The document discusses existing and proposed mechanism experiments under the BRACC program in Malawi, focusing on the impact and demand for funeral and health insurance, as well as weather index insurance. The experiments utilize randomized control trials and qualitative investigations to understand behavior and quantify mechanisms in the theory of change. Proposed mechanisms also explore the effects of predictability in humanitarian assistance and various dimensions influencing insurance demand and consumption behaviors.

1. MECHANISM EXPERIMENTS
Existing and proposed mechanical experiments in BRACC
Jan Duchoslav
Malawi Strategy Support Program
International Food Policy Research Institute
Lilongwe | 12 February 2020

2. Components of BRACC IE
 WHAT? Was there an impact? How big was it?
 Randomized Control Trial
 HOW? How was the impact achieved?
 Qualitative investigations
 Ask people why they behave in a certain way
 Mechanism experiments
 Manipulate aspects of an intervention to verify/quantify particular mechanisms in the theory of change

3. Mechanism experiments in BRACC

4. Mechanism experiments in BRACC

5. Mechanism experiments in BRACC
 In place
 Testing the demand for funeral and health insurance
 Proposed
 Testing the demand for weather index insurance
 Does predictability matter for humanitarian assistance?

6. Demand for health and funeral insurance
0
50
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1200 900 600 300 0
Coupon value
Offered
Purchased

7. Demand for health and funeral insurance
0
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0 30 600 900 1200
Price of annual insurance policy
Offered
Purchased

8. Demand for health and funeral insurance
0
50
100
150
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0 30 600 900 1200
Price of annual insurance policy
Offered
Purchased

9. Demand for health and funeral insurance
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0 30 600 900 1200
Price of annual insurance policy
Offered
Purchased

10. Demand for health and funeral insurance
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0 30 600 900 1200
Price of annual insurance policy
Offered
Purchased

11. Demand for health and funeral insurance
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0 30 600 900 1200
Price of annual insurance policy
Offered
Purchased

12. Demand for health and funeral insurance
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0 30 600 900 1200
Price of annual insurance policy
Offered
Purchased

13. Demand for health and funeral insurance
[CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE]
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0 30 600 900 1200
Price of annual insurance policy
Offered
Purchased

14. Proposed mechanism experiments
 Testing the demand for weather index insurance
 Same idea as funeral and health insurance
 Does predictability matter for humanitarian assistance?
 Use UBR to preselect HHs eligible for transfers should the need arise
 Randomly split intervention sample into two
 One half: Households find out just before transfers begin who was pre-selected (status quo)
 One half: Households are told in advance who was preselected
 Effects on:
 Consumption smoothing
 Food security
 On-farm and business investment
 Savings

15. Other possible mechanism experiments
 Implementation timelines
 Timing of insurance premium payments
 Information spread
 Farmer field schools vs lead farmers
 Framing
 Technology adoption in return for ‘incentives’ vs because of its benefits
 Watershed management in return for ‘incentives’ vs because of its benefits
 Pitching
 Health insurance in its own right vs compared to funeral insurance
 Different explanations of weather index insurance