Are Employees Willing to Pay for Job Flexibility? Evidence from a Field Experiment in China

Last registered on January 10, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Are Employees Willing to Pay for Job Flexibility? Evidence from a Field Experiment in China
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010725
Initial registration date
January 04, 2023

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 10, 2023, 10:25 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Xinzheng Shi
Affiliation
Tsinghua University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Chunru Liu
PI Affiliation
Tsinghua University
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PI Name
Yao Lu
PI Affiliation
Tsinghua University
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PI Name
Yi Zhao
PI Affiliation
Tsinghua University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-04-07
End date
2023-03-24
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study aims to estimate job seekers' willingness to pay for job flexibility using a discrete choice experiment approach. This study is coordinated with a company and a job search board in China. In order to investigate the potential influence of Covid and/or the zero-Covid policy implemented by Chinese government, we plan to conduct two waves of experiments, one during the Covid period and one after the giving up of zero-Covid policy.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Liu, Chunru et al. 2023. "Are Employees Willing to Pay for Job Flexibility? Evidence from a Field Experiment in China." AEA RCT Registry. January 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10725-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-06-27
Intervention End Date
2023-03-24

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The type of job arrangement chosen by the job seekers
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We use a discrete choice experiment approach. We have four types of job characteristics: (1) no flexibility; (2) time flexibility; (3) place flexibility; (4) full flexibility. We also have four positions which are used for recruitment. We planned to do two waves of experiments. One was conducted during the zero-Covid policy period, that is the first half year of 2022, and the second wave is planned to be conducted in March 2023 when the zero-Covid policy by Chinese government has been given up for a couple of months.
Given the four types of job characteristics, we can have three combinations: (1)+(2); (1)+(3) and (1)+(4). We also provide different wage levels. The wage for job with no flexibility is fixed while we randomly assign wages to jobs with time flexibility, place flexibility or full flexibility. We then randomly push the job recruitment advertisement, which includes the three combinations respectively, to the potential job seekers. The job seekers can choose which characteristics they prefer: job with not flexibility and job with time flexibility, place flexibility or full flexibility.
We collect the information for further analysis.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
We randomize the wage which is assigned to jobs.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
21 wage levels.
Sample size: planned number of observations
It actually depends on potential job seekers. Our idea plan is to have around 400 job seekers for each combination of job characteristics.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
It depends on the number of potential job seekers.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Tsinghua SEM Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2022-03-12
IRB Approval Number
2022-TSEM-05
Analysis Plan

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