Intertemporal Substitution and the Value of Work Hours Flexibility

Last registered on October 17, 2017

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Intertemporal Substitution and the Value of Work Hours Flexibility
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001656
Initial registration date
October 06, 2016

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 06, 2016, 1:40 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
October 17, 2017, 12:10 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
UC Berkeley

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Uber Technologies, Inc.
PI Affiliation
MIT

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2016-08-22
End date
2017-11-10
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We use a field experiment to estimate rideshare drivers’ intertemporal substitution elasticities and their willingness to pay for work arrangements. The experiment offers a subset of rideshare drivers the opportunity to drive under alternative wage schemes which offer higher wages for some choices of hours. We then study opt-in behavior and labor supply decisions. Our research plan includes subgroup analyses for drivers defined by driving histories, different platform participation histories, vehicle model age, and sex.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Angrist, Joshua, Sydnee Caldwell and Jonathan Hall. 2017. "Intertemporal Substitution and the Value of Work Hours Flexibility." AEA RCT Registry. October 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1656-4.0
Former Citation
Angrist, Joshua, Sydnee Caldwell and Jonathan Hall. 2017. "Intertemporal Substitution and the Value of Work Hours Flexibility." AEA RCT Registry. October 17. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1656/history/22402
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2016-08-22
Intervention End Date
2017-11-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We use a field experiment to estimate rideshare drivers’ intertemporal substitution elasticities and their willingness to pay for work arrangements. The experiment offers a subset of rideshare drivers the opportunity to drive under alternative wage schemes which offer higher wages for some choices of hours. We then study opt-in behavior and labor supply decisions. Our research plan includes subgroup analyses for drivers defined by driving histories, different platform participation histories, vehicle model age, and sex.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment is designed to estimate the value of work hours flexibility for workers in the gig economy. We first selected a subset of rideshare drivers to be included in our experiment. We contacted these drivers with an initial offer, which was unambiguously attractive to all drivers. Drivers who did not choose to participate in this treatment were not contacted again. A subset of drivers who chose to opt in were contacted again with opportunities to drive under alternative wage schemes. We collected data on driving behavior and opt-in choices.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
driver
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
5000 drivers
Sample size: planned number of observations
5000 drivers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2500 treatment, 2500 control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
MIT Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects
IRB Approval Date
2016-05-19
IRB Approval Number
1605555831

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials