We conduct a field experiment in partnership with the largest job platform in Brazil to study how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices of firms affect talent allocation. We find both an average job-seeker's preference for ESG and a large degree of heterogeneity across socioeconomic groups, with the strongest preference displayed by highly educated, white, and politically liberal individuals. We combine our experimental estimates with administrative matched employer-employee microdata and estimate an equilibrium model of the labor market.
IGL Trials Database
IGL curates a database with randomised controlled trials in the field of innovation, entrepreneurship and growth. Browse our list of topics, see it as a map, or use the search function below.
2024
We study whether information frictions and corruption perceptions deter firms from doing business with the government. We conduct two nationwide randomized con- trolled trials (RCTs) in collaboration with the national anti-corruption and public procurement supervisory agency in Uganda.The first RCT aims to increase transparency on available procurement opportunities. We provide firms with direct and timely access to information about government tenders over a two-year period, approximating the existence of a centralized portal for tender notices typical of e-procurement reforms.
2024
We are providing a preview of a project that analyzes two field experiments with 1,974 software developers at Microsoft and Accenture to evaluate the productivity impact of Generative AI. As part of our study, a random subset of developers was given access to GitHub Copilot, an AI-based coding assistant that intelligently suggests ‘completions’ for code. Our preliminary results provide suggestive evidence that these developers became more productive, completing 12.92% to 21.83% more pull requests per week at Microsoft and 7.51% to 8.69% at Accenture (depending on specification).
2024
Despite access to financial resources, many micro and small-scale entrepreneurs struggle to grow their businesses due to management inefficiencies. This study analyses a globally recognized ILO business training initiative in Indonesia, involving 12 financial service providers in 2018. Using an RCT and panel data from 3,975 clients to study the impacts of the business training we find largely null results across a large range of outcomes.
2024
Working from home has become standard for employees with a university degree. The most common scheme, which has been adopted by around 100 million employees in Europe and North America, is a hybrid schedule, in which individuals spend a mix of days at home and at work each week1,2. However, the effects of hybrid working on employees and firms have been debated, and some executives argue that it damages productivity, innovation and career development3,4,5.
2024
Prior research suggests that firms in entrepreneurial settings benefit from a scientific approach to decision making that combines cognitive and evidence-based components. But to what extent and under what conditions is the scientific approach to decision-making associated with superior performance?
2024
Social ventures that are fundraising through crowdfunding often involve major donors to influence the contributions of smaller donors. We theorize that male and female donors will respond differently to alternative major-donor contribution schemes that are commonly used by social ventures. In a field experiment, donors were randomly assigned to receive one of three solicitation messages about a pair of projects that were seeking funds through crowdfunding. All donors received identical messages, with the exception that information on major-donor involvement was varied across conditions.
2024
Innovating product design is crucial for firms operating in the digital sector as it is closely linked with innovation capability and, therefore, with firm performance and productivity. In this paper, we run a randomized controlled trial to assess if participating in an open innovation initiative increases SMEs’ capability to design more competitive digital products. More specifically, the intervention aimed at increasing firms’ knowledge of the Design Sprint and their readiness to implement user-centered design techniques.
2024
The model shows that managers and entrepreneurs make better decisions under uncertainty if they adopt a scientific approach in which they formulate and test theories.
2024
This study investigates the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in the screening processes of early-stage innovations, traditionally conducted by human evaluators, across various professional and competitive settings. Through a randomized controlled trial involving around 400 participants from the MIT Solve expert internal screener team and from community leveraged startups screeners, this research explores whether AI-assisted human evaluators or AI-only evaluations enhance the efficiency and quality of decision-making compared to traditional human-only evaluations.
2024
Scientists and funding agencies invest considerable resources in writing and evaluating grant proposals. But do grant proposal texts noticeably change panel decisions in single blind review? We report on a field experiment conducted by The Dutch Research Council (NWO) in collaboration with the authors in an early-career competition for awards of 800,000 euros of research funding. A random half of panelists were shown a CV and only a one-paragraph summary of the proposed research, while the other half were shown a CV and a full proposal.
2024
Business-science collaboration is essential for fostering innovation and economic development, particularly in rapidly evolving sectors like AI and Energy Efficiency and Sustainability. We study how to enhance the collaboration between firms and scientists given persistent barriers such as information frictions, behavioral biases, and high transaction costs. To address existing challenges, the research investigates the potential of matchmaking interventions.
2024
In late 2021, Phoenix Group, a FTSE 100 financial services firm and long-term partner of MoreThanNow, asked us to evaluate the impact of an Inclusive Leadership Programme. Everyone involved in the project was aware of the limited evidence for the effectiveness of online diversity training, but the team at Phoenix Group were interested in whether bespoke, best-in-class, inclusivity training for leaders would change behaviour.
2024
We evaluate the impact of the UK’s Growth Vouchers Programme, which offered subsidised business advice to 15,207 randomly selected small and medium size enterprises. Using administrative and survey data, we show that the programme increased turnover by 8.2% but only in the short-term and potentially at the expense of non-supported firms. We find that subsidised advice appears to improve firms’ capabilities and practices in a way that is consistent with the increase in turnover.
