Cost and stakes of coordination: evidence from an experiment in Senegal

Last registered on December 21, 2022
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Cost and stakes of coordination: evidence from an experiment in Senegal
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008780
Initial registration date
January 12, 2022

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
January 12, 2022, 7:39 PM EST

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

Last updated
December 21, 2022, 9:42 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Senegal
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Joshua Deutschmann
Affiliation
University of Chicago
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Tanguy Bernard
PI Affiliation
University of Bordeaux
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Gashaw Abate
PI Affiliation
IFPRI
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Fatou Fall
PI Affiliation
University of Paris Dauphine
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2021-11-01
End date
2023-12-31
Keywords
Agriculture
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
One key barrier to unlocking higher-value markets for farmers investing in quality upgrading is quality certification. Provision of certification services at a local level before aggregation may be important to overcome the information asymmetry on quality between farmers and downstream buyers and unlock price premiums for farmers. However, quality testing is costly in many contexts and could eat up a substantial portion of the available premium. Coordination among farmers to jointly test their production could significantly reduce costs of quality assessment. Coordination is also risky and requires trust between farmers that everyone involved has invested in quality. This project aims to test whether farmers are aware of the quality investments made by other nearby farmers, and whether the provision of third-party information about the quality investments of nearby farmers encourages coordination.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Abate, Gashaw et al. 2022. "Cost and stakes of coordination: evidence from an experiment in Senegal." AEA RCT Registry. December 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8780-1.2
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-01-01
Intervention End Date
2022-10-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Take-up of quality certification; coordination for quality certification; output sales decisions
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Producers are randomly assigned to receive quality certification discounts and information to facilitate coordination. We cross-randomize these two components, stratified at rural commune level, and randomly pair farmers such that two farmers in the information treatment arms receive information about each other.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
About 480 farmers
Sample size: planned number of observations
About 480 farmers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
80 control, 80 discount only, 160 information only, 160 information + discount
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IFPRI IRB
IRB Approval Date
2021-10-28
IRB Approval Number
MTID-21-1037
Analysis Plan

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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