Informing Risky Migration: Evidence from a field experiment in Guinea

Last registered on January 24, 2020

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Informing Risky Migration: Evidence from a field experiment in Guinea
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004062
Initial registration date
August 06, 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
August 06, 2019, 11:54 AM EDT

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

Last updated
January 24, 2020, 8:40 AM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Bocconi University, Milan
PI Affiliation
Bocconi University, Milan
PI Affiliation
Università Cattolica, Milan

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2018-11-26
End date
2020-06-01
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Migrants from Western Africa go through risky migration routes to reach Europe. In addition, African migration to Europe often results in low economic outcomes. Potential migrants might be poorly informed about benefits and costs of migration. We then propose to use a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) to answer the following questions: (i) Are migrants are about their earning opportunities in Europe and risks connected to the journey? (ii) Can an intervention providing information about earnings and risks changes potential migrants’ beliefs and so influences their migration choices?
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Battiston, Giacomo et al. 2020. "Informing Risky Migration: Evidence from a field experiment in Guinea." AEA RCT Registry. January 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4062-1.1
Former Citation
Battiston, Giacomo et al. 2020. "Informing Risky Migration: Evidence from a field experiment in Guinea." AEA RCT Registry. January 24. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4062/history/61326
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
All of the treatments were information sessions. One of them provided information on the risks of the journey to reach Europe (Treatment 1). Another treatment provided information on the economic outcomes of migrants in Europe (Treatment 2). Finally, the last treatment pooled together Treatment 1 AND Treatment 2. A local NGO implemented the intervention.

Treated groups received information in the form of video material plus an explanation by the moderator, making use of slides. Video material included personal stories of African migrants who traveled to Italy recounted by migrants themselves (covering economic outcomes and risks of journeys), didactical videos implying that personal stories heard from past migrants might overplay success of migration (economic outcomes), and videos about travel conditions (risks of journeys). The explanation by the moderator included 3 statistical figures by treatment arm (6 in the double treatment). All the activities in the information session happened in a common room for all the students involved, and made use of a projector.
Intervention Start Date
2019-03-05
Intervention End Date
2019-05-03

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Outcomes will include beliefs about migration risks, beliefs about migration outcomes, knowledge of own rights in Europe, intentions to migrate, stated route choice, migration choice.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The intervention will be delivered in high-schools of the capital city of Guinea, Conakry. We have randomly allocated schools in 4 groups, involving in the project 50 randomly selected students per school. Treated groups will receive information the form of video material and slides, during a projection in a school classroom, with the help of a local partner, also moderating a short debate. Video material will include personal stories of African migrants who traveled to Italy recounted by migrants themselves (covering economic outcomes and risks of journeys), didactical videos implying that personal stories heard from past migrants might overplay success of migration (economic outcomes) or that journey might seem easier than what it is, and videos about travel conditions (risks of journeys). Slides presented will include a selection of figures about risks of journeys and economic integration of African migrants in Europe. The information intervention will follow this scheme:
• Group 1 will not receive any information. We will only collect data for the group.
• Group 2 will only receive information about economic outcomes in Europe.
• Group 3 will only receive information about risks of the journey.
• Group 4 will only receive information about economic outcomes in Europe and risks connected to the journey.
We will evaluate the impact of our intervention by comparing the change in beliefs and migration intentions of students in the treated group to that in the control group, before and after the intervention, administered on tablets in schools. In order to do this we have conducted a baseline survey, and we will start conducting a midline survey in (DATA DA INSERIRE). We incentivize participation by drawing three tablets in a lottery for those who participate.
We will also evaluate the impact of our intervention on migration decisions, by collecting data about migration choices in a follow-up survey in December/January 2019. We will conduct the follow-up survey by phone, using both own phone numbers and contacts numbers, as given in the baseline survey. Also, to further reduce attrition, we plan to obtain support of schools.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization performed in office by a computer, using STATA software.
Randomization Unit
Schools.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
160 Schools.
Sample size: planned number of observations
8000 pupils.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
40 schools for treatment and each treatment arm.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee of Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi
IRB Approval Date
2018-10-01
IRB Approval Number
73860-1

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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