Overcoming Supply Side Frictions for Distribution

Last registered on June 05, 2018
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Overcoming Supply Side Frictions for Distribution
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003028
Initial registration date
June 04, 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
June 05, 2018, 3:30 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Uganda
Region
Africa

Primary Investigator

Name
Brett Green
Affiliation
University of California-Berkeley
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
William Fuchs
PI Affiliation
University of Texas-Austin
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PI Name
David Levine
PI Affiliation
University of California-Berkeley
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2013-01-01
End date
2016-04-30
Keywords
Environment & Energy, Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
Solar lights, free trials, trade credit, consignment
JEL code(s)
I15, O1, O33, D02, D86
Secondary IDs
Abstract
A large literature examines demand-side barriers to product adoption. In this experiment, we investigate supply-side barriers. We recruited entrepreneurs from BRAC's network of community health providers (CHPs) to distribute solar lights in rural Uganda. We provide entrepreneurs with training and information on solar lights. We then randomized over which arrangement to offer to the entrepreneurs. There were three contractual feature that we varied, one aimed at addressing credit constraints, one aimed at addressing vendor uncertainty, and one aimed at addressing customer uncertainty. We explored how each of these features influence overall sales performance of entrepreneurs.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Fuchs, William, Brett Green and David Levine. 2018. "Overcoming Supply Side Frictions for Distribution." AEA RCT Registry. June 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3028-1.0
Former Citation
Fuchs, William, Brett Green and David Levine. 2018. "Overcoming Supply Side Frictions for Distribution." AEA RCT Registry. June 05. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3028/history/30362
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We randomly offered trade credit and the right to return unsold inventory to vendors of solar lights. We also randomly offered a "loaner light" that vendors could lend to customers for free trials.
Intervention Start Date
2013-04-01
Intervention End Date
2015-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Orders of solar lights by vendors
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We randomly offered trade credit and the right to return unsold inventory to vendors of solar lights. We also randomly offered a "loaner light" that vendors could lend to customers for free trials.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
We divided each BRAC branch into 4 zones of several nearby vendors.
We randomized zones using the pseduo-random number generator in Excel.

Within each zone, we randomly chose one vendor to receive the "loaner" solar light.
Randomization Unit
We randomized zones for credit and right to return. We randomized vendors for who would receive the loaner light first.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
We planned 8 branches with 4 zones per branch = 32 zones (the unit of randomization).
Sample size: planned number of observations
We anticipated 4 vendors per zone * 32 zones = 128 vendors.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
16 zones with credit and right to return (that is, consignment)
16 zones with credit only
16 zones with right to return only
16 zones with neither
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of California, Berkeley
IRB Approval Date
Details not available
IRB Approval Number
2012-09-4669
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
June 30, 2014, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
8 branches * 4 zones per branch = 32 zones
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
32 zones & 129 vendors
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
16 zones with credit and right to return (that is, consignment) 16 zones with credit only 16 zones with right to return only 16 zones with neither (control)
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials