Case Control Study for Nudge in School Canteens

Last registered on June 25, 2024

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Case Control Study for Nudge in School Canteens

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0013149

Initial registration date

May 15, 2024

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 25, 2024, 2:15 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

France

Region

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Primary Investigator

Name

Anthony Rocher

Affiliation

ENS de Lyon

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Virgile Campone

PI Affiliation

ENS de Lyon, department of Economics

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

Withdrawn

Start date

2024-10-01

End date

2024-10-27

Keywords

Behavior, Environment & Energy

Additional Keywords

Nudge, food waste, case-control study

JEL code(s)

C93, D61, D01

Secondary IDs

Prior work

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

Abstract

This paper tackles the issue of ongoing food waste in school canteens. We design a case control study for applying nudge in school canteens to curb food waste. Firstly, we write a protocol for a pilot study. Then, we propose an extended protocol for a large scale experiment. Our main contribution to the research field is to provide a nudge that is interactive. It is a revisited "Climate Fresk" between searchers, school canteen staff, teachers and children aged from 11 years old to 15 years old. We expect to reduce significantly the amount of food waste during the one-month experiment.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Campone, Virgile and Anthony Rocher. 2024. "Case Control Study for Nudge in School Canteens." AEA RCT Registry. June 25. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13149-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

The nudge is called "Game against Food Waste". It is a jigsaw puzzle and it involves pupils as well as canteen staff members, teachers and searchers. We have 40 cards with concepts, places, numbers and diagrams that must help to contemplate food waste as systemic issue. The point of our nudge is to make children thinking actively on their food practices.

Intervention Start Date

2024-10-08

Intervention End Date

2024-10-27

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

We expect a reduction in quantity wasted at the end of the experiment.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

The study focuses on middle schools in the Region Auvergne Rhône Alpes because it is the most performing region after the Region Île de France (Paris) [Préfecture de la région Auvergne-Rhône- Alpes, 2024]. The region that has the advantage of not having either the red tape or the political games of the Paris region. It is an extremely dynamic region, and also geographically diverse. As a result, it is an exemplary open-air laboratory for economic research. Furthermore, it is one of the leading regions in term of public policy against food waste in school canteens [Région Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes, 2024]. Besides, the region has with super-scale cities such as Lyon, medium-scale cities as Grenoble and Saint-Etienne and along with rural areas. It is suitable for a proper random sampling, as it will be mentioned herein-after. Last but not least, as the laboratory is located in Lyon, it is easier to work in this Region. Hence, logistically and politically it is cogent to work with the Region Auvergne Rhone Alpes.

Experimental Design Details

Not available

Randomization Method

The case-control study is conducted with a sample extracted from the 827 middle schools. First, to have homogeneity the population of the 827 middle school is divided into two groups: urban and rural. In fact, the case-control study is well-performing if and only if the population compared are the same. According to the Region, in 2022 35,1 % of the students in middle schools lived in rural areas while 64,1 % lived in urban areas [Prinzis, 2022]. It is a proxy for the distribution of middle schools in the territory. Hence, there is 536 middle schools in urban areas and 291 middle schools in rural areas. We use Cocheran’s formula to determine the size of our sample. We find that the cardinal of the sampled urban middle school is 225. And the cardinal of the sampled rural school is 166.

Randomization Unit

school

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes