Intervention(s)
Each subject in our survey experiment is exposed to two treatments. First, subjects are randomly assigned to one of the following five (A) informational treatments. After exposure to treatment, subjects enter their response in an open-ended form. Subjects are then exposed to one of five additional (B) informational treatments pertaining to Alaska.
A Control) Thinking about the next three years, how likely would you say you are to move to [the state a subject previously indicated a preference for living in] where 0 is definitely not moving in the next three years and 100 is definitely moving in the next three years.
A1) Imagine [the state a subject previously indicated a preference for living in] implements a program that would pay every resident (regardless of age or employment status) $2,000 per year. Because every person in your household is eligible to receive the payments, that would be a total of [the subjects family size multiplied by $2000].
Thinking about the next three years, how likely would you say you are to move to [the state a subject previously indicated a preference for living in] where 0 is definitely not moving in the next three years and 100 is definitely moving in the next three years.
A2) Imagine [the state a subject previously indicated a preference for living in] implements a tax cut based on household size ($2,000 per person regardless of age or employment status). For your household the tax cut would total [the subjects family size multiplied by $2000] per year.
Thinking about the next three years, how likely would you say you are to move to [the state a subject previously indicated a preference for living in], where 0 is definitely not moving in the next three years and 100 is definitely moving in the next three years.
A3) Imagine [the state a subject previously indicated a preference for living in] experienced a reduction in its current cost of living (saving households $2,000 per person). For your household, the reduced cost of living would total [the subjects family size multiplied by $2000] per year.
Thinking about the next three years, how likely would you say you are to move to [the state a subject previously indicated a preference for living in], where 0 is definitely not moving in the next three years and 100 is definitely moving in the next three years.
A4) Imagine [the state a subject previously indicated a preference for living in] experienced a [the subjects family size multiplied by $2000] per year increase in wages for jobs that might interest you.
Thinking about the next three years, how likely would you say you are to move to ${q://QID13/ChoiceGroup/SelectedChoices}, where 0 is definitely not moving in the next three years and 100 is definitely moving in the next three years.
Second Set of Treatments.
After exposure to one of the five treatments listed below, subjects are asked to state their probability of moving to Alaska over the next 3 years. Responses are required to be numerical ranging between 0 and 100 (corresponding to probabilities).
B Control) Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the United States. The state flag displays eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and Polaris, on a dark blue field. The state flower is the forget-me-not.
B1) Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the United States. The state flag displays eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and Polaris, on a dark blue field. The state flower is the forget-me-not.
Every Alaskan resident, regardless of age, is eligible to receive a Permanent Fund Dividend Check (PFD). Its value varies from year to year, but is typically between $1,000 and $3,000. So, a household of your size would receive between [subject family size multiplied by $1,000] and [subject family size multiplied by $3,000] each year.
B2) Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the United States. The state flag displays eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and Polaris, on a dark blue field. The state flower is the forget-me-not.
Alaska is the only state without a broad-based tax. While Alaskans pay local taxes, they do not pay any state income, sales, or property tax.
B3) Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the United States. The state flag displays eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and Polaris, on a dark blue field. The state flower is the forget-me-not.
Alaska's largest city is Anchorage and is home to roughly 300,000 people. For reference, it’s larger than Boise Idaho, Reno Nevada, and Greensboro North Carolina. The city is home to dozens of breweries, award-winning restaurants, and major retailers like Target, Costco, and Home Depot.
B4) Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the United States. The state flag displays eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and Polaris, on a dark blue field. The state flower is the forget-me-not.
Recently, the State of Alaska has experienced large budget deficits, leading to significant cuts to education, public health, and infrastructure spending. It’s a habitual problem in the state resulting from its dependence on oil which creates repeating “boom and bust” cycles in the economy.