Locus of control, economic decision-making and aspirations: A field experiment in Odisha, India

Last registered on April 28, 2021

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Locus of control, economic decision-making and aspirations: A field experiment in Odisha, India
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005645
Initial registration date
April 06, 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, 1:37 PM EDT

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

Last updated
April 28, 2021, 3:22 AM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Gothenburg

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
International Rice Research Institute
PI Affiliation
International Rice Research Institute
PI Affiliation
University of Gothenburg

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2018-04-01
End date
2021-04-06
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Current research suggests that poverty can be a self-perpetuating process, leading to negative affective states, which in turn may constrain an individual’s ability to make favorable decisions. Findings further suggest that internal psychological constraints may hinder the take up of economic interventions. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role of locus of control on the economic decision-making of farmers in Odisha, India. We will first ask whether low locus of control constrains the decision-making of farmers. We then proceed to ask if locus of control can be positively influenced through an intervention and further, if this can change the decisions of farmers including whether they take up crop insurance; increase their agricultural practices; and raise their aspirations for the future. This paper will build on a sample of 1689 farmers from Odisha, India and will exploit data from a randomized controlled trial conducted in June 2019.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ahsan Jansson, Cecilia et al. 2021. "Locus of control, economic decision-making and aspirations: A field experiment in Odisha, India." AEA RCT Registry. April 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5645-1.3
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2019-06-01
Intervention End Date
2019-07-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Locus of control:
1) Agricultural locus of control scale
2) General locus of control scale

Economic decision-making:
1) Insurance
2) Crop Insurance
3) Change in Fertilizer
4) Agricultural practices

Aspirations:
1) Aspired future yield
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
See attached pre-analysis plan

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study evaluates the impact of including a psychological component in an agricultural training intervention and further the impact of a simulation app farming game on farmers’ locus of control, economic decision-making and aspirations. A detailed description of the experiment can be found in the attached pre-analysis plan.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Computer using Stata
Randomization Unit
Village
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
240 villages
Sample size: planned number of observations
240 villages, 1689 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Clusters: 120 villages treatment, 120 villages control

See attached pre-analysis plan for details regarding all treatment and control conditions.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
See attached pre-analysis plan
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
International Rice Research Insitute Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2019-06-26
IRB Approval Number
2019-0007A-2018-81
Analysis Plan

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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