2023
Structured management practices are robustly correlated with superior performance, but while some firms change practices quickly, wide dispersion of management quality persists. Uniquely, combining evidence from two novel business surveys and a failed management mentoring field experiment, we observe firms’ intentions to improve their management practices and firms’ subjective barriers to improving their management practices. We find clear evidence of positive selection into a free management mentoring scheme: the worst managed firms were the least likely to seek help.
2023
SMS-based business trainings are becoming a popular tool to remotely support microentrepreneurs in low-income settings due to their scalability and low costs. However, little evidence exists on the effectiveness of such trainings to improve business outcomes. In this study, I evaluate a field experiment in which access to an SMS-based training was randomized across 4,700 micro-entrepreneurs in Kenya. After three months, I find positive effects on knowledge and adoption of best practices.
2023
The persistently high employment share of the informal sector makes entrepreneurship a necessity for youth in many developing countries. We exploit exogenous variation in the implementation of Rwanda's entrepreneurship education reform in secondary schools to evaluate its effect on student economic outcomes up to three years after graduation. Using a randomized controlled trial, we evaluated a three-year intensive training for entrepreneurship teachers, finding pedagogical changes as intended and increased entrepreneurial activity among students.
2023
An online experiment investigated how behavioural techniques could be used to increase the likelihood of companies with 2 to 10 employees applying for assistance under the Subsidy scheme Improving Sustainability of SMEs (SVM ). The results show that an updated version of the website helps to clarify the subsidy. This effect is not reflected in the likelihood of these micro-SMEs actually applying for the subsidy.
This experiment is listed in the BINN report "A wealth of behavioural insights - 2023 edition". Further information on the trial and authors may be available elsewhere.
2023
Can artificial intelligence (AI) assist human employees in increasing employee creativity? Drawing on research on AI-human collaboration, job design, and employee creativity, we examine AI assistance in the form of a sequential division of labor within organizations: in a task, AI handles the initial portion which is well-codified and repetitive, and employees focus on the subsequent portion involving higher-level problem-solving. First, we provide causal evidence from a field experiment conducted at a telemarketing company.
2023
Many school systems across the globe turned to online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This context differs significantly from the prepandemic situation in which massive open online courses attracted large numbers of voluntary learners who struggled with completion. Students who are provided online courses by their high schools also have their behavior determined by actions of their teachers and school system.
2023
India is host to 63 million Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprises (MSMEs), contributing to a large share of employment, industrial output as well as high volume of emissions per unit of output. Therefore, adoption of energy efficient (EE) technologies by MSMEs is crucial in improving not only their competitiveness through cost reduction but also worker wellbeing and productivity through improvements in the work environment. Enterprise owners most often do not internalize the benefits of the latter; like productivity gains due to reduction in exposure of workers to heat, pollution etc.
2023
This experiment involved making the information on the WBSO website clearer and more personally relevant to entrepreneurs. The visibility of the call-to-action was also enhanced. The study showed that entrepreneurs were prompted to spend more time exploring the possibilities offered by the Research and Development (Promotion) Act (WBSO) and that they read the information more carefully.
This experiment is listed in the BINN report "A wealth of behavioural insights - 2023 edition". Further information on the trial and authors may be available elsewhere.
2023
Agricultural extension programs often train a few farmers and count on diffusion through social networks for the innovation to spread. However, if markets are imperfectly integrated, this may also inflict negative externalities. In a two-step experiment of an agronomy training program among Rwandan coffee farmers, we first randomize the concentration of trainees at the village level and then randomly select within each village. Knowledge increased, and yields were 6.7% higher for trained farmers.
2023
Innovation plays a pivotal role in fostering economic growth, yet there is a limited understanding of whether it can be taught. I conduct a randomized evaluation of an education program implemented by a state government and a nonprofit organization, providing an opportunity to 6,224 8th-grade students from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop frugal innovations for global and local problems. To assess students’ innovative ability, I created a novel scale with inputs from experienced inventors and used a lab-in-the-field game from experimental economics.
2023
Expanding professional networks for growth-oriented female entrepreneurs improved business outcomes such as innovation, business practices, and profits.
2023
Enhanced cybersecurity of SMEs - Can a phishing test make companies less vulnerable to cyberattacks?
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. A large-scale field experiment amongst SME employees showed that a phishing test is effective in the short term, but not in the medium or long term.
This experiment is listed in the BINN report "A wealth of behavioural insights - 2023 edition". Further information on the trial and authors may be available elsewhere.
2023
Early-stage researchers (ESRs - PhDs and Post-docs) are repeatedly touted as an untapped source of high-potential entrepreneurship. However, most entrepreneurship initiatives have either focused on undergraduate students or on consolidated scientists (PIs and professors). We argue that attempts to translate these initiatives to engage early-stage researchers (ESRs) are missing the positive impact of entrepreneurship beyond the direct commercialization of scientific outputs.
2023
We use a field experiment to test whether financial incentives can improve the quality of apprenticeship training. Trainers (firm owners) in the treatment group participated in a tournament incentive scheme where they received a payment based on their apprentices’ rank-order performance on a skills assessment. Trainers in the control group received a fixed payment based on their apprentices’ participation in the assessment. Performance on the assessment was higher in the treatment group.