This study assesses if nudges in the form of informational videos sent via WhatsApp are effective in boosting take-up rates among vulnerable populations, specifically in the context of a regularization program for Venezuelan forced migrants in Colombia. The study randomly assigned 1,375 eligible migrants to receive one of three informational videos or be in a control group. The videos aimed at solving issues related to awareness, trust, and bottlenecks in the step-by-step registration. The main results indicate that program take-up rates for individuals who received any video, were eight percentage points lower compared to the control group. The effects are mostly driven by the treated individuals who received the links but did not watch the videos, who are older, busier, and with less internet access relative to other treated individuals. Additionally, the study evaluates the effectiveness of iterative WhatsApp surveys in collecting data from hard-to-reach populations. It finds that iterative WhatsApp surveys had low retention rates, and iterative contacts do not helped to reduce attrition.
Paper exhibits were reproduced in one computer with the following specifications:
• OS: Windows 10 Enterprise, version 21H2
• Processor: 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1145G7 @ 2.60GHz 1.50 GHz
• Memory available: 15.7 GB
• Software version: Stata 17.0
~5 minutes run time.
A README file with detailed instructions is part of the reproducibility package.
The data used in this study originates from fieldwork, the Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares 2021, and the initial round of the VenReps survey. While the data is not currently available for public access, there is an intention to make it accessible in the future. Preliminary details on the data sources can be found in the README document.
Author | Affiliation | |
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María José Urbina | World Bank | murbinaflorez@worldbank.org |
Andrés Moya | Universidad de los Andes | a.moya@uniandes.edu.co |
Sandra V. Rozo | World Bank | sandrarozo@worldbank.org |
We thank participants of the World Bank Half Baked Seminar, World Bank Human Development seminar, Economics seminar at the University of Virginia, Hilton Foundation seminar, and ESOC conference at Universidad del Rosario, as well as Erin Kelley, Aart Kraay, Carlos Scartascini, David McKenzie, and Berk Ozler for useful comments. We thank IPA Colombia, our partners in this study, particularly Kyle Holloway, Alejandra Rivera, Laura Vargas, Nicole Lesmes, Jacobo Morales, and Ana María Rojas for their support in data collection and intervention implementation. We are also thankful to Ana María Ibáñez, who contributed in the early stages of this project, and to Kike Yra Fonton and Andrés Barinas, who provided excellent research support for the project. This project was approved by IPA IRB protocol 3911. It was also preregistered at the AEA RCT Registry (AEARCTR-0008672). We
thank the Hilton Foundation and the RSB Funds of theWorld Bank for providing financial support for this project. The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.
2023-10
Location | Code |
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Colombia | COL |
The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.
Name | URI |
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Modified BSD3 | https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/ |
Name | Affiliation | |
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Sandra V. Rozo | World Bank | sandrarozo@worldbank.org |
Reproducibility WBG | World Bank | reproducibility@worldbank.org |
Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
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Reyes Retana | MRR | World Bank | Junior Data Scientist |
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