Part-time work decisions of Swiss adults

Last registered on August 31, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Part-time work decisions of Swiss adults
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011300
Initial registration date
April 20, 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 26, 2023, 5:14 PM EDT

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

Last updated
August 31, 2023, 5:02 AM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Maddalena Davoli
Affiliation
University of Zurich
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Uschi Backes-Gellner
PI Affiliation
University of Zurich
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-04-23
End date
2023-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance, Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
Survey, Part-time work, Information treatment
JEL code(s)
D1, J2, G53, C9
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Part-time work (a work-time percentage below 90%) has increased significantly over the past thirty years in Switzerland, and while it is a phenomenon that interests both the male and the female labor force, it is more typically a characteristic of women’s working life (BFS, 2022). While providing the opportunity to pursue other activities, a part-time job may entail precarious working conditions, insufficient social security coverage (e.g., pension funds) and fewer opportunities for further education and training and career advancement. So far, it has not been systematically analyzed whether individuals are aware about the costs associated with part-time work choices and whether providing short, low-cost information can have causal effects on workload beliefs.
In this study we aim to analyze in a survey experiment the causal effects of a short, low-cost randomized information intervention on the beliefs about part-time work. With our study we want to answer the following research questions: First, can a short information intervention on the short and long-term (opportunity) costs of working part-time affect the way people think about part-time work? Second, can we observe a difference in the decision made by female and male respondents?
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Backes-Gellner, Uschi and Maddalena Davoli. 2023. "Part-time work decisions of Swiss adults." AEA RCT Registry. August 31. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11300-1.1
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
randomised information treatment
Intervention Start Date
2023-04-30
Intervention End Date
2023-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our primary outcome of interest is the part-time working decision of a fictitious character after different sets of information are given to respondents.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Respondents have to advice a fictitious character -young Swiss woman, with two children- about what part-time position to accept.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Within a financial literacy survey implemented by intervista AG, we embedded an information treatment module randomly assigned to respondents. intervista AG panel includes ample information on the respondents’ characteristics and demographics. We add questions meant to assess the individuals’ financial and economic literacy and their level of employment. Moreover, we ask the respondents to advice a fictitious character (a young woman, with two children below the age of 6) on which job position to accept, when faced with the option of working different degrees of part-time (between 30% and 70%). Survey respondents of the treatment groups will receive information about either the average gross earnings of such fictitious part-time positions and information about wages requirements for pension contributions.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is carried out by a computer-based randomization.
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
-
Sample size: planned number of observations
approx. 4,000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
approx. 1,300 individuals per treatment arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Human Subjects Committee of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics (OEC Human Subjects Committee), University of Zurich
IRB Approval Date
2023-04-17
IRB Approval Number
OEC IRB # 2023-030
Analysis Plan