Child human capital production: A field experiment in the Solomon Islands and East Timor

Last registered on March 07, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Child human capital production: A field experiment in the Solomon Islands and East Timor
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004116
Initial registration date
August 20, 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 20, 2019, 9:30 AM EDT

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

Last updated
March 07, 2023, 12:47 AM EST

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

Locations

Region
Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
UNSW

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of San Francisco
PI Affiliation
University of Technology Sydney
PI Affiliation
Ecole Normale Superieure
PI Affiliation
University of New South Wales
PI Affiliation
University of Melbourne
PI Affiliation
University of Melbourne
PI Affiliation
University of Melbourne

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2019-06-06
End date
2020-08-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We introduce and test an early learning intervention on child-directed speech in the Solomon Islands and East Timor, which aims to: (i) estimate the relative contributions of parental inputs in the child human capital production function, and (ii) identify the channels through which early childhood interventions can be effective. We provide parents with information and learning materials intended to stimulate child-directed speech. We then measure short-run (within days of the intervention) and medium-run (after 1 year) effects of the intervention on speech outcomes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Baranov, Victoria et al. 2023. "Child human capital production: A field experiment in the Solomon Islands and East Timor." AEA RCT Registry. March 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4116-3.1
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We provide parents with information about the importance of child directed speech. They are also given materials they can use with their children to stimulate child directed speech at home. A control group receives no intervention. We measure speech outcomes before and after the intervention and compare them across treatment v. control.
Intervention (Hidden)
In treatment villages, either the mother or the father is read a script about the importance of child directed speech (treatment assigned at the village level). The script contains scientific information about the link between speech and brain development, and also provides the targeted parent with 4 "tips" on how they can stimulate speech with their child. After being read the script by an enumerator, the parent watches a 5-minute video that contains the same information as the script, and also includes parental testimonials about how they have effectively improved their child's speech. The targeted parent is then given a calendar containing the same information from the script to keep as a reminder of the intervention. They are also given a picture book, which can be "read" with the child to further stimulate speech. The control group receives no intervention at all.

Before the intervention, we measure parental beliefs about the importance of and returns to child directed speech. 1 day after the intervention, we measure beliefs again. 1 year after the intervention, we will return to measure beliefs a third time. In treatment villages, we will measure beliefs for both the targeted and non-targeted parents. In control villages, we will measure the beliefs for both mothers and fathers.
Intervention Start Date
2019-06-06
Intervention End Date
2019-08-20

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Words spoken to the child by adults and children. Utterances by the child. Conversational turns.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Parental beliefs about the returns to child directed speech. Parental investment in children.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We assign treatment at the village level. In each village, we ask village leaders to assemble a community meeting, where we randomly select participants via public lottery. The selection criteria for attending the meeting is couples (male and female partners who consider themselves to be in a committed relationship) between the ages of 20 and 45, who have at least one child between the ages of 18 months and 3 years. We then randomly select 5 couples (10 participants) and their respective child to participate in the intervention by pulling numbers out of an urn and announcing them publicly in the community meeting.

We will conduct a follow-up 1 year after the initial intervention.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Treatment (village level) randomization done in office by a computer. Participants within each village selected via public lottery.
Randomization Unit
Village.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
50 villages.
Sample size: planned number of observations
50 villages x 5 couples per village = 250 couples. 1 child per couple = 250 children. 2 parents per child = 500 parents.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
14 control villages and 36 treatment villages.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Informed by data from Weber et al. (2017) study in Senegal. We assume 0.8 power, alpha=0.05, and 25% correlation between clusters. First main outcome is words spoken to the child by the parent in a 5-minute session. Baseline mean of 228 words (SD=151). MDE=42% increase. Second main outcome is utterances by the child in a 5-minute session. Baseline mean of 35.5 utterances (SD=15). MDE=27% increase.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of New South Wales HREC Executive
IRB Approval Date
2018-12-14
IRB Approval Number
HC180755
Analysis Plan

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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