Evaluating Lottery Linked Savings Accounts Among the Poor in Mexico

Last registered on August 08, 2014
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Evaluating Lottery Linked Savings Accounts Among the Poor in Mexico
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000436
Initial registration date
August 08, 2014

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 08, 2014, 8:38 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Mexico
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Aisling Scott
Affiliation
UC Berkeley
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Enrique Seira
PI Affiliation
ITAM
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PI Name
Paul Gertler
PI Affiliation
UC Berkeley
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2010-03-01
End date
2011-03-01
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
Household finance, savings, lotteries
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Even though the importance of savings for low income individuals has been repeatedly emphasized in the economics literature, its determinants are poorly understood. The traditional approach argues that the poor do not save in financial institutions because transaction costs are high and interest rates are low. On the other hand a wave of recent research shows that hyperbolic discounting and mental accounting may depress savings. How do we get people to save more? Policymakers have tried to implement programs and policies that “nudge” people to save more by either changing defaults or offering subsidies for savings. This paper examines a particular innovative financial product called prize-linked savings to address the question: Do lotteries induce savings? This paper analyzes a randomized experiment that introduces prize-linked savings accounts in some bank branches in Mexico.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Gertler, Paul, Aisling Scott and Enrique Seira. 2014. "Evaluating Lottery Linked Savings Accounts Among the Poor in Mexico." AEA RCT Registry. August 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.436-1.0
Former Citation
Gertler, Paul, Aisling Scott and Enrique Seira. 2014. "Evaluating Lottery Linked Savings Accounts Among the Poor in Mexico." AEA RCT Registry. August 08. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/436/history/2342
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention was a lottery attached to a savings account. For every 50 pesos increase in their savings account, we gave participants a ticket to participate in 2000 prizes of 400 pesos and one grand prize of 10,000 pesos in October and November 2011.
Intervention Start Date
2010-10-01
Intervention End Date
2010-12-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Average balances, total number of accounts, savings behavior
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomized intervention of lottery linked savings accounts, where 110 bank branches were randomly selected to be analyzed with 70 branches in the control group and 40 branches in the treatment.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in Stata.
Randomization Unit
Randomized by branch based on total assets and total number of accounts in savings and debit accounts.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
110 bank branches
Sample size: planned number of observations
163,610 clients
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
70 branches control, 40 branches treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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