AEA RCT Registry currently lists 9446 studies with locations in 169 countries.
In this paper, we study how communication shapes suspicion. The experiment uses a sender-receiver setup where the sender has a low probability of having misaligned incentives with their matched receiver. We focus on the impact of open communication on the receivers’ suspicion as measured by the size of the deviation from the senders’ recommendation before and after the communication. Based on previously preregistered treatments, communication significantly reduces suspicion. However, communication contents do not offer sufficiently nuanced insights on which aspects of communication tend to reduce or trigger suspicion. Hence, we add an additional treatment to address it.
More information about the study will be available after the completion of the trial.
Background: Serendipitous interactions are unplanned encounters between people that can lead to new ideas and insights. They have been shown to be beneficial for collaboration and innovation in a variety of settings, including workplaces, schools, and communities. On the other hand, innovation has long been recognized as a key driver of progress in various domains, and the role of collaboration in fostering innovation is well-established. Purpose: While serendipity is often seen as a chance occurrence, this experiment seeks to explore whether it can be intentionally promoted within a controlled environment to enhance collaborative behavior and innovation outcomes. Therefore, the main goal of the study is to measure the potential influence of serendipitous interactions on individuals' w...
The newspaper coverage of company board members is highly gendered. In particular, more family-related language is used in newspaper articles on female CEOs compared to male CEOs of publicly listed companies in Germany. This is in line with gender stereotypes and traditional gender roles associating women with family and a caregiver role, and men with careers and a main breadwinner role. In a randomized online experiment, we ask whether the stereotypical representation of CEOs in newspapers affects individuals' beliefs about manager and firm performance, and resulting financial decision-making. We show participants articles consisting of elements from real newspaper coverage on a real company and its CEO. We vary whether information about the CEO's family or a tradeoff between family an...
Small-scale farming continues to be the principal source of nutrition, employment and income for a majority of the population in developing countries. A large literature has documented the frequent absences of small scale farmers from their own field during the cropping season to engage in short-term "ganyu" labor outside of their households. Qualitative evidence suggests that the observed labor supply off-farm is neither planned nor desired by household, but rather a coping strategy employed by financially distressed households to overcome short-term credit constraints. However, research on the relationship between short-term credit constraints and labor supply is scarce. To identify the causal impact of short-term constraints on agricultural productivity through farms’ labor supply, w...
A growing literature associates poverty with biases in decision-making. We investigate this link in a sample of over 3,000 small-scale farmers in Zambia, who participated in a series of experiments involving the opportunity to exchange randomly assigned household items for alternative items of similar value. Exploring a total of 5,842 trading decisions over a range of household items we show that exchange asymmetries are sizable and remarkably robust across items and experimental procedures. Using cross sectional, seasonal and randomized variation in financial resource availability, we show that exchange asymmetries decrease in magnitude when subjects are more constrained. Consistent with the interpretation that financial constraints increase decision stakes, we also show that trading p...
Artificial intelligence (AI) has caught pace with — and in some contexts even surpassed — humans in the ability to make predictions from data, purporting to improve decision-making. However, in cases where humans are still responsible for the final decision, biases in probabilistic reasoning can render even informative AI predictions detrimental to decision-making outcomes. Using a randomised experiment with loan underwriters, we show that the provision of optimised AI signals can improve overall decision-making in spite of information loss.
Introduction. This study aims to investigate the preferences and decision-making processes of users of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as e-cigarettes and vapes, and users of conventional cigarettes in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. As the use of ENDS has significantly increased, particularly among younger populations, understanding the factors that influence the choice between conventional and alternative nicotine products is crucial for developing effective public health policies. This investigation will examine how product characteristics affect preferences and behaviors across different demographic groups, including smokers and non-smokers aged 18 to 65. Methods and analysis. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) will be conducted to assess preferences among users o...
This is an experimental study on public policy opinion formation. More details will be available after the trial is completed.
More information about the study will be available after the completion of the trial.