Leaning and College

Last registered on May 21, 2025

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Leaning and College

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0015511

Initial registration date

May 05, 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

May 21, 2025, 11:47 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

France

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Raphaelle Aulagnon

Affiliation

UNIVERSITÀ COMMERCIALE LUIGI BOCCONI

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Nina Nikiforova

PI Affiliation

Bocconi University

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2025-05-06

End date

2025-06-01

Keywords

Behavior, Education

Additional Keywords

#politics #education #leaning

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

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

Abstract

How do students sort into universities, and does political leaning influence educational sorting? This study uses administrative data to analyze how students rank programs based on the political leaning of the programs. Additionally, the study conducts an online survey featuring a hypothetical university, where the provided political leaning information is varied to observe its impact on students' preferences.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Aulagnon, Raphaelle and Nina Nikiforova. 2025. "Leaning and College." AEA RCT Registry. May 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15511-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

The survey will consist of a conjoint exercise, with a hypothetical university that will vary by features of political leaning (through associations). See more information in experimental design. Also, some open questions about salience of politics are included.

Intervention (Hidden)

Intervention Start Date

2025-05-06

Intervention End Date

2025-06-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

First stage (survey): reported likelihood to apply given student's reported political leaning
Second stage (admin): application given student's reported political leaning and perception of university leaning

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

The experimental design follows a conjoint experiment design. The experimental data will be merged with administrative data.
Each student will be randomized to see different types of attributes. There are five attributes and eight choices.
The probabilities for each attribute are as follows:
Selectivity of the institution 1/3 each
Main student associations - First 1/3 right 1/3 left 1/3 (neutral + engagement)
Main student associations - Second 1/6 political 1/3 engagement 1/2 neutral
Distance between the institution and your home town 1/3
Annual study cost 60/30/10

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Qualtrics randomization assignment tool.

Randomization Unit

individual (student)

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

Around 40 high school administrators have agreed to distribute the survey, with a target sample of approximately 200 students—potentially reaching a maximum sample size of around 8000. Additionally, the survey will be shared on Instagram and other social media platforms to expand its reach.

Sample size: planned number of observations

We cannot estimate the number of observations. A conservative 10% of survey completion would lead to 800 observations.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

An estimated 800 sample size of students.

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

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB