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Registration

Field Before After
Trial Status on_going completed
Last Published July 30, 2013 05:30 PM February 08, 2017 03:52 PM
First registered on July 30, 2013
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Analysis Plans

Field Before After
Document
Cambodia_Latrine_Finance_RCT_-_Pre-Analysis_Plan.pdf
MD5: ba3501625812d15c407e87aec19fb6eb
SHA1: 14bbcd9c0ace06ffbab0ba4bc860943aa3545f74
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Papers

Field Before After
Paper Abstract Low willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental quality in developing countries is a key research question in environmental economics. One explanation is that missing credit markets may suppress WTP for environmental improvements that require large up-front investments. We test the impact of microloans on WTP for hygienic latrines via a randomized controlled trial in 30 villages in rural Cambodia. We find that microcredit dramatically raises WTP for improved latrines, with 60% of households in the Financing arm willing to purchase at an unsubsidized price, relative to 25% in the Non-financing arm. Effects on latrine installation are positive but muted by several factors, including a negative peer effect: randomly induced purchases by neighbors reduce a household's probability of installing its own latrine. On methodological grounds, this paper shows that a “decision-focused evaluation” can be integrated into academic analysis to provide insight into questions of general interest.
Paper Citation Ariel Ben Yishay, Andrew Fraker, Raymond Guiteras, Giordano Palloni, Neil Buddy Shah, Stuart Shirrell, Paul Wang, "Microcredit and willingness to pay for environmental quality: Evidence from a randomized-controlled trial of finance for sanitation in rural Cambodia," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2017. ISSN 0095-0696; doi:10.1016/j.jeem.2016.11.004.
Paper URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2016.11.004
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