The impact of Indian SHGs: a long-run field experiment in Jharkhand.

Last registered on December 18, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The impact of Indian SHGs: a long-run field experiment in Jharkhand.
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005570
Initial registration date
April 02, 2020

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 02, 2020, 12:07 PM EDT

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

Last updated
December 18, 2020, 8:35 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
India
Region
Jharkhand

Primary Investigator

Name
Timothée Demont
Affiliation
AMSE
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jean-Marie Baland
PI Affiliation
University of Namur
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2002-04-01
End date
2010-12-01
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
O1, G21
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This field experiment randomized access to Self-Help Groups in villages spread over the entire state of Jharkhand and surveyed a sample of 1,080 households three times between 2004 and 2009, in order to evaluate the changes in their living standards. We study impacts on children education and labor, household consumption and risk-coping behavior (including migration), and local credit markets.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Baland, Jean-Marie and Timothée Demont. 2020. "The impact of Indian SHGs: a long-run field experiment in Jharkhand.." AEA RCT Registry. December 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5570-1.1
Sponsors & Partners

Partner

Name
Pradan
Type
ngo
URL
https://www.pradan.net/
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Indian Self-Help Groups are informal groups of villagers (often women) with homogeneous background, who voluntarily come together to save and borrow small amounts on a regular basis. They represent the dominant microfinance model in India, and one of the world's largest and most sustainable.
Intervention Start Date
2002-04-01
Intervention End Date
2002-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We study impacts on children education and labor, household consumption and risk-coping behavior (including migration), and local credit markets.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The NGO PRADAN established a list of potential intervention villages (based on their high poverty incidence), located in four geographic clusters covering the entire state of Jharkhand. Among that list, 24 villages were randomly selected to launch PRADAN's SHG program between April and June 2002, and 12 other villages from the same districts were kept as the control group.
In treated villages, the program was explained in public village meetings, and groups of between 10 and 20 interested women were formed (one important rule imposed by PRADAN is that there may be only one member per household). By January 2004, there were between 1 and 10 active SHGs (4 on average) in treated villages and none in control villages.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Village
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
36 villages
Sample size: planned number of observations
1080 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
24 treated villages and 12 control villages
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?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
December 20, 2002, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
July 01, 2009, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
36 villages
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
1,080 households
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
12 control, 24 treated
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials