@TechReport{iza:izadps:dp15768,
            	author={Chowdhury, Shyamal and Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah and Schneider, Sebastian O. and Sutter, Matthias},
            	title={Information Provision over the Phone Saves Lives: An RCT to Contain COVID-19 in Rural Bangladesh at the Pandemic's Onset},
            	year={2022},
	month={Nov},
            	institution={Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)},
            	address={Bonn},
            	type={IZA Discussion Paper},
            	number={15768},
            	url={https://www.iza.org/publications/dp15768},
	abstract={Lack of information about COVID-19 and its spread may have contributed to excess mortality at the pandemic's onset. In April and May 2020, we implemented a randomized controlled trial with more than 3,000 households in 150 Bangladeshi villages. Our one-to-one information campaign via phone stressed the importance of social distancing and hygiene measures, and illustrated the consequences of an exponential spread of COVID-19. We find that information provision improves knowledge about COVID-19 and induces significant behavioral changes. Information provision also yields considerably better health outcomes, most importantly by reducing the number of reported deaths by about 50% in treated villages.},
	keywords={field experiment;COVID-19;information intervention;death rates},
            }