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Field
Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
We conduct a survey experiment among 8000 participants representative of the German population. Prior to our experiment, we ask all participants on a four-point Likert scale how well informed they feel about carbon pricing in Germany and measure their carbon price literacy based on three questions on the policy instrument. We collect additional information about participants’ household size, homeowner status, the size of their dwelling, energy consumption for heating purposes, their household’s vehicle fleet and annual vehicle usage.
We randomly assign participants to variants of our experiment which provide them with personalized information about either their household’s costs from carbon pricing or dividends received from a climate rebate program that pays out carbon pricing revenues on a per capita basis. Both variants are conducted for the current price of 45 €/t of CO2 and a projected price of 200 €/t of CO2 in 2027. Consequently, we have four segments, each including a treatment group with 1200 participants and a control group with 800 participants.
The first experiment begins by briefly informing participants about carbon pricing in the building and transport sectors in Germany and eliciting their prior acceptance of carbon pricing on a five-point Likert scale. Next, we ask participants to estimate their household’s additional annual costs from carbon pricing at a given price level and to express their uncertainty regarding their estimation on a five-point Likert scale. 60% of participants are then randomly assigned to receive quantitative information on their household’s actual costs from carbon pricing. Additional heating costs are calculated using the previously collected information on household's annual energy consumption. Additional transportation expenses are inferred from the household's distance traveled and the average fuel consumption of their vehicle fleet. The remaining 40% of participants act as a control group and receive no further information. The experiment concludes by eliciting all participants’ posterior acceptance of carbon pricing on a five-point Likert scale.
The second experiment begins by providing participants with brief information about carbon pricing in the building and transport sectors and personalized information on their household’s additional costs from carbon pricing at a given price level, before eliciting their acceptance of carbon pricing on a five-point Likert scale. Next, we ask them to estimate the dividend received by their household, granted by a lump-sum climate rebate program that pays out all carbon pricing revenues on a per capita basis. We also ask participants to indicate their level of uncertainty regarding this estimation on a five-point Likert scale. 60% of participants are then randomly selected to receive quantitative information on their households’ actual rebate amount. Per capita dividends are calculated based on the latest wave of the German sample survey of income and expenditure which contains information regarding private households’ total consumption of fossil fuels in the building and transport sectors. We redistribute total revenues from carbon pricing on a per capita basis to derive rebate amounts, which are then multiplied with our respondents’ household size. The control group receives no additional information. As in the first experiment, we conclude by eliciting all participants’ posterior acceptance of carbon pricing on a five-point Likert scale.
Both experiments are succeeded by a question about participants’ trust in the government's climate policy on a five-point Likert scale. We also elicit participants’ preferences regarding the use of the carbon pricing revenues by asking them to allocate total revenues from carbon pricing to different categories, including transfers to households, public spending, or tax reductions.
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After
We conduct a survey experiment among approximately 9600 participants representative of the German population. Prior to our experiment, we ask all participants on a four-point Likert scale how well informed they feel about carbon pricing in Germany and measure their carbon price literacy based on three questions on the policy instrument. We collect additional information about participants’ household size, homeowner status, the size of their dwelling, energy consumption for heating purposes, their household’s vehicle fleet and annual vehicle usage.
We randomly assign participants to variants of our experiment which provide them with personalized information about either their household’s costs from carbon pricing or dividends received from a climate rebate program that pays out carbon pricing revenues on a per capita basis. Both variants are conducted for the current price of 45 €/t of CO2 and a projected price of 200 €/t of CO2 in 2027. Consequently, we have four segments, each including a treatment and a control group of 1200 participants.
The first experiment begins by briefly informing participants about carbon pricing in the building and transport sectors in Germany and eliciting their prior acceptance of carbon pricing on a five-point Likert scale. Next, we ask participants to estimate their household’s additional annual costs from carbon pricing at a given price level and to express their uncertainty regarding their estimation on a five-point Likert scale. 50% of participants are then randomly assigned to receive quantitative information on their household’s actual costs from carbon pricing. Additional heating costs are calculated using the previously collected information on household's annual energy consumption. Additional transportation expenses are inferred from the household's distance traveled and the average fuel consumption of their vehicle fleet. The remaining 50% of participants act as a control group and receive no further information. The experiment concludes by eliciting all participants’ posterior acceptance of carbon pricing on a five-point Likert scale.
The second experiment begins by providing participants with brief information about carbon pricing in the building and transport sectors and personalized information on their household’s additional costs from carbon pricing at a given price level, before eliciting their acceptance of carbon pricing on a five-point Likert scale. Next, we ask them to estimate the dividend received by their household, granted by a lump-sum climate rebate program that pays out all carbon pricing revenues on a per capita basis. We also ask participants to indicate their level of uncertainty regarding this estimation on a five-point Likert scale. 50% of participants are then randomly selected to receive quantitative information on their households’ actual rebate amount. Per capita dividends are calculated based on the latest wave of the German sample survey of income and expenditure which contains information regarding private households’ total consumption of fossil fuels in the building and transport sectors. We redistribute total revenues from carbon pricing on a per capita basis to derive rebate amounts, which are then multiplied with our respondents’ household size. The control group receives no additional information. As in the first experiment, we conclude by eliciting all participants’ posterior acceptance of carbon pricing on a five-point Likert scale.
Both experiments are succeeded by a question about participants’ trust in the government's climate policy on a five-point Likert scale. We also elicit participants’ preferences regarding the use of the carbon pricing revenues by asking them to allocate total revenues from carbon pricing to different categories, including transfers to households, public spending, or tax reductions.
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Field
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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Before
9461 individuals in total, with around 1200 individuals in each treatment and control group.
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After
Approximately 9600 individuals in total, with around 1200 individuals in each treatment and control group.
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