Self-Preserving Redistribution

Last registered on August 29, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Self-Preserving Redistribution
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014110
Initial registration date
August 05, 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
August 06, 2024, 4:02 PM EDT

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

Last updated
August 29, 2024, 5:09 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Argentina
Region
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Austria
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Australia
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Brazil
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Canada
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Switzerland
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China
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Colombia
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Czechia
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Germany
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Spain
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Finland
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France
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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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Greece
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Hungary
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Indonesia
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Ireland
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India
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Italy
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Japan
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Korea (Republic of)
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Mexico
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Malaysia
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Netherlands
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Norway
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New Zealand
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Philippines
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Pakistan
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Poland
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Portugal
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Romania
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Sweden
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Slovakia
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Thailand
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Turkey
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Taiwan, Province of China
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United States of America
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Viet Nam
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South Africa
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Morten Nyborg Støstad
Affiliation
Norwegian School of Economics (NHH)
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2024-08-07
End date
2024-08-28
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
Redistribution, inequality
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This pre-analysis plan outlines a study on the role of self-preserving redistribution across 40 countries. Self-preserving redistribution is defined as redistribution motivated by individuals' beliefs that such actions will benefit their own self-centered interests indirectly. The study hypothesizes that the extent of this redistribution is influenced by individuals' inequality externality beliefs—the idea that inequality itself leads to negative societal outcomes. An experimental game will be conducted with 40,000 participants to explore these dynamics. The experimental design aims to isolate self-preserving motives from altruistic ones and assess how inequality beliefs impact redistributive behaviors. The results are expected to provide insights into the prevalence and drivers of self-preserving redistribution and its potential impact on global redistributive policies.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Støstad, Morten Nyborg. 2024. "Self-Preserving Redistribution." AEA RCT Registry. August 29. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14110-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2024-08-07
Intervention End Date
2024-08-28

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Transfers across 4 different situations (two dictator games and two modified dictator games).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Transfers can be 0, 100, or 200.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Expected taking by 100 other respondents across each potential transfer amount.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
I will explore the effect of self-preserving redistribution across countries in an experimental setting.
Experimental Design Details
The study involves an experimental game conducted across 40 countries, with 40,000 participants, to investigate self-preserving redistribution. Participants will engage in dictator and crime games to measure their redistributive decisions under varying conditions of equality and perceived threats. The aim is to understand how inequality externality beliefs influence redistributive actions that indirectly benefit the individual. See the attached PDF for more details.
Randomization Method
Qualtrics randomization procedure.
Randomization Unit
Country.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
40 countries.
Sample size: planned number of observations
40,000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1,000 per country
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
NHH-IRB
IRB Approval Date
2024-08-04
IRB Approval Number
42/22
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