Promoting crop insurance adoption via Village Savings and Loan Associations in Vietnam

Last registered on April 24, 2026
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Promoting crop insurance adoption via Village Savings and Loan Associations in Vietnam
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008356
Initial registration date
October 10, 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
October 12, 2021, 2:35 PM EDT

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

Last updated
April 24, 2026, 1:51 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Viet Nam
Region
Lai Chau province

Primary Investigator

Name
THU VU
Affiliation
HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY-idec
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2021-10-11
End date
2024-03-31
Keywords
Agriculture, Behavior
Additional Keywords
crop insurance, timing of premium payment
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Although crop insurance is an important risk management strategy for farmers to secure their income stability, the adoption of crop insurance has been extremely low. Recent studies have highlighted the significant role of social network for crop insurance. This study utilizes unique data on the network of farmers who are members of autonomous micro-credit groups combined with randomized control trials, to investigate the effects of social network and self-learning on the long-term adoption of crop insurance. Premium subsidies were randomly assigned to 729 farmers across 44 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in Lai Chau province of Vietnam over three rice cropping seasons. Each farmer’s network was defined by the five fellow VSLA members with whom they most frequently discussed agricultural production and financial matters.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
VU, THU. 2026. "Promoting crop insurance adoption via Village Savings and Loan Associations in Vietnam." AEA RCT Registry. April 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8356-2.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Premium subsidy for crop insurance
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2021-11-01
Intervention End Date
2021-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Insurance uptake
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
agricultural investments, farmers’ income and expenditure
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In the first season (April–May 2022, prior to the summer rice season), 44 VSLAs were randomly assigned to following groups.
Pure control group (including 14 VSLAs): all members receive a 50% crop insurance premium subsidy (Control group C).
Treatment group (including 30 VSLAs): members will randomly receive a 50% crop insurance premium subsidy (Treatment group T1) or a 100% crop insurance premium subsidy (Treatment group T2) by lottery onsite.
In the second season (November–December 2022, after the summer harvest and before the spring planting), we implemented individual-level lotteries determined subsidy levels (100%- 60,000VND subsidy, 67%-40,000VND subsidy, or 50%-30,000VND subsidy)
In the third season (April–May 2023), we followed a similar protocol as in the second season, with two modifications. First, the full subsidy level (100%) was removed, leaving only 67% and 50% subsidy levels. Second, we re-collected social network data to account for changes in VSLA membership across cycles.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
VSLAs randomization: randomization done in office by a computer based on VSLAs characteristics
Household randomization: onsite by lottery
Randomization Unit
Village Savings and Loan Association
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
44
Sample size: planned number of observations
around 740 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
pure control group: 14 VSLAs
treatment group 1: 15 VSLAs
treatment group 2: 15 VSLAs
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Hiroshima University
IRB Approval Date
2022-02-28
IRB Approval Number
HUIDEC-2022-0091
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