Eliciting Sustainable Financial Product Preferences – An Experimental Approach

Last registered on December 21, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Eliciting Sustainable Financial Product Preferences – An Experimental Approach
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012735
Initial registration date
December 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
December 21, 2023, 8:05 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Ireland
Region
Europe

Primary Investigator

Name
Jane Kelly
Affiliation
Central Bank of Ireland
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Anu Jose
PI Affiliation
Central Bank of Ireland
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PI Name
Yvonne McCarthy
PI Affiliation
Central Bank of Ireland
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PI Name
Danish Us-Salam
PI Affiliation
Central Bank of Ireland
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-12-21
End date
2024-01-31
Keywords
Behavior, Environment & Energy, Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Behavioural Finance, Investment Decisions, Sustainable Finance Regulation
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In the EU, investment advisors must now elicit retail investors’ sustainability preferences (ESMA Guidelines Sep 2022). Through an online trial with survey participants, we intend to test a number of alternative question sets to elicit sustainability preferences with a view to experimentally testing which version most closely matches revealed preferences from an investment game. We will also check which question set is associated with greater understanding of sustainable investments among the survey panel. Our results will aid discussions around the guidelines, which ultimately have the potential to shape household portfolio allocations to sustainable finance.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Jose, Anu et al. 2023. "Eliciting Sustainable Financial Product Preferences – An Experimental Approach." AEA RCT Registry. December 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12735-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We will conduct an online experiment where we randomly assign participants to alternative versions of a sustainability preference question set and compare the outcomes to participants’ revealed preferences from an incentivised investment game.
Intervention Start Date
2023-12-21
Intervention End Date
2023-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The difference between revealed and stated preferences for investments in sustainable finance.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Comprehension of sustainable investment concepts introduced during the study and interactions with behavioural and other personal characteristics of respondents.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Online experiment where participants are divided into groups and presented with alternative question sets to elicit sustainability preferences with a view to experimentally testing which version most closely matches revealed preferences from an investment game.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by the in-built survey platform algorithm.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Up to 3000 participants
Sample size: planned number of observations
Up to 3000 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
375 participants in each of eight study groups
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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