Public works and cash transfers in urban Ethiopia: evaluating the Urban Productive Safety Net Program

Last registered on December 07, 2022
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Public works and cash transfers in urban Ethiopia: evaluating the Urban Productive Safety Net Program
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003387
Initial registration date
October 05, 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
October 05, 2018, 10:53 PM EDT

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

Last updated
December 07, 2022, 10:01 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Ethiopia
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Simon Franklin
Affiliation
London School of Economics
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Girum Abebe
PI Affiliation
Ethiopian Development Research Institute
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Carolina Mejia-Mantilla
PI Affiliation
World Bank
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2016-10-01
End date
2019-12-01
Keywords
Labor, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Public works, urban
JEL code(s)
O10, J22, I38, J45
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The UPSNP is a comprehensive social protection program that is designed to enhance the income of households living in the urban areas of Ethiopia, with the aim to reduce poverty and vulnerability. Beneficiaries engage in public works (PW) program or if they are unable to work, they receive an unconditional direct support transfer (DS).

This document outlines the pre-analysis plan to study the effects of the UPSNP in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, one year after it started. The evaluation takes advantage of the randomization of the program at the woreda (urban district) level during its first year of implementation. Of the 90 eligible woredas in Addis, 35 were randomly assigned to start implementation right away (in year 1) while the remaining 55 were assigned to start implementation approximately 12 months later (in year 2).

We study the effect of the program on household welfare, labour supply, and attitudes towards gender norms and welfare recipients. We do so by comparing households enrolled in the program in areas randomly selected to receive the program in year 1 to households enrolled in the program when it is rolled out in control neighbourhoods in year 2.

With this study we aim to learn about key questions about the effects of public works programs. Among other things, we ask the following questions: First, what are the effects of public works on non-public works labour supply in urban contexts where labour markets are largely unaffected by seasonality? Second, if the program leads women who have not worked before, how does participation in public works affect gender norms around women's decisions to work? Third, do urban public works programs lead to noticeable improvements in public goods in local neighbourhoods, along the intended dimensions of the work activities? Fourth, how does the arrival of a comprehensive social safety net program in urban areas affect households attitudes to welfare programs and the state?
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Abebe, Girum, Simon Franklin and Carolina Mejia-Mantilla. 2022. "Public works and cash transfers in urban Ethiopia: evaluating the Urban Productive Safety Net Program ." AEA RCT Registry. December 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3387-1.1
Former Citation
Abebe, Girum, Simon Franklin and Carolina Mejia-Mantilla. 2022. "Public works and cash transfers in urban Ethiopia: evaluating the Urban Productive Safety Net Program ." AEA RCT Registry. December 07. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3387/history/164595
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The UPSNP is a comprehensive and large-scale social protection program that is designed to enhance the income of households living in the urban areas of Ethiopia, with the aim to reduce poverty and vulnerability. Program beneficiaries are assigned either to engage in a public works (PW) program or, if they are unable to work, they receive an unconditional direct support transfer (DS).
Intervention Start Date
2017-05-01
Intervention End Date
2019-05-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
See detailed pre-analysis plan.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
See detailed pre-analysis plan.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
See detailed pre-analysis plan.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
See detailed pre-analysis plan.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Urban district (woreda) level randomization. See detailed pre-analysis plan.
Experimental Design Details
See detailed pre-analysis plan.
Randomization Method
Public lottery.
Randomization Unit
Urban district.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
90 urban districts
Sample size: planned number of observations
6096 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
35 treated districts, 55 control districts
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Given our sample size, cluster structure and estimated intra-cluster correlations (using baseline data), we have 80% power to detect the following effect sizes at the 5% level: For household expenditure per adult equivalent: MDE = 0.16 SDs For household earnings per working age adult: MDE = 0.127 SDs
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Main pre-analysis plan

MD5: 0f86a6f2ec4edc9197dfcf26d48177fc

SHA1: 8c954615f1aba348e31b73470cd2f3c502b7c0c9

Uploaded At: October 05, 2018

Spreadsheet of outcome definitions

MD5: 79256e01c505d669f1117cd1e93444b3

SHA1: 20f071ccdd64803a6731361d63bf05eb074bf90b

Uploaded At: October 05, 2018

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
May 01, 2019, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
December 01, 2019, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
90 woredas (unit of randomization)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
6,093 households
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
35 treatment (year 1) clusters, 55 control (year 2) clusters
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials