Political Trust and Redistribution: A Survey Experiment

Last registered on June 24, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Political Trust and Redistribution: A Survey Experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013796
Initial registration date
June 11, 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 24, 2024, 1:35 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Japan
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Daiki Kishishita
Affiliation
Tokyo University of Science
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Tomoko Matsumoto
PI Affiliation
Tokyo University of Science
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-06-21
End date
2024-06-28
Keywords
Behavior, Governance, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Political trust, Redistribution, Political power of the rich, Waste spending
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Previous studies have empirically examined a hypothesis that high political trust (trust in government) increases the support for redistribution. However, the results are mixed. The novelty of our study is to decompose political trust into two factors: (i) whether politicians collude with the rich and business elites and (ii) whether governments waste their budgets. For each factor, we conduct an online survey experiment where the information increasing trust level on the factor is randomly provided. By analyzing the treatment’s effect on preferences for maintaining the current income tax system, we uncover how each of the two major factors of political trust influences the support for redistribution.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kishishita, Daiki and Tomoko Matsumoto. 2024. "Political Trust and Redistribution: A Survey Experiment." AEA RCT Registry. June 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13796-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2024-06-21
Intervention End Date
2024-06-28

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Opinion on whether to maintain the current income tax system, reduce taxation, or expand redistribution through increased taxation
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Resondents are randomly assigned to one of the four groups, where the provided information differs across groups.
Experimental Design Details
Resondents are randomly assigned to one of the following four groups:

• Control R: Respondents are asked to guess the proportion of political donations among the revenue of political parties. Then, they are asked to answer whether politicians collude with the rich and business elites.

• Treatment R: Respondents are asked to guess the proportion of political donations among the revenue of political parties. After this, respondents are informed of the correct number. Then, they are asked to answer whether politicians collude with the rich and business elites.

• Control W: Respondents are asked to guess the proportion of government spending pointed out as waste spending. Then, they are asked to answer whether governments waste their budgets.

• Treatment W: Respondents are asked to guess the proportion of government spending pointed out as waste spending. After this, respondents are informed of the correct number. Then, they are asked to answer whether governments waste their budgets.
Randomization Method
By a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2000 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
2000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
500 for each arm.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Tokyo University of Science
IRB Approval Date
2024-05-11
IRB Approval Number
24004
Analysis Plan

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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