The long-run effects of cash grants to the poor: Experimental evidence from an enterprise development program in Uganda

Last registered on May 22, 2017

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The long-run effects of cash grants to the poor: Experimental evidence from an enterprise development program in Uganda
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002187
Initial registration date
April 25, 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 25, 2017, 5:25 PM EDT

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

Last updated
May 22, 2017, 10:53 AM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Chicago

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Inter-American Development Bank
PI Affiliation
University of Connecticut

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2017-03-06
End date
2017-06-09
Secondary IDs
Abstract
From 2008 to 2012, Chris Blattman, Nathan Fiala, and Sebastian Martinez worked with the Government of Uganda (GoU), the World Bank, and the research non-profit Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) to study one of the country’s largest development programs: the Youth Opportunities Program (YOP). Under YOP, the government invited groups of roughly 20 underemployment young men and women to submit proposals for grants of roughly $8000, or $400 per person. This was one of the first randomized trials of a cash-based employment program in the world.

YOP turned out to be one of the most effective employment programs on record, at least among the ones with rigorous evidence. Blattman, Fiala, and Martinez (2014) document that most grant recipients invested the cash in skills and materials, started skilled enterprises, and four years later increased their earnings by almost 40%. Meanwhile Blattman, Emeriau, and Fiala (2017) provide evidence that beneficiaries increased opposition party membership, campaigning, and voting.

This pre-analysis plan is for an nine year follow-up of all of the 2,675 original members of the original YOP study sample.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Blattman, Christopher, Nathan Fiala and Sebastian Martinez. 2017. "The long-run effects of cash grants to the poor: Experimental evidence from an enterprise development program in Uganda." AEA RCT Registry. May 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2187-2.0
Former Citation
Blattman, Christopher, Nathan Fiala and Sebastian Martinez. 2017. "The long-run effects of cash grants to the poor: Experimental evidence from an enterprise development program in Uganda." AEA RCT Registry. May 22. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2187/history/17865
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2017-03-06
Intervention End Date
2017-06-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
See pre-analysis plan.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
See pre-analysis plan.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
See pre-analysis plan.
Randomization Unit
See pre-analysis plan.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
See pre-analysis plan.
Sample size: planned number of observations
See pre-analysis plan.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
See pre-analysis plan.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
UChicago
IRB Approval Date
2017-02-23
IRB Approval Number
16-0957-AM002
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-analysis plan

MD5: a590a5633267439d11b7b3e7f5797e32

SHA1: 07803b3694e3958dab9e6a1ae85aca213c41a536

Uploaded At: April 25, 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?
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