The Political Economy of Ethnicity in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Last registered on August 30, 2018

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

The Political Economy of Ethnicity in the Democratic Republic of Congo

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0003251

Initial registration date

August 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

August 30, 2018, 2:55 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Congo (Democratic Republic of the)

Region

Kananga

Primary Investigator

Name

Sara Lowes

Affiliation

Stanford University

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Nathan Nunn

PI Affiliation

Harvard University

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Jonathan Weigel

PI Affiliation

London School of Economics

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Augustin Bergeron

PI Affiliation

Harvard University

Contact Investigator

PI Name

James Robinson

PI Affiliation

University of Chicago

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2014-06-01

End date

2020-09-01

Keywords

Electoral, Governance, Other

Additional Keywords

ethnicity, decentralization

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Abstract

We study the extent to which politics can shape ethnic preferences. We exploit time variation in political competition between ethnic groups caused by an episode of decentralization that increases in the number of provinces from 11 to 26 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Decentralization changes the extent to which different ethnic groups are key players in the political arena. In the region of interest, groups that were previously unimportant politically will become key players, and groups that were political competitors previously will gain majority control of their own province. We use a series of lab-in-the-field experiments, IATs, and surveys to examine how ethnic preferences change as a result of the decentralization process and evolve over time.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Bergeron, Augustin et al. 2018. "The Political Economy of Ethnicity in the Democratic Republic of Congo ." AEA RCT Registry. August 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3251-1.0

Former Citation

Bergeron, Augustin et al. 2018. "The Political Economy of Ethnicity in the Democratic Republic of Congo ." AEA RCT Registry. August 30. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3251/history/33573

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

The study exploits time variation in political competition between ethnic groups due to an episode of decentralization that increases in the number of provinces from 11 to 26 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). With the decentralization, there will be significant changes in the extent to which different ethnic groups are key players in the political arena. In the region of interest, in some cases, groups that were previously unimportant politically will become key players e.g., the Kuba and Lele. In other cases, groups that were political competitors previously, due to the creation of smaller provinces, will each gain majority control of their own province e.g., Songe, Tetela, and Luba.

Intervention Start Date

2014-06-01

Intervention End Date

2020-09-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

The outcome variables are choices made in the lab experiments, IAT measures, and survey measures related to ethnic preferences.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

We use a series of lab-in-the-field experiments, IATs, and surveys to examine how ethnic preferences change as a result of the decentralization process in DRC and how these preferences evolve over time.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

We exploit the time variation in the political competition between various ethnic groups induced by the decentralization process. Thus, all individuals are treated in the sense that they are all exposed to the changes in administrative boundaries due to decentralization. What will vary is the intensity of the change in relative position of ethnic groups vis a vis each other. E.g. in some cases, a group that was previously a minority group will become a majority group relative to other groups in the new administrative boundaries.

Randomization Unit

This is a natural experiment. Treatment will vary at the individual-ethnicity pair level. All individuals are treated in that they are all exposed to the changes in administrative boundaries, what varies is the intensity of treatment across ethnicity pairs.

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

N/A

Sample size: planned number of observations

We intend to collect around 300 observations per round of data collection. We have collected data from 2014, 2015, and 2016.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

The intended sample size is approximately 300 individuals per year of data collection. To date we have collected data in 2014, 2015, and 2016. The final sample size will be around 1,800.

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

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB