Replication Data for: Anchor Management: A Field Experiment to Encourage Families to Meet Critical Program Deadlines

Many families, despite need and eligibility, struggle to meet program deadlines to retain critical benefits. When families fail to complete program recertification on time, they lose needed support. While scholars have tested behavioral theories like chunking, implementation intention, and loss framing to promote program uptake, less is known about how well-designed communications can promote continuity through successful recertification, especially where recertification entails significant administrative burden. Further, scant evidence guides how best to frame recertification deadlines. In a randomized trial with government partners (n = 3,539), we find that sending a reminder letter informed by these behavioral theories increased the number of families maintaining participation by 14 percent. Further, anchoring people to a deadline month may suffice to thread the motivational needle: overcoming procrastination without lowering self-efficacy by anchoring them to a specific day. Adopting the most effective letter in Washington, DC would lead 766 more families to participate uninterrupted each year.