Affirmative Action and Discriminatory Beliefs

Last registered on February 27, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Affirmative Action and Discriminatory Beliefs
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010410
Initial registration date
December 06, 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
December 13, 2022, 11:08 PM EST

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

Last updated
February 27, 2023, 5:43 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
India
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Ashwini Deshpande
Affiliation
Ashoka University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Andis Sofianos
PI Affiliation
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Rajesh Ramachandran
PI Affiliation
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Ashwini Deshpande
PI Affiliation
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-12-08
End date
2023-04-30
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Affirmative action remains highly contentious across the globe with groups receiving affirmative action being potentially subject to discrimination. However, it is hard to know whether the discrimination that they face relates to their group identity, or to their affirmative action status. If affirmative action generates additional discrimination, the welfare gain of affirmative action policies may be reduced. In this experiment, we study whether affirmative action beneficiaries are discriminated against because of their status rather than their identity, by looking at whether they are judged to be of lower ability, and allocated less money for a task, when their affirmative action status is made public. If this is the case, our design allows us to understand whether this is due to a stigma of incompetence (people assume that affirmative action beneficiaries perform worse) or a bias towards groups that receive affirmative action.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Deshpande, Ashwini et al. 2023. "Affirmative Action and Discriminatory Beliefs ." AEA RCT Registry. February 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10410-1.3
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-12-08
Intervention End Date
2023-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We have two primary outcomes:
- Score guessed
- Amount of money allocated
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We have a post-experimental survey that elicits attitudes regarding affirmative action.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Our experimental design involves a two-step online experiment with two separate groups of individuals.

All the participants will be recruited from several universities in Delhi.

The first group of participants, “test-takers”, will complete a competency test online (short version of a Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test) and respond to a survey regarding various demographic characteristics.

The second group of participants will be randomly allocated across two treatment arms and one control. They will have to guess scores and allocate money to a subset of the first gorup of participants.
Experimental Design Details
Our experimental design involves a two-step online experiment with two separate groups of individuals.

All the participants will be recruited from several universities in Delhi.

The first group of participants, “test-takers”, will complete a competency test online (short version of a Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test) and respond to a survey regarding various demographic characteristics.

We then constitute groups of 5 test takers. Among these 5 participants, 4 are selected to receive a bonus. How the bonus will be allocated depends on the decisions made by a second group of participants, the “evaluators”. Before deciding on the allocation of the bonus, the evaluators have to report a belief about the scores of each test-taker in the groups of 5. To report their belief, the evaluators will be provided with information on the caste of each test-taker, their income status, and depending on the treatment, whether they were affirmative action beneficiaries or not. Additionally, they will be provided with a grade that signals a range along which the score of the test-taker lies. More precisely, Grade A corresponds to a score of 75% - 100%, grade B to 50% - 74%, grade C to 25% - 49%, and grade D to 0% - 24%. To incentivise truthful reporting, the score guesses are incentivised using the binarized scoring rule.

After reporting their beliefs on the scores of each test-taker, the evaluators will decide how the bonus is allocated across the 4 selected individuals. The available bonus to be distributed depends on the total test scores of the selected test takers.

We have three treatments: control treatment where there is no affirmative action, a caste treatment where affirmative action is implemented on the basis of caste, and finally an income treatment where affirmative action is implemented on the basis of income.
Randomization Method
Made by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individuals
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
440
Sample size: planned number of observations
440
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
440
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ashoka University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2022-09-23
IRB Approval Number
22-X-10008-Deshpande
Analysis Plan

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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