The Effects Of Environmental Beliefs and Knowledge on Policy Preferences and Expected Behaviors

Last registered on April 18, 2023

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

The Effects Of Environmental Beliefs and Knowledge on Policy Preferences and Expected Behaviors

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0011286

Initial registration date

April 17, 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

April 18, 2023, 5:16 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Germany

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Julia Berazneva

Affiliation

Middlebury College

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Daniel Graeber

PI Affiliation

DIW Berlin, CEPA and BSE, German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Peter H. Matthews

PI Affiliation

Middlebury College

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Michelle McCauley

PI Affiliation

Middlebury College

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2023-04-24

End date

2023-11-30

Keywords

Behavior, Environment & Energy

Additional Keywords

information provision, experiment, climate change impacts, climate policy, conservation behavior

JEL code(s)

Q51, Q54, D9

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

Our study will provide the first estimates of elasticity of climate concerns with respect to beliefs about the near-term impacts of climate change. In addition, it will provide important evidence on the socio-economic determinants of environmental preferences in Germany. The results will help design efficient measures to mitigate climate change.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Berazneva, Julia et al. 2023. "The Effects Of Environmental Beliefs and Knowledge on Policy Preferences and Expected Behaviors." AEA RCT Registry. April 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11286-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2023-04-24

Intervention End Date

2023-11-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Pro-environmental behaviors, support for climate policies, effect on vulnerable groups, sphere of responsibilities for climate outcomes

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

In this study, we design an information provision experiment, by asking individuals to provide their guess of near-term impacts of climate change and for a subset of them providing the scientific estimates from research by authors of the IPCC status report from 2022 (Arnell et al., 2019). For some individuals this information will offer a better-case scenario, while for others it will likely be more dire, and for many it may come as a surprise. We will then ask all individuals a handful of questions about intended future behavior and support for climate policies. Placing this information provision experiment and the questions within larger SOEP assures we have enough information about individuals and households (current and past) to study the role of mediating factors – age, gender, education, income, etc., as well as individual attitudes towards risk and time preferences.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Our study is between-subjects and the unit of randomization is the household that is randomized to control or treatment. The SOEP-IS is a panel for short-term experiments and long-term surveys that are not possible in the SOEP-Core — for instance, because they require instruments that are not yet well established or that deal with very specific research topics. Since 2011 the annual interviews have contained not only questions from the SOEP-Core but also innovative modules, which are selected in a peer-reviewed competition as of the 2013 survey year to identify the “best” research questions. The survey is conducted by INFAS GmbH and is representative for Germany as a whole.

Randomization Unit

We randomly assign 50% of the respondents to the treatment and 50% to the control group. The treatment assignment is on the household level.

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

The relevant population are persons living in private households in Germany. All samples of SOEP are multi-stage random samples which are regionally clustered. The respondents (households) are selected by random-walk. Our sample will correspond to a refreshment sample that will be newly introduced in 2023. The SOEP-team at DIW Berlin and INFAS GmbH will aim for 1,500 households. In each household, we expect 1.5 adult respondents per household. Thus, our expected sample will include about 2,250 individual level interviews.

Sample size: planned number of observations

About 2,250 individual level interviews.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

About 1,125 individuals in control, about 1,125 individual in treatment.

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

With a power of 80% and an alpha-level of 5%, we should be able to detect effect sizes as small as 15% of a standard deviation with 700 observations per treatment arm.

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB