Public support for reducing fossil fuel subsidies

Last registered on June 28, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Public support for reducing fossil fuel subsidies
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011580
Initial registration date
June 15, 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 23, 2023, 4:40 PM EDT

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

Last updated
June 28, 2023, 4:05 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Angola
Region
Country
Argentina
Region
Country
Bangladesh
Region
Country
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Region
Country
Ecuador
Region
Country
Egypt
Region
Country
Ghana
Region
Country
Indonesia
Region
Country
Kazakhstan
Region
Country
Nigeria
Region
Country
Pakistan
Region
Country
Viet Nam
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Christopher Hoy
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Yeon Soo Kim
PI Affiliation
PI Name
Sailesh Tiwari
PI Affiliation
PI Name
Mariano Sosa
PI Affiliation
PI Name
Minh Cong Nguyen
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-06-16
End date
2023-11-30
Keywords
Governance
Additional Keywords
Subsidies, Climate Change, Randomized Experiment, Political Economy
JEL code(s)
D04, D80, D90, H20, H30, H50
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This randomized survey experiment examines public support for reducing fossil fuel subsidies and will be conducted with over 32,000 respondents across 12 middle-income countries that spend around US$120billion annually on fossil fuel subsidies.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hoy, Christopher et al. 2023. "Public support for reducing fossil fuel subsidies." AEA RCT Registry. June 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11580-2.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-06-16
Intervention End Date
2023-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
There are two main outcomes of interest: (1) support for subsidy reform in the absence of any other policy measure (unconditional support) and (2) support for subsidy reform if different types of compensatory policies were immediately implemented, such as cash transfers (conditional support).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Respondents will receive information treatments highlighting one of the three common arguments against energy subsidies, which are; they are an inefficient use of government resources (“efficiency” argument), they increase inequality (“equity” argument) and they damage the environment (“environment” argument). Specifically, respondents will be randomly allocated into four groups, three of which are provided with information treatments about the negative impact of subsidies on “efficiency”, “equity” or the “environment” and the final group receives no information (the control group).
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
The sample size will be around 3000 respondents in nine countries (Argentina, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Vietnam), 1100 respondents in Angola, 2400 respondents in Bolivia, and 1900 respondents in Kazakhstan.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1200 respondents in the control group and 600 respondents in each of the three treatment groups (1800 in total) in the nine countries with a sample size of 3000 (40% control vs 60% any treatment).
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)

IRB Name
Australian National University Human Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2023-06-08
IRB Approval Number
Protocol 2023/187
Analysis Plan

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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