Gender bias in redistributive choices: an experimental study in United States

Last registered on July 25, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Gender bias in redistributive choices: an experimental study in United States
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014043
Initial registration date
July 17, 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 17, 2024, 2:18 PM EDT

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

Last updated
July 25, 2024, 6:14 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Maria Marino
Affiliation
UB
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-07-19
End date
2024-08-31
Keywords
Gender
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study investigates the role of stereotypes about gender abilities in explaining the existence of gender bias in redistributive choices, as recently found in \citet{cappelen2023experimental}.
Using a worker/stakeholders design, we assess how gender bias in redistributive choices varies when spectators are provided with information about the type of assignments undertaken by workers. To this aim, we compare redistributive choices when spectators are informed that workers have conducted an unspecified assignment, a male-typed (visual-spatial rotation) assignment, or a female-typed (facial emotion recognition) assignment. Our findings will contribute to understanding gender inequality by exploring individuals' fairness preferences related to stereotypes about gender abilities. Moreover, we aim to provide insights for policy interventions to address gender disparities.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Marino, Maria. 2024. "Gender bias in redistributive choices: an experimental study in United States." AEA RCT Registry. July 25. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14043-1.1
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
We designed an experiment with two stages and two types of participants: workers and spectators. In the first stage, workers of either gender complete an assignment. In the second stage, workers are paired, and only the most productive worker (the winner) is assigned $6, while the less productive worker (the loser) is assigned $0. Spectators are then randomly paired with one of these worker pairs and must decide whether to redistribute the $6 from the winner to the loser. Spectators are aware of the workers' genders and who is more productive, but not the details of the assignment they completed.

Our study builds on prior work by introducing new treatments to explore how spectators' decisions are influenced by information about the type of assignment performed. We test a 2x3 design where spectators are randomly assigned to one of six conditions that vary in the information provided about the assignment and the gender of the loser. The treatments include two conditions with no assignment information (one where the loser is male and another where the loser is female), and four conditions where spectators receive information about whether the assignment is male or female-typed.
Intervention Start Date
2024-07-19
Intervention End Date
2024-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Dummy taking value 1 if the spectator has transferred nothing to loser or the quantity that he/she has transferred to him/her (standardized)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Beliefs about gender productivity advantage and about the role of effort/luck/talent/stress in determining the performance of the loser.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We designed an experiment with two stages and two types of participants: workers and spectators. In the first stage, workers of either gender complete an assignment. In the second stage, workers are paired, and only the most productive worker (the winner) is assigned $6, while the less productive worker (the loser) is assigned $0. Spectators are then randomly paired with one of these worker pairs and must decide whether to redistribute the $6 from the winner to the loser. Spectators are aware of the workers' genders and who is more productive, but not the details of the assignment they completed.

Our study builds on prior work by introducing new treatments to explore how spectators' decisions are influenced by information about the type of assignment performed. We test a 2x3 design where spectators are randomly assigned to one of six conditions that vary in the information provided about the assignment and the gender of the loser. The treatments include two conditions with no assignment information (one where the loser is male and another where the loser is female), and four conditions where spectators receive information about whether the assignment is male or female-typed.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1800 spectators, 900 workers
Sample size: planned number of observations
1800
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
300
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Comissió de Bioètica de la Universitat de Barcelona
IRB Approval Date
2024-05-24
IRB Approval Number
N/A
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