Political Discrimination in a Polarized Society

Last registered on July 25, 2023

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Political Discrimination in a Polarized Society

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0011495

Initial registration date

May 28, 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

June 06, 2023, 3:29 PM EDT

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

Last updated

July 25, 2023, 8:42 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Israel

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Asaf Zussman

Affiliation

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2023-07-25

End date

2024-09-25

Keywords

Behavior

Additional Keywords

Discrimination

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

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

Abstract

The project studies how political polarization manifests itself in the willingness of individuals to conduct economic transactions across vs. within political camps. To address this question, the project will use a combination of a field experiment and a follow-up telephone survey.
In the field experiment, the research team will send pairs of WhatsApp messages from fictitious potential buyers to sellers who posted used car ads on a leading website for classified ads. We will use political stickers in the profile photos of non-neutral buyers to signal their political orientation. Specifically, we will randomly send to each seller either (1) one message from a “right-wing” buyer and another message from a neutral buyer (no profile photo) or (2) one message from a “left-wing” buyer and another message from a neutral buyer. We will then track the responses of sellers to buyers’ inquiries.
In the second step, the research team will use sellers’ telephone numbers to contact them and solicit their participation in a nominally independent survey. The survey’s main goal is to collect information on the political orientation of the sellers.
By comparing the response rates to the inquiries of the different types of buyers (right-wing, neutral, and left-wing), the field experiment will reveal the direction and strength of political discrimination in this market. To shed light on the sources of discrimination, we will merge the results of the field experiment with (1) data on the political orientation (and other characteristics) of the localities in which the cars are sold and (2) the results of the follow-up survey. This will enable us to study the association between discrimination and political orientation, both at the locality level and at the individual level.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Zussman, Asaf. 2023. "Political Discrimination in a Polarized Society." AEA RCT Registry. July 25. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11495-2.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

The project uses a combination of a field experiment and a follow-up telephone survey.
In the field experiment, the research team will send pairs of WhatsApp messages from fictitious potential buyers to sellers who posted used car ads on a leading website for classified ads. We will use political stickers in the profile photos of non-neutral buyers to signal their political orientation. Specifically, we will randomly send to each seller either (1) one message from a “right-wing” buyer and another message from a neutral buyer (no profile photo) or (2) one message from a “left-wing” buyer and another message from a neutral buyer. We will then track the responses of sellers to buyers’ inquiries.
In the second step, the research team will use sellers’ telephone numbers to contact them and solicit their participation in a nominally independent survey. The survey’s main goal is to collect information on the political orientation of the sellers.

Intervention (Hidden)

Background
Israel has been engulfed in an unprecedented political crisis since January 2023. The attempt of the newly elected right-wing government to push through the parliament major legal reforms has encountered strong resistance, with numerous mass demonstrations and protests taking place throughout the country.
The proposed project aims to study how political polarization manifests itself in the willingness of individuals to conduct economic transactions across vs. within political camps.
The proposed project will address the research question using a combination of a field experiment and a follow-up telephone survey.
Field Experiment
This article studies discrimination in an online market. Such markets have dramatically grown in importance in recent years with the widespread use of the internet and have almost fully replaced more traditional forms of connecting sellers with buyers. The specific platform that will be used in the project is Israel’s leading website for classified ads, which receives millions of hits a month. On any given day there are tens of thousands of ads for used cars on the website.
The research team will contact thousands of sellers who posted ads for used cars on the classified ads website. Ads will need to satisfy several criteria in order to be targeted: (1) the car is sold by a private seller (rather than a used cars salesman); (2) the ad is new (posted on the same day or the previous day) ; (3) the ad contains only one seller and the seller has a Jewish name; (4) the ad contains one cellular phone number; (5) the ad specifies the locality in which the car is sold; (6) the ad specifies a price.
The research team will send pairs of WhatsApp messages from fictitious potential buyers to sellers whose ads satisfy these conditions. We will use political stickers in the profile photos of non-neutral buyers to signal their political orientation. Specifically, we will randomly send to each seller either (1) one message from a buyer with a profile photo of a sticker associated with the pro-reform camp (“The People Have Chosen Legal Reform”) and another message from a neutral buyer (no profile photo) or (2) one message from a buyer with a profile photo of a sticker associated with the pro-reform camp (“Loyal to the Declaration of Independence”) and another message from a neutral buyer (no profile photo). Thus, in total there will be four buyer profiles. Each will have associated with it a unique phone number and a unique popular Jewish first name. Within each pair, we will randomize the order in which the messages are sent and the text of the inquiry. We will then track the responses of sellers to buyers’ inquiries.
Contacting sellers
We will use the phone numbers of the sellers to contact them and solicit their participation in a survey. Sellers will not be alerted to the fact that they took part in the field experiment. The survey will be presented to participants as studying the attitudes of Israeli citizens. The questions in the first part of the survey will focus on the socio-demographic and other personal characteristics of the participants. In the second part of the survey, we will ask participants about their support for the legal reform and their political orientation.

