Social networks, incentives, and diffusion of house screening and push-pull technology interventions in rural Ethiopia

Last registered on April 06, 2020

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Social networks, incentives, and diffusion of house screening and push-pull technology interventions in rural Ethiopia
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005642
Initial registration date
April 04, 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 06, 2020, 1:41 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
icipe

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
icipe
PI Affiliation
icipe
PI Affiliation
Wageningen University and icipe
PI Affiliation
Wageningen University

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2019-07-31
End date
2022-07-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
In sub-Saharan Africa, smallholder agriculture transformation is constrained by multifaceted risks that transcend humans, livestock, and crops. Malaria is one of the top diseases with a high economic burden to farmers and governments. Invasive pests such as fall armyworm and stem borer reduce crop production and increase the cost of production considerably. Furthermore, shortage and/or unavailability of quality fodder hinder livestock production and draught power performance of animals. While uptake of available technologies remains a key challenge to policymakers and researchers, interventions addressing these challenges are often done in a piecemeal fashion. In this impact evaluation, we aim to study the role of social networks, incentives, and nudges in the diffusion of technologies that simultaneously reduce the burden of malaria and low productivity of crops and livestock. We use incentivized and nudged social networks to deliver extension information on the adoption of push-pull technology (PPT) for pest control and quality fodder production, and house screening (HS) for malaria control. The social networks we are studying are one-to-five groups, which are massively being institutionalized in the local government structure of Ethiopia. As an extension approach, the one–to–five groups can help disseminating information about new technologies and best practices. Even though the one–to–five group extension approach seems promising to transform the agriculture sector through the diffusion of new technologies and best practices, many accuse the government that it uses the one–to–five groups to control public life and mobilize support to the ruling party with little impact on technology diffusion. Evaluating the effectiveness of this unique social network informs policymakers to tailor policies towards extension approaches that deliver trusted information, which can enhance the adoption of new technologies. The findings also provide lessons to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa where the extension systems follow a top-down approach of reaching farmers rather than being participatory. Our study fits to the emerging literature on the role of incentives and nudges on various development outcomes in low-income countries.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Abro, Zewdu Abro et al. 2020. "Social networks, incentives, and diffusion of house screening and push-pull technology interventions in rural Ethiopia." AEA RCT Registry. April 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5642-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The focus of the impact evaluation is the Jabitehnan district of the Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. Formally, the district is divided into 38 villages. The villages are also subdivided into sub-villages. For the sake of this impact evaluation, we use the sub-villages as the lowest subdivisions. The district has 113 sub-villages. We randomly assigned the sub-villages into five treatment arms and the control group. These are:
• Control
• HS (gain frame)
• HS (loss frame)
• PPT trainings only
• HS + PPT (loss frame for the PPT)
• HS + PPT (gain frame for the PPT)
Intervention Start Date
2019-07-31
Intervention End Date
2022-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
a) PPT knowledge score
b) PPT and HS adoption Productivity of maize (kg/ha)
c) Milk productivity (kg/animal)
d) Cost of illness (USD/household)
e) Malaria prevalence (%)
f) Lost working days due to malaria
g) Lost school days due to malaria for children
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
a) Willingness to pay for PPT and HS
b) Women and children Dietary diversity score
c) Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study focuses on 1052 chairpersons and their members (3240) in 113 sub-villages. Of the total 113 sub-villages, 86 sub-villages are in the treatment while the rest 27 sub-villages are controls. Each treatment arm has the following sample size.
Arms Sample size
Control 195
HS (gain frame) 125
HS (loss frame) 125
PPT trainings only 203
HS + PPT (loss frame for the PPT) 210
HS + PPT (gain frame for the PPT) 194
Total 1052

Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
First, treatment was assigned at the sub-village level. Within control and treatment sub-villages, all households were assigned control and treatment, respectively.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
113 sub-villages
Sample size: planned number of observations
1052 chairpersons and 3240 their members
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Arms Sample size
Control 195
HS (gain frame) 125
HS (loss frame) 125
PPT trainings only 203
HS + PPT (loss frame for the PPT) 210
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

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