90356 enGender Impact: The World Bank’s Gender Impact Evaluation Database Testing information constraints on India's largest antipoverty program Author(s) Martin Ravallion, Dominique van de Walle, Puja Dutta, Rinku Murgai Contact rmurgai@worldbank.org, pdutta@worldbank.org, dvandewalle@worldbank.org. Country India Organizing Theme Economic Opportunities and Access to Assets Status Completed Intervention Category Information Campaign Sector Social Protection and Labor Public knowledge about India's ambitious Employment Guarantee Scheme is low in one of India's poorest states, Bihar, where participation is also unusually low. Is the solution simply to tell people their rights? Or does their lack of knowledge reflect deeper problems of poor people's agency and an unresponsive supply side? This paper reports on an information campaign that was designed and implemented in the form of an entertaining movie to inform people of their rights under the Abstract scheme. In randomly-assigned villages, the movie brought significant gains in knowledge and more positive perceptions about the impact of the scheme. But objectively measured employment showed no gain on average, suggesting that the movie created a "groupthink," changing social perceptions about the scheme but not individual efficacy in accessing it. The paper concludes that awareness generation needs to go hand-in-hand with supply-side changes. Gender Connection Gender Informed Analysis Gender Outcomes Knowledge about rights, employment IE Design Randomized Control Trial The intervention used a high-quality and entertaining 25 minute fictional movie to inform people of their rights under the National Rural Employment Act. It was shown in 40 out of 150 rural villages in Bihar. At each location, the film was Intervention screened twice, followed by a question and answer session and distribution of one- page flyers that pictorially illustrated the main entitlements and processes under the scheme. Intervention Period 2010 150 villages in Bihars. 40 received treatment. In total, 3,000 households and Sample population approximately 5,000 individuals were interviewed in both rounds. The balanced panel comprises 2,728 households and 3,749 individuals. Comparison Control group did not receive the information campaign. conditions Unit of analysis Individual level Last updated: 2 September 2014 1 enGender Impact: The World Bank’s Gender Impact Evaluation Database Evaluation Period 2009-2010 We find that the information campaign changes knowledge and beliefs about a public program in this setting. The movie significantly enhanced people’s performance in tests about their rights and entitlements under the law. Perceptions of local processes related to the scheme also became significantly more positive for those who had access to the movie. However, our results also caution that public awareness and positive perceptions are not sufficient for positive change. Indeed, our field trial indicates little discernible Results average impact on seeking and obtaining employment when needed. We do find a modest employment gain for illiterate participating individuals, though still far short of their desired employment. Learning one’s rights in this setting is not the same thing as being empowered to demand those rights or have them met. The movie did not significantly change aggregate objective outcomes, but appears instead to have created a “groupthink” within the treatment villages—a distortion to widely-held beliefs. Collective perceptions of program efficacy became more positive, but this did not translate into actual efficacy at the individual level. Primary study limitations Funding Source Ravallion, M., van de Walle, D., Dutta, P., & Murgai, R. (2013). Testing information Reference(s) constraints on India's largest antipoverty program. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 6598 Link to Studies http://www- wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/09/10 /000158349_20130910085032/Rendered/PDF/WPS6598.pdf Microdata Last updated: 2 September 2014 2