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REDGAS: A RANDOMIZED EVALUATION OF THE DEMAND FOR LPG STOVES AND OF THE ASSOCIATED EFFECTS ON HOUSEHOLD AIR POLLUTION, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND WELL-BEING IN BURKINA FASO

Last registered on November 12, 2019
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
REDGAS: A RANDOMIZED EVALUATION OF THE DEMAND FOR LPG STOVES AND OF THE ASSOCIATED EFFECTS ON HOUSEHOLD AIR POLLUTION, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND WELL-BEING IN BURKINA FASO
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005024
Initial registration date
November 12, 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
November 12, 2019, 11:26 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Burkina Faso
Region
Center South

Primary Investigator

Name
Philippe De Vreyer
Affiliation
Paris-Dauphine University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Thomas Thivillon
PI Affiliation
Microfinance Solidaire & Paris-Dauphine University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Elodie Djemaï
PI Affiliation
Paris-Dauphine University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2019-11-21
End date
2020-11-30
Keywords
Environment & Energy, Finance & Microfinance, Gender, Health
Additional Keywords
air-pollution, child-work
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Recent epidemiologic studies have shown that household air pollution from cooking on inefficient biomass stoves is a major public health concern which causes between 2.8 and 4.2 million premature deaths every year (WHO 2014). LPG is one of the cleanest burning cooking fuels and has been shown to have a low climate impact throughout its life cycle. This research project aims to quantify the health and socioeconomic impacts of access to LPG for low income households in developing countries. It will be implemented in partnership with NGO Entrepreneurs du Monde (EdM) in a country where it is currently conducting a LPG promotion program.

A randomized controlled experiment will be conducted in 2019-2020. It will involve a random sample of 1000 households who will be assigned to one of three groups:
1. A ‘subsidy group’ in which households will be offered a 25% discount on the purchase of a LPG kit including a stove and a 6kg cylinder;
2. A ‘credit group’ : the households assigned to this group will receive a sales offer enabling them to purchase the same kit in four installments (but at the standard market price);
3. A ‘comparison group’ where households will be offered to purchase the LPG kit in cash at the standard retail price.
In each group half of the sampled households will also receive some information concerning the health benefits of clean cooking. The research team will collect a combination of standard declarative survey data and field measurements both before the intervention and up to 18 months after the intervention. Electronic Stove Usage Monitoring Systems (SUMS) will be installed on LPG stoves to record their usage frequency during the whole study. Individual exposure to PM2.5 will be measured with ambiant air pumps and ‘light scattering sensors’ (24h gravimetric measurement). The Kitchen Performance Test (KPT) Protocol will be used to assess the fuel consumption of the households.

The collected data will allow to answer numerous questions concerning the determinants of LPG adoption (household characteristics, budget constraint, information available to the household) and it impact on health (exposure to indoor air pollution) and time use (women and children).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
De Vreyer, Philippe, Elodie Djemaï and Thomas Thivillon. 2019. "REDGAS: A RANDOMIZED EVALUATION OF THE DEMAND FOR LPG STOVES AND OF THE ASSOCIATED EFFECTS ON HOUSEHOLD AIR POLLUTION, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND WELL-BEING IN BURKINA FASO." AEA RCT Registry. November 12. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5024-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The project aims at identifying, first, what determines the household choice of fuel for cooking and the kind of incentive that may be effective to induce the household to change for a clean cooking solution and, second, the impact of adopting LPG as a cooking solution on exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5), as well as on women's and children's time use.
Intervention Start Date
2019-11-21
Intervention End Date
2020-05-20

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
- Determinants of LPG adoption and usage (household characteristics, credit constraint, available information about health benefits of LPG usage)
- Household and environmental determinants of air pollution exposure
- Household consumption of various fuels (wood, charcoal, kerozene, gas etc.)
- Time use (women and children)
- Self reported health
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
A randomized controlled experiment will be conducted in 2019-2020. It will involve a random sample of 1000 households who will be assigned to one of three groups:
1. A ‘subsidy group’ in which households will be offered a 25% discount on the purchase of a LPG kit including a stove and a 6kg cylinder;
2. A ‘credit group’ : the households assigned to this group will receive a sales offer enabling them to purchase the same kit in four installments (but at the standard market price);
3. A ‘comparison group’ where households will be offered to purchase the LPG kit in cash at the standard retail price.
In each group half of the sampled households will also receive some information concerning the health benefits of clean cooking. The research team will collect a combination of standard declarative survey data and field measurements both before the intervention and up to 18 months after the intervention. Electronic Stove Usage Monitoring Systems (SUMS) will be installed on LPG stoves to record their usage frequency during the whole study. Individual exposure to PM2.5 will be measured with ambiant air pumps and ‘light scattering sensors’ (24h gravimetric measurement). The Kitchen Performance Test (KPT) Protocol will be used to assess the fuel consumption of the households.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Surveyed household are randomly selected in three towns. First, the coordinates of "GPS search starting points" are randomly selected by the scientific investigators using a GIS. Once on the field the surveyors have to find the search points and then to follow a procedure to select a household to interview, then to check its eligibility and to obtain its consent to take part to the survey.

In each town we use the map of census districts to identify the limits of the city. From the most recent satellite images we then delimit the urban area of high population density as peripheral census districts often include large areas with no of very few dwellings. The resulting areas is then split between 56 "cells" of identical surface. Within each cell a fixed number of households is drawn from the population of households that are located at least 100 meters from the cell's frontier. This way "blocks" of households are spaced from each other by at least 200 meters.
Randomization Unit
The randomization unit is the "block" from which households are drawn. All drawn households within a given block will receive the same treatment: Credit/subvention/regular price offer X information on health benefits or not (6 arms treatment).
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
168 blocks
Sample size: planned number of observations
1000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
28 blocks (166 households) receive no information and an offer to buy the LPG stove at the retail price
28 blocks (167 households) receive no information and an offer to buy the LPG stove at a discounted (25%) price
28 blocks (167 households) receive no information and an offer to buy the LPG stove at credit (four installments)
28 blocks (166 households) receive health benefits information and an offer to buy the LPG stove at the retail price
28 blocks (167 households) receive health benefits information and an offer to buy the LPG stove at a discounted (25%) price
28 blocks (167 households) receive health benefits information and an offer to buy the LPG stove at credit (four installments)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Comité d'Ethique pour la Recherche en Santé, Ministère de la Santé du Burkina Faso
IRB Approval Date
2019-04-03
IRB Approval Number
2019-04-053
IRB Name
International Review Board, Paris School of Economics
IRB Approval Date
2019-04-11
IRB Approval Number
N/A
IRB Name
Comité Consultatif Ethique pour la Recherche en Partenariat
IRB Approval Date
2019-06-24
IRB Approval Number
N/A
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