AEA RCT Registry

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Attitudes towards Inheritance

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0011515

Initial registration date

June 02, 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 15, 2023, 4:54 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

United States of America

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Johanna Mollerstrom

Affiliation

George Mason University

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Puja Bhattacharya

PI Affiliation

University of Arkansas

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2023-06-15

End date

2023-07-15

Keywords

Behavior

Additional Keywords

survey experiment

JEL code(s)

C90, C91

Secondary IDs

Prior work

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

Abstract

his research will study individual attitudes towards inter-generational transfers such as parental gifts and bequests.
Many parents leave their wealth upon death to their children or provide gifts inter vivos. For the rich, such bequests
and transfers comprise a substantial portion of their lifetime wealth. With rising income inequality in almost
all western democracies, a growing concern is that such inter-generational transfer of wealth may hinder equal
opportunity for all. In the hope of leveling the playing field from consequences of such a birth lottery, many
countries implement a progressive estate or inheritance tax on transfers above a threshold. However, like most
public policies that have redistributive implications, estate or bequest taxation is a controversial subject. Support
for the tax is derived from attributing bequests as unearned income and is rooted in meritocratic principles that
accept income inequalities based on hard work but not those based on luck. On the other hand, opposition to the
tax is based on the idea that it penalizes loving parents who are entitled to leave their hard-earned earnings to their
kin. In this project, we investigate individuals' attitudes towards redistribution when considering inter-generational
transfers. We focus on understanding to what extent individuals consider inter-generational transfer of money a
natural right or an undue privilege.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Bhattacharya, Puja and Johanna Mollerstrom. 2023. "Attitudes towards Inheritance." AEA RCT Registry. June 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11515-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

We will implement our survey experiment in general population samples in the United States in collaboration with a global market research firm. In the experiment, parents earn money by working on a task and have the opportunity to transfer some of their earnings to their offspring. Thereafter, we collect data from a representative sample of the US who are tasked with redistributing between two offsprings who have received transfers from their respective parents. The goal of our project is to study people's attitudes towards redistributing economic resources between two adults who are recipients of inter-generational transfers. Using different treatment variations, we focus on disentangling key motivations that may strengthen perceived entitlement to such transfers and limit redistribution - (a) the parental link; (b) respect for the choice of the person who worked and earned money; (c) aversion to disappointing monetary expectations created by the knowledge of such transfers; (d) considering it fair that returns to effort exerted by parents with the intent to provide for their children be passed on to children; and (e) concerns of reduced parental effort and inefficient production in the absence of transfers.

Intervention Start Date

2023-06-16

Intervention End Date

2023-07-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Spectator redistribution of agents' earnings, inequality in (final) earnings

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Inequality in (final) earnings will be defined as the difference between two agents (final) earnings, divided by total earnings.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

We will implement our survey experiment in general population samples in the United States in collaboration with a global market research firm. In the experiment, parents earn money by working on a task and have the opportunity to transfer some of their earnings to their offspring. Thereafter, we collect data from a representative sample of the US who are tasked with redistributing between two offsprings who have received transfers from their respective parents. The goal of our project is to study people's attitudes towards redistributing economic resources between two adults who are recipients of inter-generational transfers. Using different treatment variations, we focus on disentangling key motivations that may strengthen perceived entitlement to such transfers and limit redistribution - (a) the parental link; (b) respect for the choice of the person who worked and earned money; (c) aversion to disappointing monetary expectations created by the knowledge of such transfers; (d) considering it fair that returns to effort exerted by parents with the intent to provide for their children be passed on to children; and (e) concerns of reduced parental effort and inefficient production in the absence of transfers.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization by Qualtrics

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?

No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

2800 individuals

Sample size: planned number of observations

2100 individuals acting as spectators

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

150 spectators in each of 14 treatments

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

Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Analysis Plan

Attitudes towards Inheritance

Pre-Trial

General Information

Locations

Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Registration Citation

Interventions

Primary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes

Experimental Design

Experiment Characteristics

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Post-Trial

Study Withdrawal

Intervention

Data Publication

Program Files

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials