Nudging and Self-Efficacy Intervention for Long-Term Unemployed

Last registered on July 19, 2018
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Nudging and Self-Efficacy Intervention for Long-Term Unemployed
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003142
Initial registration date
July 12, 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
July 19, 2018, 9:15 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Denmark
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Jonas Fluchtmann
Affiliation
Aarhus Univeristy
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Alexander Koch
PI Affiliation
Aarhus University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Michael Rosholm
PI Affiliation
Aarhus University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2018-08-01
End date
2019-08-31
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
Self-efficacy, job search, information provision
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The intervention is a randomized control trial (RCT) that aims to enhance the self-efficacy of individuals on the edge of the labor market to help them find small jobs, even if it is only a few hours per week. Prior evidence has shown that a lack of perceived self-efficacy is a good predictor of job-search intentions, actual job-search behavior, and the future employment status. This study employs an information intervention to increase the beliefs that long-term unemployed hold about their ability to find work, even if only for a few hours per week. The intervention consists of sending out SMS text messages to long-term unemployed in Denmark. Subjects are recruited through employment agencies and randomized into treatment and control groups. The treatment group receives text messages that allow the recipients to directly access audio-visual job-search guidance and videos displaying positive testimonials of successful citizens who have found small-jobs, despite substantial challenges. The messages are targeted based on a brief survey that identifies the citizen’s barriers to job search. Through the testimonials, the long-term unemployed learn about the successes of other citizens in situations comparable to their own. Such vicarious learning has been shown in the psychological literature to enhance perceived self-efficacy.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Fluchtmann, Jonas, Alexander Koch and Michael Rosholm. 2018. "Nudging and Self-Efficacy Intervention for Long-Term Unemployed." AEA RCT Registry. July 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3142-1.0
Former Citation
Fluchtmann, Jonas, Alexander Koch and Michael Rosholm. 2018. "Nudging and Self-Efficacy Intervention for Long-Term Unemployed." AEA RCT Registry. July 19. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3142/history/31935
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention targets individuals that are classified as activation-ready recipients of social welfare. During regular caseworker meetings at municipal jobcenters, individuals are invited to participate and sign an informed consent form that also contains their mobile phone numbers. Participants are randomized into a treatment and a control group. Individuals in the treatment group receive a series of 5-8 text messages (SMS) that link to videos on a supplementary mobile-friendly web page. They are able to unsubscribe from the intervention at any point, either by SMS or by email.
The first video that participants are exposed to highlights the benefits of taking up employment with a few hours of work per week and invites the individuals to fill out a short survey designed to elicit their individual barriers to job search. If there is no response to the survey, the individuals will receive a single reminder SMS.
After having elicited the individual’s main barrier to job search, the second set of videos shows testimonials of successful citizens that have found employment despite being faced by serious personal challenges. The testimonials present real stories of citizens who remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of their story, and for that reason are - with one exception - presented by actors. The content of the videos directly relates to the barriers elicited in the survey. Individuals in the treatment group are exposed to one or two videos, distributed via SMS, depending on how many barriers to job search are identified in the survey and how severe these are. The last set of videos concern basic job search guidance that focuses on the most effective job search strategies for the group of individuals targeted by our intervention. Individuals in the treatment group are exposed to four videos, distributed via separate SMS messages.
Intervention Start Date
2018-08-01
Intervention End Date
2019-04-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Unsubsidized employment
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Unsubsidized employment:
1. Extensive margin: Share of people in unsubsidized employment (ordinær beskæftigelse)
2. Intensive margin: Accumulated hours of work in unsubsidized employment (ordinære løntimer)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Internship participation, Earnings/Wages
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Internship participation:
1. Share of people in internship programs (virksomhedspraktik)

Earnings/Wages:
1. Hourly wage in unsubsidized employment
2. Accumulated earnings in unsubsidized employment

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment is designed as a randomized control trial with randomization at the individual level. The control group follows the regular procedure with jobcenter contacts, while the treatment group receives in addition the intervention as described above.
All clients in the municipal jobcenters that are registered as activation-ready recipients of social welfare (aktivitets-parate kontanthjælpsmodtagere) and who are sufficiently proficient in the Danish language are eligible to participate in the intervention. Recruitment of participants occurs through caseworkers in the jobcenter during one of the (approximately) quarterly consultation meetings they have with individuals in the target group. Only individuals who sign the informed consent enter into the randomization.
The intervention lasts for 6 to 8 weeks after enrolment. We will access outcomes after a maximum of 6 months. Individuals enter on a rolling basis.
Data collection combines social security personal identification numbers (CPR-number), phone numbers, survey outcomes for individuals in the treatment group, web-analytics on the supplementary web-page and survey page as well as Danish national registry data. The collected data (except for contact information) will be stored in a (pseudo)anonymized form on the servers of Statistics Denmark to access longer-term outcomes at a later stage.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
6 municipalities (or jobcenters). If more jobcenters agree to participate they will be added.
Sample size: planned number of observations
We aim for a minimum of 3,000 individuals.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1,500 individuals in control, 1,500 individuals in treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
0.11 st. dev. on employment extensive margin 0.10 st. dev. on employment intensive margin
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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