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The Causal Effects of Old Age Pensions

Last registered on May 05, 2021
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Causal Effects of Old Age Pensions
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004140
Initial registration date
April 26, 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
April 29, 2019, 10:41 PM EDT

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

Last updated
May 05, 2021, 5:51 PM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Esther Duflo
Affiliation
MIT
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Abhijit Banerjee
PI Affiliation
MIT
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PI Name
Girija Vaidyanathan
PI Affiliation
Government of Tamil Nadu
PI Name
Frank Schilbach
PI Affiliation
MIT
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PI Name
Madeline McKelway
PI Affiliation
Stanford
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PI Name
Garima Sharma
PI Affiliation
MIT
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PI Name
Erin Grela
PI Affiliation
MIT
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2019-02-04
End date
2027-12-31
Keywords
Health
Additional Keywords
Pensions, aging, welfare
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04029194
Abstract
Old age pensions are a common feature of welfare policy worldwide. However, little is known about the effect of these pensions on the recipients and their families. In this study, we will partner with the government of Tamil Nadu, India to study the effects of old age pensions. We will assign households with a member who is likely to be eligible for the pension but not currently receiving it to either a treatment or control condition. Those assigned to treatment will receive assistance in applying for the pension. We will track outcomes of the elderly and their family members for several years following the intervention.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Banerjee, Abhijit et al. 2021. "The Causal Effects of Old Age Pensions." AEA RCT Registry. May 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4140-3.0
Former Citation
Banerjee, Abhijit et al. 2021. "The Causal Effects of Old Age Pensions." AEA RCT Registry. May 05. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4140/history/91207
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention will offer elderly assistance in applying for the pension.
Intervention Start Date
2019-07-15
Intervention End Date
2020-07-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Financial security; health status; vaccination against COVID-19
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Survival; labor supply of relatives
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment will be conducted in a subsample of 5,000 households identified for a panel survey on the status of the elderly in Tamil Nadu, India. This sample will be surveyed every two years for eight years. The pension intervention will be delivered between the first and second waves of the panel.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization will be done in Stata.
Randomization Unit
Household
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
913 households
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,124 elders
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50% of the households will be assigned to treatment and 50% to control.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institutional Review Board, National Bureau of Economic Research
IRB Approval Date
2018-09-20
IRB Approval Number
IRB Ref#18_420
IRB Name
MIT COUHES
IRB Approval Date
2019-06-20
IRB Approval Number
1905836705
Analysis Plan