Grants vs Loans

Last registered on July 18, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Grants vs Loans
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003851
Initial registration date
February 01, 2019

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
February 05, 2019, 1:34 AM EST

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

Last updated
July 18, 2022, 10:01 AM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
CREST
PI Affiliation
AUC

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2016-10-01
End date
2021-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
While the return to capital for microenterprises has been shown to be high, studies that aim to relieve capital constraints with microloans have found modest impacts. We explore potential explanations for this puzzle by implementing a large scale field experiment that randomizes the type of capital support provided to new businesses. Individuals who applied for a loan were randomized into four groups: microloans, cash grants, in-kind grants and a control group who received no support.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Crepon, Bruno, Mohamed Komi and Adam Osman. 2022. "Grants vs Loans." AEA RCT Registry. July 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3851-1.1
Former Citation
Crepon, Bruno, Mohamed Komi and Adam Osman. 2022. "Grants vs Loans." AEA RCT Registry. July 18. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3851/history/149948
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2016-10-01
Intervention End Date
2019-10-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Currently Open Business, Business Profits, Working Status, Total Income, Household Consumption, Assets
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Subjective Wellbeing, Decision Making Power, Health
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Individuals who applied for a loan to open a new business or expand their current business were randomized into 1 of 4 groups: (1) Loan, (2) Cash Grant, (3) In-Kind Grant, (4) Control
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by computer
Randomization Unit
Randomized at the individual level, stratified by cohort and gender.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
-
Sample size: planned number of observations
3200 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1000 loans, 600 cash grants, 600 in-kind grants, 1000 control.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Illinois
IRB Approval Date
2017-11-29
IRB Approval Number
17189
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

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