achieved in first savings cycle
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
I randomly assigned newly formed VSLA to two treatments and one control group in 9 municipalities of Colombia. The assignment of the VSLA was carried out using a simple lottery and the method is called spot-randomization in which the assignment to treatment was random at the time when the VSLA was formed. For example, if 5 new VSLA were formed in a week in Cartagena, I draw the type of intervention that the VSLA would be assigned to (private, public or control). This status is maintained throughout all the experimental period. The unit of randomization is the savings group (or VSLA) and the unit of analysis is at the individual level.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Simple lottery, stratification at the municipality level, spot randomization done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Unit of randomization: savings group or VSLA.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
137 savings groups or VSLA with an average of 13 individuals by group
Sample size: planned number of observations
1700 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
45 VSLAs control, 45 VSLAs to private-labeling treatment and 45 VSLAs to public-labeling treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
MDE of 0.2 s.d. for private-labeling treatment and of 0.3 s.d. for public-labeling treatment
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Graduate Center, City University of New York
IRB Approval Date
2011-06-30
IRB Approval Number
11051210135

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, 2012, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
December 15, 2012, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
137 VSLAs
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
1,663 individuals
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
45 VSLAs in control, 45 VSLAs in private-labeling treatment, 47 VSLAs in public-labeling treatment
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

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

Request Information

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials