AEA RCT Registry currently lists 12130 studies with locations in 170 countries.
Societies exhibit persistent disparities in inequality levels and redistributive preferences, often accompanied by widely varying beliefs about social mobility that diverge from actual mobility rates. This study investigates the causal relationship between initial economic conditions, beliefs about social mobility, and redistributive choices. We conduct an online experiment where participants are randomly assigned to societies with different levels of initial inequality. They then form beliefs about their chances of being at the top of the income distribution and make consequential decisions about income allocation.
Despite large returns to postsecondary education, disparities in degree attainment across racial-ethnic groups persist, leading policymakers to explore alternative strategies for increasing postsecondary access and success. Community College Baccalaureate (CCB) programs have emerged as one alternative, offering more affordable and accessible pathways to bachelor’s degrees. However, little is known about their value in the labor market. To understand how completing a CCB degree may impact underrepresented minority (URM) graduates’ labor market prospects, we will conduct a resume audit study in which we will submit fictitious applications to real job postings, experimentally assigning the institution attended, degree awarded, and applicant race and ethnicity. In this pilot study, we will ...
The Integrating Aquaculture-Agriculture to Combat Food Insecurity in Malawi (IAAM Project) is a five (5) year, NOK $170 million initiative funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). The goal of the project is to increase the productivity and incomes of, and access to markets by small-scale food producers, especially women, engaged in the integrated aquaculture-agriculture system (IAAS) comprising fish, crops, livestock, and agroforestry sub-systems to combat food insecurity.
How civil society sustain cooperation for public goods where the state is weak? We answer this question by working in partnership with Kananga’s city administration (Kasai-Central, DRC) to reform salongo, a local institution for public good provision. Through randomized variation in leadership presence, group composition, and monitoring technologies, we test how traditional and religious leaders mobilize participation and sustain effort. A complementary survey experiment explores how stochastic shocks and narratives shape beliefs about divine accountability, advancing theory on cooperation and norm enforcement in fragile states.
The purpose of this experiment is to determine if prospective job applicants discriminate in their choice of whether to apply for jobs based on the perceived race of the employer. We will partner with a black owned company to place an employment ad for for an administrative assistant position. The advertisement will include instructions to email a company contact for more details on the position and application instructions. After an applicant is hired, a demographic survey will be sent to everyone who requested more information. Respondents will be randomized to receipt of more job details including either: [VERSION 1] "Thank you for your interest in a position with [COMPANY]." [VERSION 2] "Thank you for your interest in a position with [COMPANY], a Black owned company." ...
This study examines whether providing information on the evidence behind a program increases its adoption by government officials. To test this, we exploit the nationwide scale-up of an education campaign in the Dominican Republic and randomly vary whether school officials receive information on the existing evidence of the impact of the program. A treatment arm with financial incentives acts as a benchmark. Further, we analyze whether technical assistance and additional reminders increase take-up.
Peer assessment is widely used in academic settings, workplace evaluations, and collaborative contexts as a scalable alternative to expert grading. A well-documented concern is that grades assigned by peers may be driven not only by the objective quality of the work being evaluated, but also by strategic and social considerations — most notably, reciprocity. This study examines two related phenomena: (i) whether evaluators who expect their own grade to be influenced by the grade they assign (i.e., sequential first movers in a dyadic grading exchange) inflate their assessments in anticipation of reciprocal reward, and (ii) whether evaluators who have already received a grade adjust their own assessment in response to the surprise component of the grade they received. We exploit a cont...
Teachers often play an important role in advising students about post-secondary educational choices. In settings where students apply to a limited number of programs defined by university–major pairs, guidance from teachers can influence both the selectivity of universities students target and their choice of major. However, relatively little is known about how teachers form recommendations when advising students who differ in gender, academic profiles, and family backgrounds. The objective of this study is to examine the determinants of teachers’ guidance decisions. We conduct a survey experiment with high school teachers in which respondents evaluate hypothetical student profiles and provide recommendations about suitable university program targets. The profiles randomly vary along...
Investments in early childhood development (ECD) have lifelong effects on the growth of an individual, the educational attainment of the next generation, and the economic growth of a country. Poor ECD trends persist in populations around the world, especially those in lower and middle-income countries. Research shows that many children from less-resourced settings might not be experiencing high quality language and parent-child interaction environments necessary for healthy child development. Evidence from non-Western, as well as low-income settings in developed countries, suggests that the home language and parent-child interaction environment have a strong influence on child development outcomes. Rural China is one example of a low-income setting where the home language environment...
Female labor force participation in Jordan remains low despite women’s educational attainment, as elsewhere in the region. Could misperceived social norms about the support and increasing opportunity for Jordanian women among both households and employers keep women from reaching their potential and desired employment? An information treatment, as an experimental randomized component of this survey, showcases success stories from the Jordanian private sector relating to female employment and gender-inclusive practices, or featuring export-readiness-related success stories. This allows us to assess the effect of that information treatment on the employers' responses. The objective is to provide evidence-based advice to employers regarding labor and export policies.