Social class signal on hiring decision

Last registered on November 15, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Social class signal on hiring decision
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014761
Initial registration date
November 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
November 15, 2024, 1:20 PM EST

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
Lai Wei
Affiliation
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Teng Ye
PI Affiliation
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-02-07
End date
2025-05-01
Keywords
Behavior, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The children of upper social classes have historically enjoyed privileged access to higher education and enhanced earning potential. However, limited research exists on how explicit signals of candidates' social class background influence hiring decisions. This study aims to conduct a field experiment examining how social class signals conveyed by job candidates affect both interviewer evaluations and hiring intentions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Wei, Lai and Teng Ye. 2024. "Social class signal on hiring decision." AEA RCT Registry. November 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14761-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We manipulate the social class signals that job interview candidates send to the interviewers and ask interviewers to rate the intention to hire and evaluate the candidates.
Intervention Start Date
2024-02-07
Intervention End Date
2025-05-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Intention to hire
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
performance evaluation, perceived work-related attitudes.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We manipulate the social class signals that job interview candidates send to the interviewers and ask interviewers to rate the intention to hire and evaluate the candidates. We also collect demographic information of both the interviewers and candidates.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
randomized assignment by algorithm
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
One to three clusters by experiment site.
Sample size: planned number of observations
40~ 200 pairs of interviewers and candidates.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
20-100 pairs per treatment or control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
BOSTON COLLEGE Institutional Review Board Office for Research Protections
IRB Approval Date
2024-02-09
IRB Approval Number
23.055.01e
Analysis Plan