The Effects of Mobile-Based Information Provision and Peer-Based Information Sharing Channels on Small Firms in India

Last registered on November 01, 2021

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

The Effects of Mobile-Based Information Provision and Peer-Based Information Sharing Channels on Small Firms in India

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0008338

Initial registration date

October 29, 2021

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 01, 2021, 12:42 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

India

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Bansi Malde

Affiliation

University of Kent

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Amrit Amirapu

PI Affiliation

University of Kent

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Irma Clots-Figueras

PI Affiliation

University of Kent

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2021-01-01

End date

2022-10-31

Keywords

Firms & Productivity

Additional Keywords

firms, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, awareness, access, relief programmes, loans, covid, peer learning, peer support

JEL code(s)

D22, D83, O14, I38, O17

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

COVID-19 and policies to control it have adversely affected the ability of firms (especially small and informal enterprises) to operate and earn revenues. They have also affected their ability to link up and share information with other firms. In order to protect small firms from the negative effects of lockdowns, the central and state governments of India have introduced a number of schemes. One of them is the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), which makes certain firms eligible to receive an additional top-up loan. Additionally, the government has recently changed its procedures to allow informal firms to register their businesses with the government through a simplified online procedure. We conduct a randomized text-based information intervention on a sample of 1446 small firms in India to test whether providing firms with information on the ECLGS and the new simplified registration process leads to i) increased formalization, ii) increased uptake of ECLGS, and iii) better firm outcomes. In addition, we randomly allocate some firms into Whatsapp Groups, to test whether being part of a small network of similar firms helps to alleviate the adverse circumstances due to the pandemic and its fallout.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Amirapu, Amrit, Irma Clots-Figueras and Bansi Malde. 2021. "The Effects of Mobile-Based Information Provision and Peer-Based Information Sharing Channels on Small Firms in India." AEA RCT Registry. November 01. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8338-1.0

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

We implemented two interventions. Treatment 1 (T1) involved sending 2 SMS messages with information on the ECGLS scheme and the simplified online business registration process to the sampled business owners. Treatment 2 exogenously grouped together firms into WhatsApp groups of either size 5 or 10, facilitated by a local research assistant, to facilitate organic conversations among business owners on business related issues, COVID support, how they were coping with COVID and COVID control policies and so on.

Intervention Start Date

2021-04-01

Intervention End Date

2021-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

1) Business registration status (actual and planned)
2) Awareness and take-up of the ECGLS scheme (actual and planned take-up)

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

3) Access to finance generally (i.e. application for loans, take-up of loans, source of loans)
4) Use of loans accessed (for paying suppliers, workers, buying capital, etc)
5) Measures of firm performance (sales, employees, payment of suppliers)
6) Mental health of entrepreneur (self-reported stress and anxiety)
7) Network outcomes (sources of information on Govt support schemes, who they talk to/consult about business related issues; and who they talk to/consult on COVID-19 related challenges including coping with lockdown)
8) Knowledge about COVID vaccination, and vaccination status (including intentions)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

1446 firms from regions all over India are assigned to one of four treatment/control combinations. The treatments are randomised at the firm-level, with the randomization of firms in T2 stratified by language group and T1 status; and that in T1 stratified by firm registration, language group and consent to receive WhatsApp messages and to be placed in groups with similar firms.

Experimental Design Details

The four groups in our experiment are as follows:

T1 = 1, T2=1: 254 firms are assigned to receive the information intervention (re. ECLGS and simplified registration procedures) AND are placed in Whatsapp groups (with other firms that received T1).

T1 = 1, T2=0: 470 firms are assigned to receive the information interventions but are not placed in Whatsapp groups (of these, 254 had consented to be part of the WhatsApp groups).

T1 = 0, T2=1: 253 firms are placed in Whatsapp groups (with other firms that did not receive T1) but are not assigned to receive the information interventions.

T1 = 0, T2=0 (i.e. pure control group): 470 firms are neither assigned to receive the information interventions nor placed in Whatsapp groups (Of these, 252 had consented to be part of the WhatsApp groups).

Randomization Method

Randomization done in office by a computer

Randomization Unit

Firm-level

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

1446 firms

Sample size: planned number of observations

1200 firms

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

T1 = 1, T2=1: 254 firms
T1 = 1, T2=0: 470 firms
T1 = 0, T2=1: 253 firms
T1 = 0, T2=0: 470 firms (of which 252 firms consented to be in the WhatsApp groups)

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB