MajorChoice

Last registered on May 10, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
MajorChoice
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010469
Initial registration date
November 23, 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
November 30, 2022, 3:28 PM EST

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

Last updated
May 10, 2023, 10:19 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Belgium
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Arthur Dyevre
Affiliation
KU Leuven
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Wout Vandermeulen
PI Affiliation
KU Leuven
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Aurelie Meeus
PI Affiliation
KU Leuven
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-11-24
End date
2023-01-31
Keywords
Education, Labor
Additional Keywords
Legal job market; law firms; education; choice of major
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of the choice of major on the job prospects of law students in Belgium. The study is designed as a field experiments. Fake CVs and cover letters are randomly sent to a sample of Belgian law firms. Response rates are compared both within and between units.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Dyevre, Arthur, Aurelie Meeus and Wout Vandermeulen. 2023. "MajorChoice." AEA RCT Registry. May 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10469-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Job applications are submitted to law firms whereby the major chosen by the student during his law school education (either Public Law or Eonomic Law) is randomized.

Field experiment is designed to allow for both within and between subject comparisons.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2022-11-24
Intervention End Date
2023-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our primary end point is the law firm's response to the job application. It is operationalised as any offer to further proceed with the application (including invitation for interview or request to submit additional material). Alternatively, it is operationalised as the occurrence of a response to the application (whether favourable or not).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiments is designed to allow both within and between-subject comparison, following a 2-by-2 design. Applications are sent in two waves, separated by two weeks, so that the effect of the choice of major can be compared between and within firms.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomisation using Python random number generator (random package)
Randomization Unit
Treatment randomised at firm level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1
Sample size: planned number of observations
262
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
131
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Refer to uploaded pre-analysis plan.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
SMEC
IRB Approval Date
2021-10-21
IRB Approval Number
G-2021-3602
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-Analysis Plan

MD5: 87173d11eadf52408caba6486121fa96

SHA1: 9b19a739830bc813b4757e499a7f198f4038c91c

Uploaded At: May 10, 2023

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