Support for a Social Service Period

Last registered on October 07, 2024
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Support for a Social Service Period
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014509
Initial registration date
October 03, 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
October 07, 2024, 7:18 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Germany
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Zarah Westrich
Affiliation
University of Duisburg-Essen
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jan Behringer
PI Affiliation
Macroeconomic Policy Institute
PI Name
Till van Treeck
PI Affiliation
University of Duisburg-Essen

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-10-01
End date
2024-10-11
Keywords
Behavior, Welfare
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
J22, D7, H00
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In 2022, Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has put forward a proposal for a social service period to strengthen social cohesion and democracy. We are analysing whether the design of the measure in terms of income and voluntariness has an impact on support for the introduction of such a social service.

We conduct a survey experiment employing a between-subjects design with a representative sample of full- and part-time employees in Germany. Participants are randomly assigned to one of 4 treatment groups. The treatments differ in terms of whether the period of social service is voluntary or compulsory and whether the participants would earn 2000 or 3500 per month. Next, we ask all participants to indicate to what extent they agree with a voluntary/compulsory social service period on a five-point Likert scale. On the one hand, respondents may resent the compulsory nature of the service. On the other hand, respondents may be more willing to participate in a social service period if everyone else has to participate too. We hypothesise that the latter effect dominates, especially for respondents with a high social comparison orientation.

Our experimental design allows us to identify the causal effects of two design characteristics, income and voluntariness, on support for the implementation of a social service period and to analyse heterogenous effects between socio-demographic groups and by attitudes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Behringer, Jan, Till van Treeck and Zarah Westrich. 2024. "Support for a Social Service Period ." AEA RCT Registry. October 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14509-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2024-10-01
Intervention End Date
2024-10-11

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Willingness to participate / Policy support
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The survey experiment is part of a survey of 5000 full-time and part-time employees between the ages of 18 and 65 in Germany. The sample is representative in terms of age, gender, federal state, full or part-time employment and net household income.

We conduct a survey experiment employing a between-subjects design. Participants are randomly assigned to one of 4 treatment groups, resulting in 1250 participants per group.
Participants are asked to imagine that they could/must do a 1-year social service period every 10 years until they retire, working 30 hours a week and receiving 2000€/3500€ gross per month. The treatments differ in terms of whether the period of social service is voluntary or compulsory and whether the participants would earn 2000 or 3500 per month. The treatment groups are structured as follows:

1) voluntary service & 2000€ monthly gross income
2) voluntary service & 3500€ monthly gross income
3) compulsory service & 2000€ monthly gross income
4) compulsory service & 3500€ monthly gross income

Next, we ask participants to indicate to what extent they would agree to personally participate in a social service period or to what extent they agree with a compulsory social service period on a five-point Likert scale. Our experimental design allows us to identify the causal effects of two design characteristics, income and voluntariness, on support for the implementation of a social service period.

As part of the wider survey, questions are asked about employment, working conditions, attitudes, and socio-demographic characteristics. These additional questions allow us to examine differences between socio-demographic groups and by attitudes.
Experimental Design Details
Main Hypotheses:
1) Compulsory participation in the social service period increases approval.
2) The amount of compensation for the social service period increases approval.
3) Sensitivity to treatment differs according to characteristics, such as gender, age, income and attitudes towards work, social comparisons, etc.
Randomization Method
Done by survey institute
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
5000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1250
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Duisburg-Essen
IRB Approval Date
2024-08-26
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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