Incentives to work out

Last registered on September 19, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Incentives to work out
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010056
Initial registration date
September 11, 2022

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
September 19, 2022, 4:02 PM EDT

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

Locations

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
UIUC

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2021-09-06
End date
2022-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
With rapidly increasing healthcare costs, both governments and firms are paying more attention to cultivating healthy lifestyles among consumers to reduce medical and financial burdens. However, consumer often struggle to fulfil their commitments to health-related goals, such as consistently going to the gym. This research examines the effects of financial and non-financial incentives on consumers’ gym-going behaviors. We conduct a set of randomized field experiments in partnership with the campus recreation center at one of the largest U.S. public universities that garners around one million student, staff, and faculty visits each year. Specifically, we provide a set of financial and non-financial incentives to the members of the center and track their progress (i.e., number and types of workouts completed). Our preliminary results show that financial incentives have a significant and sustained effect on members’ workout completion. We also examine the effects of non-financial incentives, such as information about the workouts and individual’s ranks among peers.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Narang, Unnati. 2022. "Incentives to work out." AEA RCT Registry. September 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10056-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-09-06
Intervention End Date
2022-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Number and types of workouts, goal completion, rank, rank improvement, no show
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We plan to use a 2 (financial incentive vs. no incentive) x 2 (non-financial incentive vs. no incentive) design. Thus, one treatment group will only receive financial incentives; the second will receive non-financial incentives; the third will receive both, while the fourth will be a control group with no incentives.

We expect to have participants enroll in our wellness program. For the treatment group participants, if they finish 2 gym activities in three consecutive weeks, we will offer them a $30 gift cards.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Random number generator
Randomization Unit
Individual gym members
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
800-1000 depending on how many sign up
Sample size: planned number of observations
800-1000 depending on how many sign up
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
800-1000 depending on how many sign up
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
UIUC IRB
IRB Approval Date
2021-06-30
IRB Approval Number
21980

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