The Political Economy of Evidence-based Policymaking

Last registered on October 18, 2024
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Political Economy of Evidence-based Policymaking
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014575
Initial registration date
October 14, 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 18, 2024, 5:05 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
GUGLIELMO BRISCESE
Affiliation
The University of Chicago
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
John List
PI Affiliation
The University of Chicago
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-10-13
End date
2024-10-21
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
Evidence-based policymaking; beliefs
JEL code(s)
C93, D72, D83
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines policymakers' and the general public's demand for evidence-based policies. Leveraging the results of a large-scale field experiment, we implement a set of survey experiments on a sample of U.S. state policymakers and a representative sample of Americans to investigate whether support for robust policy evaluation and scaling is influenced by prior beliefs on efficacy of the policy, and how respondents update their beliefs and preferences when presented with novel experimental evidence.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
BRISCESE, GUGLIELMO and John List. 2024. "The Political Economy of Evidence-based Policymaking." AEA RCT Registry. October 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14575-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We run a three-arm survey experiment to measure citizens' demand for RCTs and trust in institutions.
Intervention (Hidden)
See attached PAP.
Intervention Start Date
2024-10-14
Intervention End Date
2024-10-18

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Support for RCTs and trust in institutions (see PAP).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This is a 3-arm survey experiment on a representative sample of U.S. Prolific respondents.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization implemented automatically on survey platform.
Randomization Unit
Individual respondent level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
1200
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
400
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
See PAP.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Chicago
IRB Approval Date
2024-06-20
IRB Approval Number
24-0796
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