An experimental auction study on Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) for cell-cultivated salmon

Last registered on March 28, 2025

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

An experimental auction study on Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) for cell-cultivated salmon

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0014960

Initial registration date

December 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

December 09, 2024, 4:50 PM EST

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

Last updated

March 28, 2025, 9:55 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

United States of America

Region

Purdue University

Primary Investigator

Name

Yizhou Hua

Affiliation

Purdue University

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status

Completed

Start date

2024-11-15

End date

2025-01-13

Keywords

Agriculture, Behavior, Lab

Additional Keywords

Willingness-to-pay; Experimental Auction;

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

We aim to measure consumers WTP for different types of cell-cultivated salmon products using the clock-proxy auction, enabling dynamic price discovery and efficient allocation in combinatorial setting.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Hua, Yizhou. 2025. "An experimental auction study on Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) for cell-cultivated salmon." AEA RCT Registry. March 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14960-1.1

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention (Hidden)

Intervention Start Date

2024-12-04

Intervention End Date

2024-12-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Participants' Willingness-to-pay for different combinations of items.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

We will conduct two sessions for our trial: one with treatment information on cell-cultivated salmon and the other without such information. During the trial, we will use a clock-proxy auction to collect participants' WTP for different combinations of items in our experiment and compare the WTP differences between the two settings.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

randomization done in office by a computer

Randomization Unit

experimental sessions

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

We plan to use 2 clusters for this trial: one treatment group and one control group. Each cluster will consist of individual participants, with 22–26 participants in total. The clusters will correspond to the two information settings (treatment and control) under which Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) for cell-cultivated salmon will be measured.

Sample size: planned number of observations

In our trial, we plan to recruit 22–26 participants. After collecting their bids from both the treatment and control groups, we will calculate the sample size required for the full study.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Around 12 participants for the treatment group and 12 participants for the control group

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

In our trial, we will collect Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) data for cell-cultivated salmon from two groups: a treatment group exposed to specific information and a control group without this information. The unit of measurement for WTP will be in dollars. The trial will include 22–26 participants, allowing us to estimate the standard deviation of WTP within each group. Based on the initial bids, we will calculate the minimum detectable effect size (MDE) using the observed standard deviation and an assumed level of statistical power (e.g., 80%) and significance (e.g., 5%). The MDE will be expressed in both dollar terms and/or as a percentage of the mean WTP. The results from this trial will inform the sample size calculation for the full study.

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name

Purdue University Institutional Review Board

IRB Approval Date

2024-11-15

IRB Approval Number

IRB-2024-1640

Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?

Yes

Intervention Completion Date

January 13, 2025, 12:00 +00:00

Data Collection Complete

Yes

Data Collection Completion Date

January 13, 2025, 12:00 +00:00

Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)

10 groups

Was attrition correlated with treatment status?

Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations

110 participants

Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms

55 participants under the treatment condition (5 groups in total); 55 participants under the control condition (5 groups in total);

Data Publication

Is public data available?

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Program Files

Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials

Description

Power Analysis, Target Effect Size, and Required Sample Size

Citation

Hua, Yizhou. 2025. "An experimental auction study on Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) for cell-cultivated salmon." AEA RCT Registry. March 28. 2025. "Registration Entry Title: Power Analysis, Target Effect Size, and Required Sample Size ." AEA RCT Registry. March 28 https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14960-1.1

File

Sample Size Calculation.docx

MD5: 9806c25787967659b97dbc6ad726e410

SHA1: f82e5375821de7cdad0cb35c99aac44859c7af5c

Uploaded At: March 28, 2025