Labor shortages and firms wage changes

Last registered on January 02, 2025
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Labor shortages and firms wage changes
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015037
Initial registration date
January 02, 2025

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
January 02, 2025, 8:00 AM EST

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

Locations

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Primary Investigator

Name
Hannah Paule-Paludkiewicz
Affiliation
Deutsche Bundesbank
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Karol Paludkiewicz
PI Affiliation
Deutsche Bundesbank
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Benjamin Schoefer
PI Affiliation
University of California, Berkeley
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-01-06
End date
2028-12-31
Keywords
Firms & Productivity, Labor
Additional Keywords
Labor Shortages, Wages
JEL code(s)
D22, J20, J23, J30
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We provide participating firms with information on future search durations in days to fill a vacancy with a suitable person in the firm's main occupation. We examine the effects on their beliefs about how long it will take to find a suitable employee for such a vacancy in their firm, and on their expectations of how wages and salaries will develop in their firm in the next 12 months.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Paludkiewicz, Karol, Hannah Paule-Paludkiewicz and Benjamin Schoefer. 2025. "Labor shortages and firms wage changes." AEA RCT Registry. January 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15037-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2025-01-06
Intervention End Date
2025-03-25

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Expected change in average wages and salaries in the firm in the next 12 months
Expected change in average wages and salaries in the industry in the next 12 months
Expected change in the number of employees in the firm in the next 12 months
Expected change in average prices in the firm in the next 12 months
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We provide participating firms with information on future search durations in days to fill a vacancy with a suitable person in the firm's main occupation. We examine the effects on their beliefs about how long it will take to find a suitable employee for such a vacancy in their firm, and on their expectations of how wages and salaries will develop in their firm in the next 12 months.

There will be two groups that respondents are randomly assigned to:
- Treatment group: Respondents receive information about how long it will probably take to find a suitable employee for a vacancy in the main occupation of the firm in the following year
- Control group: Does not receive any information
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Participants will be randomly assigned to the treatment and the control group. The randomization is done by the software in which the questionnaire (CAWI) runs.
Randomization Unit
Firm
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
About 9000 firms (participants of the Bundesbank Online Panel-Firms study). The precise number of participants will depend on the
exact response rate.
Sample size: planned number of observations
9000 firms
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
4500 firms
4500 firms
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan