Long-Term Impacts of Alternative Approaches to Increase Schooling
Last registered on August 23, 2018
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information
General Information
Title
Long-Term Impacts of Alternative Approaches to Increase Schooling
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003261
Initial registration date
August 23, 2018
Last updated
August 23, 2018 7:09 PM EDT
Location(s)
Country
Cambodia
Region
South-east Asia
Primary Investigator
Name
Andreas de Barros
Affiliation
Harvard University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)
PI Name
Deon Filmer
PI Affiliation
The World Bank
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Felipe Barrera-Osorio
PI Affiliation
Harvard University
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Additional Trial Information
Status
Completed
Start date
2008-02-01
End date
2017-05-31
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Cambodia, long-term effects, merit-based targeting, poverty-based targeting, randomization, scholarships
JEL code(s)
C93, I21, I22, I25, I28, O12
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This randomized experiment investigates the long-term effects of a primary school scholarship program in rural Cambodia. In 2008, fourth-grade students in 207 randomly assigned schools (103 treatment, 104 control) received scholarships based on the student's academic performance in math and language or on their level of poverty. Three years after the program's inception, an evaluation showed that both types of scholarship recipients had more schooling than non-recipients; however, only merit-based scholarships led to improvements in cognitive skills. This new study assesses impacts, nine years after program inception, on the educational attainment, cognitive skills, socioemotional outcomes, socio-economic status and well-being, and labor market outcomes, of individuals who are, on average, 21 years old.
External Link(s)
Registration Citation
Citation
Barrera-Osorio, Felipe, Andreas de Barros and Deon Filmer. 2018. "Long-Term Impacts of Alternative Approaches to Increase Schooling." AEA RCT Registry. August 23. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3261/history/33446
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Experimental Details
Interventions
Intervention(s)
Elementary school scholarships, randomized at the school level (and stratified by province), in three arms: Control, "Treatment" based on "merit", "Treatment" based on "need". Within each "treated" school, assignment was done at the student-level, using the respective median score. See Barrera-Osorio & Filmer (2016) for further details.
Intervention Start Date
2008-02-01
Intervention End Date
2011-04-30
Primary Outcomes
Primary Outcomes (end points)
Educational attainment, cognitive skills, SES and self-reported well-being, labor-market outcomes, socioemotional outcomes.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Educational attainment: highest grade complete; completed primary; received any formal education in 2011-2017.
Cognitive skills: Computer-adaptive math test; Raven's test; Forward digit span; Picture recognition vocabulary test (PPVT).
Socioemotional outcomes: SDQ; Big 5.
Labor outcomes: Currently working; Age started working; Any training since 2011; Cog. demands of main work; yearly earnings; Daily reservation wage.
SES and self-reported well-being outcomes: SES ladder; SES index; life satisfaction; quality of health; quality of life; health issue index (GHQ)
We report on (a) five family indices (inverse covariance matrix-weighted averages and (b) the above sub-components components
Secondary Outcomes
Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Experimental Design
Experimental Design
Elementary school scholarships, randomized at the school level (and stratified by province), in three arms: Control, "Treatment" based on "merit", "Treatment" based on "need". Within each "treated" school, assignment was done at the student-level, using the respective median score. Barrera-Osorio & Filmer (2016) provide a detailed description of the experimental design.

Barrera-Osorio, F., & Filmer, D. (2016). Incentivizing Schooling for Learning: Evidence on the Impact of Alternative Targeting Approaches. The Journal of Human Resources, 51(2), 461.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization in central office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Elementary school scholarships, randomized at the school level (and stratified by province), in three arms: Control, "Treatment" based on "merit", "Treatment" based on "need". Within each "treated" school, assignment was done at the student-level, using the respective median score to determine eligibility. Barrera-Osorio & Filmer (2016) provide a detailed description of the experimental design.

Barrera-Osorio, F., & Filmer, D. (2016). Incentivizing Schooling for Learning: Evidence on the Impact of Alternative Targeting Approaches. The Journal of Human Resources, 51(2), 461.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes
Experiment Characteristics
Sample size: planned number of clusters
207
Sample size: planned number of observations
approx. 2,360
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
207 (of which 52 are "merit schools" and 51 are "need schools")
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARDS (IRBs)
IRB Name
Harvard CUHS
IRB Approval Date
2016-12-22
IRB Approval Number
IRB16-1518
Analysis Plan
Post-Trial
Post Trial Information
Study Withdrawal
Intervention
Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
April 30, 2011, 12:00 AM +00:00
Is data collection complete?
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
May 31, 2017, 12:00 AM +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
207
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
2252
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Data Publication
Data Publication
Is public data available?
No
Program Files
Program Files
No
Reports and Papers
Preliminary Reports
Relevant Papers