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Affordability perceptions of hybrid DTM seed in Uganda: Are expectations or endowment (status-quo) driving low willingness to pay?

Last registered on March 21, 2022
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Affordability perceptions of hybrid DTM seed in Uganda: Are expectations or endowment (status-quo) driving low willingness to pay?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0009081
Initial registration date
March 16, 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
March 21, 2022, 1:26 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Uganda
Region
Busoga

Primary Investigator

Name
Astrid Mastenbroek
Affiliation
Wageningen University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Christine Kawuma
PI Affiliation
ISSD Uganda
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PI Name
Geoffrey Otim
PI Affiliation
ISSD Uganda
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PI Name
Robert Sparrow
PI Affiliation
Wageningen University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-03-18
End date
2023-03-10
Keywords
Agriculture
Additional Keywords
reference-dependent preferences, endowment effect, willingness-to-pay, willingness-to-accept, loss aversion, maize, seed
JEL code(s)
C93, D81, D84
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines how reference points influence the value for hybrid maize seed and whether such valuing could (partly) explain the disparity between the market price and the willingness to pay for the seed pack. We assess how expectation-based and endowment-based reference points influence willingness to pay for seed. We test how price and ownership expectations affect the monetary value of seed through (modified) BDM auctions. We vary the probability of ownership and price by creating a high and a low probability version. We test the endowment effect by comparing willingness to pay for the seed pack and willingness to accept for giving up the seed pack.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kawuma, Christine et al. 2022. "Affordability perceptions of hybrid DTM seed in Uganda: Are expectations or endowment (status-quo) driving low willingness to pay?." AEA RCT Registry. March 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.9081-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We will use a framed field experiment whereby we expose farmers to different reference points and measure the value they attach to a 1kg hybrid maize seed pack. The treatments include a high and low price expectation treatment, a high and low ownership expectation treatment, and one that either endows the seed pack or does not endow the seed pack. For the measurement of the value, we use a (modified) BDM auction that elicits willingness-to-pay /willingness-to-accept for the product.
Intervention Start Date
2022-03-18
Intervention End Date
2022-04-16

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
willingness-to-pay (WTP) / willingness-to-accept (WTA) for a 1kg hybrid maize seed pack
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This is a framed field experiment, among a sample of 900 maize growing smallholder farmers in Eastern Uganda, that are randomized into one of 6 treatments. We test how price expectations (test 1), ownership expectations (test 2), and/or endowment (test 3) affect the valuing of a 1kg seed pack. For the first test, we assign respondents randomly to a low or high price expectation version. Respondents bid (WTP) in a BDM auction on a one-kg pack of hybrid drought-tolerant maize variety. For the second test, we assign respondents randomly to a low or high ownership expectation version. We elicit WTA to give up this one-kg seed pack. For the third test, we randomly endow half the respondents with a seed pack and ask them how much money they are willing to accept to give up the seed. The other half is offered a seed pack and we ask them how much they are willing to pay for the seed pack.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization was done by computer using village listing
Randomization Unit
Individuals
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The total sample size is 900 smallholder farmers
Sample size: planned number of observations
900 smallholder farmers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
150 respondents randomly allocated to each of the 6 treatments (900 in total)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The minimum detectable effect size for each treatment is 1000 UGX, 20%, with a standard deviation of 3000.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Makerere University School of Social Sciences Research and Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2022-02-10
IRB Approval Number
MUSS-2021-104
IRB Name
Wageningen Social Sciences Ethical Committee
IRB Approval Date
2022-01-27
IRB Approval Number
N/A
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