It matters whom you regulate: the influence of regulation targets and decision rights on policy preferences

Last registered on January 27, 2025
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
It matters whom you regulate: the influence of regulation targets and decision rights on policy preferences
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015267
Initial registration date
January 27, 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 27, 2025, 10:41 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
Matthias Holzmann
Affiliation
KU Eichstaett-Ingolstadt
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Alexander M. Danzer
PI Affiliation
KU Eichstaett-Ingolstadt
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-01-27
End date
2025-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Environment & Energy, Welfare
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
D01, D04, D91, H23, Q58
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Policies do not only affect consenting individuals but the entire population. We investigate whether the willingness to regulate depends on the subjects in the regulation target and exemplify this targeted policymaking using environmental policies. We run a two wave survey experiment in a representative sample of the German population. Individuals act as choice architects (CA) and can regulate an allocation choice of a monetary fund between private payoffs and a donation reducing CO2 emissions. CAs can choose to implement a hard policy or not. We randomize the regulation target, i.e., the individuals subject to the CA's allocation choice, into three groups: (i) oneself, (ii) someone else or (iii) a group including oneself and one other person. We plan to investigate the causal effect of varying the regulation target on the willingness to intervene and policy strictness.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Danzer, Alexander M. and Matthias Holzmann. 2025. "It matters whom you regulate: the influence of regulation targets and decision rights on policy preferences ." AEA RCT Registry. January 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15267-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Individuals can regulate an allocation task between a donation and a personal payment for three different regulation targets: Themselves, another survey participant, or a group consisting of themselves and another survey participant. They can choose to either fix the allocation or give the regulation target the freedom to choose the allocation herself.
Intervention Start Date
2025-01-27
Intervention End Date
2025-02-21

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Regulation choices: Implementation of the allocation participants would choose for themselves; Implementation of the allocation participants would choose for someone else
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
See PAP

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Beliefs about own future and other participants' allocation choices; Valuation of decision autonomy for themselves and others; Differences in preferred allocation for oneself, other participants, or a group consisting of oneself and another participant; motives for the regulation choices
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
See PAP

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We plan to run a two wave survey experiment with a representative sample of the German population. In wave 1, participants act as choice architects (CAs) and regulate an allocation task faced by decision-makers (DMs) in wave 2. DMs allocate 2 € between personal payment and a donation. CAs are randomly assigned to one of three types of DMs: (i) their own future decision (treatment "Self"), (ii) another participant’s decision (treatment "Other"), or (iii) both their own and another's decisions (treatment "Group"). CAs decide whether to impose their preferred allocation or allow DMs to choose freely. These regulation decisions are implemented and paid out in wave 2.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Survey Program Qualtrics
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2400
Sample size: planned number of observations
2400
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
600 Self, 600 Other, 1200 Group. Important: In "Group" only 600 participants add as CAs. Therefore, we aim at 1800 observations for our main outcomes. (planned)
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 KU Eichstaett-Ingolstadt
IRB Approval Date
2024-07-26
IRB Approval Number
183-2024
Analysis Plan

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

Request Information