Beliefs about the impact of policies on others' behavior and how they relate to policy acceptance: Experimental evidence on parking fees

Last registered on April 26, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Beliefs about the impact of policies on others' behavior and how they relate to policy acceptance: Experimental evidence on parking fees
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013415
Initial registration date
April 22, 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
April 26, 2024, 11:51 AM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Jana Eßer
Affiliation
RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Lukas Tomberg
PI Affiliation
RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
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PI Name
Delia Niehues
PI Affiliation
RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-04-23
End date
2024-05-20
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
parking fees, indirect policy impacts, biased beliefs
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines how individuals assess the direct and indirect consequences of comprehensive pricing for parking spaces in German cities and how public approval of such a policy is related to these assessments. In a survey experiment, we propose a policy on comprehensive parking fees and elicit the participants’ acceptance of this policy as well as their beliefs regarding its indirect effects, namely, the behavioral changes of others in response to this policy.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Eßer, Jana, Delia Niehues and Lukas Tomberg. 2024. "Beliefs about the impact of policies on others' behavior and how they relate to policy acceptance: Experimental evidence on parking fees." AEA RCT Registry. April 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13415-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We randomly assign participants to either high or low parking fees. Some groups are asked to reflect about their beliefs about the effect of the proposed policy measure on their own mobility behavior or on the mobility of others, while some groups receive information on the expected indirect effects of parking fees.
Intervention Start Date
2024-04-23
Intervention End Date
2024-05-20

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our main outcome of interest is the acceptance of the proposed policy.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
In addition, we are interested in the participants’ beliefs (1) about their own behavior change due to the proposed policy and (2) about the indirect effect of the policy, i.e., the behavior changes of others.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In a survey experiment, participants are randomly assigned to eight equally sized groups. In the beginning, we ask participants of all groups to imagine a situation in which a policy measure is being discussed that largely abolishes free parking in cities (with a population of 5,000 and more) and introduces nationwide parking charges. After this information on the introduction of parking fees, participants are split into four low- and four high-cost groups and are informed about the level of parking fees depending on their group. In the end, all groups are asked about their acceptance of this policy measure. Additionally, some groups are asked to reflect about their beliefs about the effect of this policy measure on their own mobility behavior or on the mobility behavior of others.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
3000
Sample size: planned number of observations
3000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
750
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

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