The Effect of Foreign Language Exposure: Lab Experiment on Economic Decisions

Last registered on January 22, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Effect of Foreign Language Exposure: Lab Experiment on Economic Decisions
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010188
Initial registration date
October 17, 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
October 17, 2022, 5:19 PM EDT

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

Last updated
January 22, 2023, 5:01 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Taiwan, Province of China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Sheng-Yen Hsiao
Affiliation
National Taiwan University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Josie I Chen
PI Affiliation
National Taiwan University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Elaine M. Liu
PI Affiliation
University of Houston
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-10-07
End date
2023-07-31
Keywords
Behavior, Lab
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Foreign languages are increasingly important in this internationalized society, especially for immigrants, non-native students, and workers in multinational corporations. We examine whether being exposed to a non-native language environment would affect economic decision-making. To explore this effect, we give a reading and listening test to subjects in foreign/native language, then we elicit their individual preferences using their native language. This study aims to clarify the causes of irrational decision-making and provide language policy implications concerning immigrants.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chen, Josie I, Sheng-Yen Hsiao and Elaine M. Liu. 2023. "The Effect of Foreign Language Exposure: Lab Experiment on Economic Decisions." AEA RCT Registry. January 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10188-1.1
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-10-07
Intervention End Date
2023-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Whether the choices satisfy the assumption of transitivity, Choices between healthy and unhealthy food, Time preference, Risk preference
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We plan to conduct the experiments in Taiwan using university students as subjects. This experiment, which has two between-subject treatments, will be conducted in person with the platform oTree. First, the subjects need to complete a language test. They will be randomly assigned to either the native or foreign language treatment. Second, they report the degree of mental fatigue by themselves. In the third part, they are going to make three economic decisions in random order: food choice, effort allocation, and a revised risk game from Eckel & Grossman (2008). All the instructions and questionnaires, except for the language tests, will be written in their native language (Chinese), so we only manipulated the between-subject design in the language test.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Computer randomization
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
100 students
Sample size: planned number of observations
100 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50 control, 50 treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Research Ethics Committee of National Taiwan University
IRB Approval Date
2022-10-07
IRB Approval Number
202208HS017
Analysis Plan

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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