Intervention Start Date

2023-07-25

Intervention End Date

2024-01-25

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

The key outcome variable for each message sent (inquiry) is an indicator for positive response. The indicator will receive the value of one if the seller responded that the car is still available for sale and the value of zero otherwise.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

In the field experiment, the research team will send pairs of WhatsApp messages from fictitious potential buyers to sellers whose ads satisfy several criteria. We will use political stickers in the profile photos of non-neutral buyers to signal their political orientation. Specifically, we will randomly send to each seller either (1) one message from a buyer with a profile photo of a “right-wing” sticker and another message from a neutral buyer (no profile photo) or (2) one message from a buyer with a profile photo of a “left-wing” sticker and another message from a neutral buyer (no profile photo). Thus, in total there will be four buyer profiles. Each will have associated with it a unique phone number and a unique popular Jewish first name. Within each pair, we will randomize the order in which the messages are sent and the text of the inquiry.

Experimental Design Details

The specific platform that will be used in the experiment is Israel’s leading website for classified ads.
The research team will contact thousands of sellers who posted ads for used cars on the classified ads website. Ads will need to satisfy several criteria in order to be targeted: (1) the car is sold by a private seller (rather than a used cars salesman); (2) the ad is new (posted on the same day or the previous day) ; (3) the ad contains only one seller and the seller has a Jewish name; (4) the ad contains one cellular phone number; (5) the ad specifies the locality in which the car is sold; (6) the ad specifies a price.
The research team will send pairs of WhatsApp messages from fictitious potential buyers to sellers whose ads satisfy these conditions. We will use political stickers in the profile photos of non-neutral buyers to signal their political orientation. Specifically, we will randomly send to each seller either (1) one message from a buyer with a profile photo of a sticker associated with the pro-reform camp (“The People Have Chosen Legal Reform”) and another message from a neutral buyer (no profile photo) or (2) one message from a buyer with a profile photo of a sticker associated with the pro-reform camp (“Loyal to the Declaration of Independence”) and another message from a neutral buyer (no profile photo). Thus, in total there will be four buyer profiles. Each will have associated with it a unique phone number and a unique popular Jewish first name. Within each pair, we will randomize the order in which the messages are sent and the text of the inquiry.

Randomization Method

Randomization was done in office by a computer.

Randomization Unit

The unit of randomization is the individual ad/seller.

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

We plan to send as many pairs of messages as possible given budget constraints, with a minimum of 2000 pairs.

Sample size: planned number of observations

The number of observations is twice the number of pairs. Thus, the minimum planned number of observations is 4000.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

For 4000 observations (proportions remain if ultimately we will have more than 2000 pairs):
1000 (25%) - Right-wing
1000 (25%) - Neutral (right-wing)
1000 (25%) - Left-wing
1000 (25%) - Neutral (left-wing)

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

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB