ElectionDrive: Empowering European Engagement

2024-05-19

2024-06-07

The outcomes of this experiment include municipal-level voter turnout, absenteeism, blank ballots,
and votes for various Italian political parties. Additionally, we will examine the votes received
by specific candidates (e.g. pro-European compared to anti-European politicians). Information
about the take-up rate (percentage of viewers who complete the video without closing the browser
window) at the zip code level will also be available to us.

For the survey experiment, we plan to estimate the impact of the videos on the perceived relevance of various issues for respondents, such as conflict, the environment, economic growth, inequality, and migration. Additionally, we will assess the videos' effects on preferences regarding European policies and opinions on the extent of the European Union's involvement in these issues. Lastly, we plan to estimate the effect of the videos on institutional trust.

For measuring the perceived relevance of various issues, we use the following question in the survey (the original survey is in the Italian language. I am reporting the translated version here):
Using a scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much), how important do you think the following issues are for the world we live in?
a) Military conflicts [1/5]
b) Environment [1/5]
c) Economic growth [1/5]
d) Inequalities [1/5]
e) Migrations [1/5].

For measuring the preferences on European policies, we use the following 3 questions:
How much do you agree with the following statements? Also from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much).
a) Competition from non-EU countries jeopardizes the jobs of European citizens [1/5]
b) Artificial intelligence and robotics put people's jobs at risk [1/5]
c) There is a risk that the EU will be militarily involved in a war [1/5]
d) Climate change requires energy efficiency strategies [1/5]
e) Energy dependence on non-EU countries jeopardizes our well-being [1/5]
f) The aging population threatens the sustainability of pensions [1/5]
How much do you agree with each of the following proposals? Also from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much).
a) The EU should have a common army [1/5]
b) The EU should manage migration flows in a common manner [1/5]
c) The EU should be able to incur debts and collect taxes to finance public goods that benefit all European citizens [1/5]
d) The EU should continue to support Ukraine in the war against Russia [1/5]
e) The EU should strengthen common health, social, and labor policies [1/5]
f) The EU should impose tariffs on goods imported from non-EU countries [1/5]

How much do you think there is a need for more or less involvement of the European Union on these issues? Tell us on a scale from 1 (less Europe) to 5 (more Europe).
a) Military conflicts [1/5]
i) How confident are you in your response? From 1 (not at all confident) to 5 (very confident)
b) Environment [1/5]
i) How confident are you in your response? From 1 (not at all confident) to 5 (very confident)
c) Economic growth [1/5]
i) How confident are you in your response? From 1 (not at all confident) to 5 (very confident)
d) Inequalities [1/5]
i) How confident are you in your response? From 1 (not at all confident) to 5 (very confident)
e) Migrations [1/5]
i) How confident are you in your response? From 1 (not at all confident) to 5 (very confident).

We measure the trust in institution using the following question:
Using a score from 1 to 5, indicate how much you trust:
a) European institutions (European Parliament, European Commission, European Council) [1/5]
b) Italian institutions (Government, Parliament, President of the Republic) [1/5]
c) Political parties [1/5]
d) Trade unions [1/5]
e) Media [1/5]

This study aims to evaluate different strategies to encourage voting participation in the context of the 2024 European elections in Italy. To achieve this objective, the project utilizes programmatic advertising, an innovative communication tool through which approximately three million video "impressions" will be distributed to Italian voters in 400 municipalities. These "impressions" will consist of "non-skippable" videos displayed on a variety of websites, including newspapers, blogs, games, and more.

The informational treatments will include four 15-second videos that differ in the message conveyed but are identical in terms of length and graphics. Group A will see the video (T1), which emphasizes the input legitimacy of European institutions, highlighting their transparency, democracy, and openness to public participation. Group B will view a second video (T2) that underscores the output legitimacy of European institutions, focusing on their ability to address issues that individual member states cannot solve alone. Group C will see the video (T3) that emphasizes the importance of European elections for the stability of Italian national politics. Group D will watch a video (T4) that explores the role of European elections in promoting the functioning and efficiency of European institutions.

Additionally, we will conduct a field experimental survey to complement the programmatic advertising and identify the mechanisms behind any observed increase in voter participation at the municipal level. Finally, using appropriate econometric techniques, we will estimate whether voter participation in municipalities exposed to programmatic advertising and the European attitudes of individuals from treated municipalities differ systematically from those of control group municipalities and individuals.

Not available

Randomization is done in the office by a computer. Please refer to the pre-analysis plan document for the detailed randomization protocol.

Municipality level

No

we don't include clusters

600 municipalities for the programmatic advertising experimenti, 3000 individuals for the survey experiment

100 municipalities T1, 100 municipalities T2, 100 municipalities T3, 100 municipalities T4, 200 municipalities control group. For the survey experiment, 500 individuals are from municipalities within T1, 500 T2, 500 T3, 500 T4, 100 from the control group