Increasing Savings for Vulnerable Women’s Empowerment (iSAVE) Analysis Plan [Effects of Labeled Mobile Savings Accounts on Savings Behavior]

Last registered on April 18, 2014

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Increasing Savings for Vulnerable Women’s Empowerment (iSAVE) Analysis Plan [Effects of Labeled Mobile Savings Accounts on Savings Behavior]
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000323
First published
March 25, 2014, 10:55 AM EDT

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

Last updated
April 18, 2014, 2:12 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Middlebury College

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
IFPRI
PI Affiliation
UC Davis

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2014-01-27
End date
2014-10-26
Secondary IDs
Abstract
In developing countries, individuals are often exposed to unexpected financial shocks, which may lead to costly risk-coping behaviors. Individuals may be constrained from precautionary saving, which could help them cope with these shocks. Two constraints highlighted in the literature are self-control and social appropriation. Out study attempts to alleviate these two constraints through an intervention involving the provision of mobile banking savings accounts that are labeled for specific goals including unexpected/emergency expenses. The use of labeled savings accounts has been shown to be effective at increasing savings, with speculative evidence pointing suggesting that labeled savings accounts induce mental accounting.
We focus on vulnerable women (widowed, divorced, separated) in Nyanza, Kenya, where access to formal financial services is low. We ask whether labeled mobile banking accounts earmarked for emergencies increases individual saving.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Dizon, Felipe, Erick Gong and Kelly Jones. 2014. "Increasing Savings for Vulnerable Women’s Empowerment (iSAVE) Analysis Plan [Effects of Labeled Mobile Savings Accounts on Savings Behavior]." AEA RCT Registry. April 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.323-3.0
Former Citation
Dizon, Felipe, Erick Gong and Kelly Jones. 2014. "Increasing Savings for Vulnerable Women’s Empowerment (iSAVE) Analysis Plan [Effects of Labeled Mobile Savings Accounts on Savings Behavior]." AEA RCT Registry. April 18. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/323/history/1542
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2014-02-09
Intervention End Date
2014-05-05

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Savings Behaviors:
• Maximum amount of unexpected cost that a respondent could cover using her own funds. We ask “suppose you needed money urgently, tomorrow or in a week, to pay for an expense (such as medical emergencies or school fees) that requires you to spend the following amounts...” For each amount (250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, or 8000 KSH), we inquire as to whether she could cover the cost in each of a variety of ways.

• Amount in all M-PESA accounts.

• Total amount in all savings accounts. We ask “How much do you currently have in each of the following accounts (M-PESA, Other Mobile Banking, Formal Bank Account, other savings) in KSH?”

• Total amount saved for each goal. We ask “How much money are you setting aside for a specific goal?

• Total net deposits in: 1) M-PESA accounts and 2) overall savings.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
See above for detailed description of each individual outcome.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will be conducting an RCT with one control arm and two treatment arms. Both treatment arms will received labeled mobile banking accounts.
Experimental Design Details
The study has one control arm and two treatment arms. The control group participated in group discussions on the importance of savings. Those assigned to treatment 1 (T1) received the same as the control arm, plus a one-on-one activity eliciting savings goals, weekly SMS reminders on the savings goals, and the opening of a free 2nd MPESA account to be used as a labeled savings account. Those assigned to treatment 2 (T2) received the same as the T1 arm, however, the MPESA labeled savings account is interest bearing for those in T2.
Randomization Method
Randomization done by computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
27 locations
Sample size: planned number of observations
600 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
300 individuals in control
150 in treatment 1
150 in treatment 2
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Analysis Plan

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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