Pivotality in Consumption and Support for Regulation: Evidence from a Survey Experiment on Carbon Pricing

Last registered on February 12, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Pivotality in Consumption and Support for Regulation: Evidence from a Survey Experiment on Carbon Pricing
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015369
Initial registration date
February 11, 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
February 12, 2025, 12:30 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
Matthias Holzmann
Affiliation
KU Eichstaett-Ingolstadt
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

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, D62, H23, Q58
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project aims to investigate the role of pivotality in shaping individuals' support for carbon pricing and consumption behavior in the presence of CO2 externalities. In a survey experiment, participants make incentivized purchasing decisions both with and without a carbon price, under two market conditions: In the control condition, individual consumption directly influences the aggregate market outcome, whereas the treatment condition reduces pivotality by introducing another consumer who could purchase the product instead. Afterwards, participants vote in groups of 25 on whether to implement a carbon price, considering different revenue redistribution schemes. We seek to explore how reduced individual responsibility for aggregate market outcomes affects voting behavior on carbon pricing, willingness to accept higher prices, and consumption choices. Additionally, we will investigate how pivotality influences social norms, including beliefs about others' consumption and the perceived social appropriateness of purchasing decisions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Holzmann, Matthias. 2025. "Pivotality in Consumption and Support for Regulation: Evidence from a Survey Experiment on Carbon Pricing." AEA RCT Registry. February 12. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15369-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants take part in a survey experiment where they can purchase up to two virtual products that provide a payoff but also generate CO2 emissions, i.e. creating externalities. In the control condition, participants make independent purchasing decisions. In the treatment condition, their choices are interdependent with another participant, reducing the pivotality in aggregate emissions.
Intervention Start Date
2025-02-12
Intervention End Date
2025-02-21

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
votes for CO2 price with three different revenue schemes, products bought with and without the CO2 price.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
see PAP for more details.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Beliefs and norms on purchasing and voting behavior
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
see PAP for more details.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In the Control group, participants individually decide whether to purchase up to two products, each providing a payoff but causing CO2 emissions. In the Replacement Logic (RL) treatment, two participants share a market, making their purchasing choices interdependent. This reflects a between-subject design.

The next part follows a within-subject design. Participants make purchasing decisions both with and without a CO2 price and vote in groups on whether the price should be implemented. To do so, we randomly present them with three revenue recycling schemes for the carbon price: allocation to the state budget, redistribution, or funding of climate projects. Participants are randomly assigned to groups of 25 consumers and take part in a democratic vote to determine whether the CO2 price should be implemented. One of the three votes is randomly selected and implemented for payment.

Finally, we elicit social norms; both descriptive (beliefs about how others behave) and prescriptive (beliefs about what is socially appropriate).
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Qualtrics survey software
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Roughly 1900 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
Roughly 1900 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The experiment will be run in the second wave of a panel study. We recruited 2414 individuals in the first suvey wave and the survey company we are working with usually reports an attrition rate between 20 and 30 percent. Therefore, we plan with roughly 950 individuals per treatment arm and a total of 1900 individuals.
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

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