In-person Wage Premium: Evidence from Tutors

Last registered on October 28, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
In-person Wage Premium: Evidence from Tutors
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013801
Initial registration date
June 29, 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
July 01, 2024, 12:59 PM EDT

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

Last updated
October 28, 2024, 2:37 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Greece
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Sofoklis Goulas
Affiliation
Brookings Institution
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2024-07-02
End date
2024-10-08
Keywords
Education, Labor
Additional Keywords
In-person wage premium, Remote work preferences, Correspondence audit study, Tutor pricing, Online versus in-person tutoring
JEL code(s)
J31, I26, J24, C93
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study explores the in-person wage premium among tutors, hypothesizing that tutors charge higher rates for in-person services compared to online services. Utilizing a correspondence audit study, the research targets tutors advertising on an online platform. Close to 5,000 tutors advertise their services through this platform. Many tutors offer both in-person and online lessons. In this correspondence audit study, tutors will receive emails from fictitious parents inquiring about the price and availability of tutoring lessons for their child. The targeted population comprises professional tutors who teach languages or secondary education subjects (mathematics, physics, chemistry, or biology). Key outcomes include callback rates and quoted hourly rates. The study employs a randomized design with robust controls for potential confounders, such as education level and experience. Data collection involves web scraping, and results will be analyzed to assess the impact of service type on tutor responses and rates, providing insights into market dynamics and pricing strategies.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Goulas, Sofoklis. 2024. "In-person Wage Premium: Evidence from Tutors." AEA RCT Registry. October 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13801-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This study examines the wage preferences of tutors for in-person versus online services using a correspondence audit approach. By analyzing responses to inquiries from fictitious parents, the research aims to understand how much tutors are willing to adjust their rates for different teaching modalities, providing insights into the educational market dynamics.
Intervention (Hidden)
This study investigates the wage preferences of tutors for in-person versus online services in Greece, using a correspondence audit approach. It targets close to 5,000 tutors advertising on a popular online platform, where parents and students connect with tutors offering both modalities. Emails from fictitious parents inquire about tutoring services, manipulating factors such as learning modality and value-add in improving student knowledge. The research aims to assess how much tutors are willing to adjust their rates based on teaching conditions. Key outcomes include callback rates and quoted hourly rates, analyzed to understand market dynamics. This study provides valuable insights into pricing strategies and worker preferences in the educational sector.
Intervention Start Date
2024-07-09
Intervention End Date
2024-08-13

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Two primary outcomes:
-Whether targeted tutors will agree to provide their services (i.e., call back; binary variable).
-What is the rate that each targeted tutor will ask for in order to provide their services (continuous variable).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
1. **Callback**: This binary variable will indicate whether a tutor responded to the inquiry. It will be analyzed to compare response rates between in-person and online service requests.

2. **Ask Price**: This continuous variable will represent the hourly rate quoted by tutors. It will be compared between the two service types to assess any pricing differences.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In this correspondence audit study, tutors will receive emails from fictitious parents inquiring about the price and availability of tutoring lessons for their child. The targeted population comprises professional tutors who teach languages, mathematics, physics, chemistry, or biology at the secondary education level. The manipulated variables include the learning modality (in person or online).
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by a computer program through random number generation.
Randomization Unit
Randomization will be done at the individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
4,845
Sample size: planned number of observations
4,845 tutors
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Roughly 2,420 tutors total in each condition.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Minimum size required for 4 percentage point difference in callback rate: 1,164 per treatment arm.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
October 01, 2024, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
October 08, 2024, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials