Improving Women Farmers' Land Rights and Access to Credit: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda

Last registered on April 22, 2018

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Land Tenure Security for Men and Women: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0002910

Initial registration date

April 19, 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

April 22, 2018, 3:17 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Uganda

Region

Western

Primary Investigator

Name

Joao Montalvao

Affiliation

World Bank

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Christopher Udry

PI Affiliation

Northwestern University

Contact Investigator

PI Name

James Habyarimana

PI Affiliation

Georgetown University

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Markus Goldstein

PI Affiliation

World Bank

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Michael O'Sullivan

PI Affiliation

World Bank

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2017-02-01

End date

2019-08-31

Keywords

Agriculture

Additional Keywords

Land titling, formalization, gender, welfare

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Abstract

This research project evaluates the impact of a land titling intervention in rural Uganda. In addition, it seeks to understand the effectiveness of price subsidies and information in improving women's access to formal land titles. To do so, we randomize households into a control group and a treatment group of households that are offered fully-subsidized freehold land titles. Treatment households are further randomized into the following two treatments, fully crossed with each other. First, half of the treatment households receive the subsidy conditional on registering the wife as a co-owner of the land, and the other half receive the subsidy unconditionally. Second, half of the treatment households were shown a short educational video with general information about titling, and the other half are additionally shown information on the benefits of female co-titling.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Goldstein, Markus et al. 2018. "Land Tenure Security for Men and Women: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda." AEA RCT Registry. April 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2910-1.0

Former Citation

Goldstein, Markus et al. 2018. "Land Tenure Security for Men and Women: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda." AEA RCT Registry. April 22. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2910/history/28643

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2017-08-01

Intervention End Date

2018-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Our research sheds light on the constraints hindering women's access to formal land titles and quantifies the effect of (joint) land titling. Our outcomes of interest are take-up of formal (joint) titles, productivity, women's empowerment, and welfare.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

A total of 1,646 households in 378 communities were selected to be part of the study. The communities are located in four districts (Mbarara, Sheema, Buhweju, and Isingiro) in the Western Region of Uganda. Those households with a married (or cohabitating) couple owning at least one unregistered parcel of land were deemed eligible for the intervention. The 378 communities were randomly assigned into a treatment group and a control group, stratified by parish. Households within treatment communities are offered fully-subsidized freehold land titles and shown a short educational video clip with general information information about titling.

Treatment communities are further randomized into the following two treatments, fully crossed with each other and stratified by parish. First, households in half of the treatment communities receive the subsidy conditional on registering the wife as a co-owner of the land, and the other half receive the subsidy unconditionally. Second, households in half of the treatment communities are shown an enhanced version of the video with additional information on the benefits of female co-titling, and the other half are shown the standard video with only general information about titling.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Computer

Randomization Unit

Community

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

378

Sample size: planned number of observations

1,646

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Core treatment assignment:
- Control group: 554 households and 125 villages
- Treatment group: 1,092 households and 253 villages

Incentives for joint titling assignment:
- Unconditional price subsides and general information: 276 households and 63 communities
- Conditional price subsidies and general information: 268 households and 63 communities
- Unconditional price subsides and general+gender information: 269 households and 63 communities
- Conditional price subsides and general+gender information: 279 households and 64 communities

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB