On the Acceptance of Congestion Charges: Experimental Evidence

Last registered on January 03, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
On the Acceptance of Congestion Charges: Experimental Evidence
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010644
Initial registration date
December 21, 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
January 03, 2023, 5:14 PM EST

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

Locations

Region
Region
Region
Region
Region
Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
PI Affiliation
RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-11-21
End date
2022-12-23
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We study the acceptability of congestion charges through an information treatment experiment conducted within a large-scale survey with 15,000 participants from seven European countries. Each sub-sample being representative for the respective country’s general population, we randomly assign the participants to one of three groups. The first group receives information on positive effects that congestion charges have had in cities where they were implemented, the second group receives the information that in two cities, Stockholm and Gothenburg, the opinion of citizens about the policy improved after its implementation, and the third group does not receive any information treatment and serves as the control group. After this information treatment, acceptance of a congestion charge is elicited on a 5-point Likert scale. Socioeconomic data, relevant opinions and beliefs, and a large suite of mobility-related variables are collected within the survey to serve as control variables in the subsequent analysis.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Frondel, Manuel, Viola Helmers and Stephan Sommer. 2023. "On the Acceptance of Congestion Charges: Experimental Evidence." AEA RCT Registry. January 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10644-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
See uploaded preanalysis plan.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2022-11-21
Intervention End Date
2022-12-23

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Acceptance of a congestion charge as described to participants in the survey on a 5-point Likert Scale.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
See uploaded preanalysis plan.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by computer by survey institute
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
7 countries
Sample size: planned number of observations
15000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
5000 individuals information treatment 1, 5000 individuals information treatment 2, 5000 individuals in control group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
See uploaded preanalysis plan.
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

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