The Role of Information in Health Policy Preferences

Last registered on October 28, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Role of Information in Health Policy Preferences
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014558
Initial registration date
October 21, 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 28, 2024, 12:56 PM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Emmanuel Chavez
Affiliation
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE)
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Francisco Cabrera
PI Affiliation
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE)
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PI Name
Juliana Unda
PI Affiliation
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-10-28
End date
2024-12-31
Keywords
Health
Additional Keywords
Sugar consumption, Nutritional labeling, Health warnings.
JEL code(s)
I18, H23
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study tests the effects of information about the health risks related to sugar consumption on people's preferences toward policies that limit the consumption of high-sugar-content products. We apply an online survey experiment to a sample of 2,000 Mexican adults. We randomly assign participants to three groups: a control group, a treatment group with low-intensity information, and a treatment group with high-intensity information. Moreover, we test if the effect of information interacts with household budget constraints.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Cabrera , Francisco, Emmanuel Chavez and Juliana Unda. 2024. "The Role of Information in Health Policy Preferences." AEA RCT Registry. October 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14558-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Our intervention presents participants with information related to sugar consumption. Some participants will be randomly assigned to see a high-sugar-content warning label on product brands. Other participants will also see information about the health risks of consuming high-sugar-content products. In addition, participants will be assigned to different hypothetical household budgets.
Intervention Start Date
2024-10-28
Intervention End Date
2024-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our primary outcome variables are the attitudes towards the policies that Mexico has put in place to limit consumption of high sugar content products: special taxes on these products, the banning of the sale of these products in schools, and the banning of marketing these products to children.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The primary outcomes of this study focus on measuring respondents' attitudes toward public health policies regulating high-sugar-content foods and beverages. The outcomes will be constructed from responses to questions regarding their level of agreement or disagreement with various policy proposals and their support for specific tax measures. The following details outline each outcome and the questions used to construct them:

1. Perceived importance of health issues
These outcomes measure respondents' perception of diabetes and obesity as problems in Mexico.

"Do you agree or disagree that diabetes is a problem in Mexico?"
- Strongly disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Slightly disagree
- Slightly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Strongly agree
- Indifferent

"Do you agree or disagree that obesity is a problem in Mexico?"
Same responses as the previous question.

2. Support for sugar-related taxes
These outcomes measure respondents' support for implementing special sugary food and beverage taxes.

"Do you oppose or favor having a special tax on beverages with high sugar content?"
- Strongly oppose
- Somewhat oppose
- Slightly oppose
- Slightly favor
- Somewhat favor
- Strongly favor
- Indifferent

"Do you oppose or favor having a special tax on solid foods with high sugar content?"
Same responses as the previous question.

"What percentage of a special tax on high-sugar beverages do you think should be imposed?"
Free response (numeric).

"In other countries, beverages with high sugar content are subject to taxes ranging from 0% to 75% of the price of the beverage. What percentage of tax do you think should be applied to sugary beverages?"
Free response (numeric).

"Based on your previous responses, do you consider the tax you suggested for sugary beverages to be a:"
- High tax
- Moderate tax
- Low tax

"What percentage of a special tax on high-sugar solid foods do you think should be imposed?"
Free response (numeric).

"In other countries, high-sugar solid foods are subject to taxes ranging from 0% to 15% of the price of the food. What percentage of tax do you think should be applied to high-sugar solid foods?"
Free response (numeric).

"Based on your previous responses, do you consider the tax you suggested for high-sugar solid foods to be a:"
- High tax
- Moderate tax
- Low tax

3. Attitudes toward high-sugar-content products regulations
These questions measure respondents' general attitudes toward Mexico's public policies regulating high-sugar-content products.

"Do you oppose or favor banning the sale of solid foods with high sugar content in schools?"
- Strongly oppose
- Somewhat oppose
- Slightly oppose
- Slightly favor
- Somewhat favor
- Strongly favor
- Indifferent

"Do you oppose or favor banning the marketing of foods and beverages with high sugar content to minors?"
Same responses as the previous question.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will randomly assign participants to one of three groups: 1) a control group in which participants will be asked to select one of three different brands of a product without receiving a warning on the high sugar content of any of the brands; 2) a first treatment group in which participants will see the same brands as the control group and will see a high-sugar-content warning label in one of the brands; 3) a treatment group will also see a high-sugar-content warning label, plus information about the health risks associated to consuming high-sugar-content products.

After the participants across all groups have picked one brand from each product category, we will randomly assign them to a low-budget or a high-budget group. Participants in the low-budget group will be informed that their household income declared in the survey decreases, while participants in the high-budget group will see their income increase.

The aim is to evaluate how different levels of information about high-sugar-content products impact consumers' decision-making and support for public health policies related to sugar consumption. Moreover, we aim to inspect if information interacts with budget constraints.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization will be conducted using computer software (Qualtrics).
Randomization Unit
The randomization unit is the individual participant.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
2000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
667 in each group.
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
University of Massachusetts Amherst - Human Research Protocol Office
IRB Approval Date
2024-07-30
IRB Approval Number
5692
Analysis Plan