AEA RCT Registry currently lists 8519 studies with locations in 167 countries.
Experts must often choose whether to communicate using numbers or language when sharing information with policymakers and the general public. While there are many reasons why experts would send messages using language or numbers, our study emphasizes the role of message precision: numbers represent precise estimates, whereas language is imprecise because one word can be interpreted as many numerical values. We run a large-scale experiment in which we vary message senders’ incentives to directionally persuade their audience or to convey accurate information. We analyze how senders choose between message formats, testing whether directional incentives increase their likelihood of using language to communicate as compared to using numeric estimates. To understand mechanisms, we also analyz...
Many of the world's poor live in rural areas in low-income countries that have limited access to paved roads and transportation. Previous evidence suggests that providing bicycles to school girls reduced the gender gap in access to education in India and Zambia but limited research has been conducted on the effect of providing transportation access to adults in these same settings. To address this evidence gap, we are conducting a randomized controlled trial of World Bicycle Relief's Mobilized Communities program in Mumbwa District, Zambia. 120 livelihoods groups and 273 community service workers were randomly assigned to receive a bicycle in June 2023 or to a control group. We collected baseline data immediately prior to bicycle distribution, and will return for endline data collection...
This study explores how consumers perceive Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in comparison with traditional financial instruments, focusing on the dual role of CBDC as a liquidity asset and a payment method. Through a survey experiment conducted with 3,000 participants, we investigate the distinction between CBDC as a liquidity asset versus a payment method and how awareness of its security and ecosystem might alter consumer preferences and usage patterns.
In the past decade, mindset nudges aiming to instill optimistic beliefs about the role of effort in success and enhance resilience to failure and setbacks have gained prominence in the field of economics. We test the effectiveness of an intensive growth mindset intervention implemented across 18 middle schools in rural China, with over one third of the participants experiencing parental absence. Through a carefully structured 6-week curriculum, drawing on validated materials from past experiments, our aim is to evaluate the effect of the intervention as an additional school input, examining how its impact would differ based on varying levels of parental input. We plan to measure the intervention’s influence on the short-term and medium-term academic achievements of students, along with ...
Affect labelling, the process of putting feelings into words, has been shown to have a calming effect on the brain. This study examines the impact of affect labelling on political polarization over Covid-mitigation measures, an emotionally-charged topic that led to large differences of opinion. We conducted an online experiment in which participants in a treatment group, randomly assigned, underwent a questionnaire to label their feelings before reporting their opinions. We found that affect labeling reduced polarization for young individuals, up to the age of 29, a demographic characterized by intense emotional responses due to increased activity in the amygdala, the region of the brain whose activity is reduced by affect labeling.
This project aims to collaborate with Ministry of Health in the Republic of Moldova with the goals of harnessing behavioral insights to design and test innovative solutions to local public health challenges. We will be focusing in particular on smoking cessation and awareness on stroke symptoms. The survey aims to generate findings to support digital health solution to help smokers overcome barriers to quit. We will leverage techniques like precommitment, planning for obstacles, and feedback on short-term health improvements when not smoking. To understand take up of such a service, the survey experiment aims to study what the most effective messaging strategy is. We change the framing of the sign up message one a general one and a reserved spot message for treatment. The survey will...
This project studies U.S. liberals' demand for social media censorship.
A surprisingly large share of the population believes in zodiac signs and their significance regarding individuals’ personality traits, despite there being no scientific evidence in favour of a relationship between zodiac signs and personality traits. Existing studies, however, often suffer from small and non-representative samples, which may undermine their conclusions. In this paper, we re-visit the question of whether zodiac signs predict personality traits using the German Socio-Economic Panel, which provides representative data for the German population. Having access to the exact date of birth, we can compute zodiac signs and compare Big 5 personality traits across zodiac signs. Our findings indicate that, indeed, personality traits do differ between zodiac signs. However, differe...
This study tests the effectiveness of an informational intervention on young Tunisian adults' attitudes towards organ donation and their willingness to register as deceased organ donors. The study is being conducted in collaboration with the Tunisian Center for the Promotion of Organ Transplantation (CNPTO). We will randomly assign classrooms of undergraduate students to a treatment and control condition. The treatment classes will be visited by a representative of the CNPTO who will explain the medical and social significance of organ donation. She will also explain that Islam endorses organ donation as an act of generosity towards others. We will assess the effectiveness of this informational intervention on a set of outcomes which are self-reported by the studentsin an online survey:...
In many settings male students outperform females in mathematics, and furthermore, there appear to be a systematic difference in the way males and females approach mathematics tasks. This may be due to student factors (e.g. differences in preferences, personality, or ability) or teacher factors (e.g. gender stereotypes or didactic approaches). We focus on the role of teachers in fostering this gender gap. We carry out a conjoint experiment testing whether mathematics teachers believe that—all else being equal—male students benefit more from certain didactic approaches compared to females, and if such biases can be explained by teachers’ gender stereotypes or didactic approaches.