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Labeled Remittances

Last registered on February 02, 2018

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Labeled Remittances
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002554
Initial registration date
February 02, 2018

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
February 02, 2018, 4:27 PM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Michigan

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Sapienza University of Rome
PI Affiliation
University of Michigan

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2018-05-01
End date
2019-11-01
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We test the impact of providing migrant workers with an improved ability to direct remittances to particular uses through labeling. Migrant remittances are one of the largest financial flows to developing countries. However, we are still learning how remittances can be best utilized by recipient households and what policies might increase the development impact of remittances.
A key barrier to maximizing the development potential of remittances is that migrants who are sending these funds have limited ability to monitor or control how they are used by recipients. In addition, migrants’ preferences on how remittances should be spent often differ from the recipients’ preferences. Migrants often have a stronger preference that remittances be used for purposes that may have general development benefits in the long run, such as investment (in physical or human capital) or savings. Whereas recipients often favour using these funds for immediate consumption. This combination on differing preferences and limited control on funds leads to migrants sending fewer remittances than they otherwise might.
This project seeks to address this barrier by testing the impact of a simple, scalable and low-cost mechanism that allows migrants to both signal their preferences and exert greater control over the funds they send – labeled remittances. Migrants will be given the option to “label” their remittance with its intended purpose. The label will be transmitted to the beneficiary along with the remittance amount. Simple labeling can potentially allow migrants to direct remittances to particular uses, and research suggests that it may be as effective as more direct mechanisms of control. In addition, labeling remittances may be less costly and more easily scalable than other approaches for directing remittances to specific uses.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
De Arcangelis, Giuseppe, Obeid Ur Rehman and Dean Yang. 2018. "Labeled Remittances." AEA RCT Registry. February 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2554-1.0
Former Citation
De Arcangelis, Giuseppe, Obeid Ur Rehman and Dean Yang. 2018. "Labeled Remittances." AEA RCT Registry. February 02. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2554/history/25456
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2018-05-01
Intervention End Date
2019-05-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
i. Total remittance volume - measured as the absolute and percentage change in remittances sent between the baseline and endline surveys.
ii. Remittances sent through each channel.
iii. Household expenditure by category - measure as the absolute and percentage in household expenditures.
iv. Total household expenditure
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Labels (chosen by migrants), frequency of remittances, average transaction size.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
A study sample of Filipino migrants will be enlisted through intercept-point sampling at select locations of our partner bank. For a random subset of the sample we will enlist their corresponding target households in the Philippines.

The migrant study sample will be randomly divided into treatment and control groups. Assignment to treatment will be at the individual migrant level. The treatment group will be offered a remittance labeling product that will allow migrants to send a label along with the remittance transaction to their recipient household, through which they may choose to identity the intended purpose of the funds being remitted. The control group will not be offered any remittance labeling product.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual migrant
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
4000 migrants
Sample size: planned number of observations
4000 migrants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2000 migrants in treatment, 2000 migrants in control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Innovations for Poverty Action - IRB
IRB Approval Date
2017-10-06
IRB Approval Number
14443

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