To nudge or impose? Meat-free meals at university conferences

Last registered on March 19, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
To nudge or impose? Meat-free meals at university conferences
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015513
Initial registration date
March 12, 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
March 19, 2025, 8:48 AM EDT

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
Stefano Verde
Affiliation
University of Siena, Dept of Economics and Statistics
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Silvia Tiezzi
PI Affiliation
University of Siena, Dept of Economics and Statistics
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-04-01
End date
2026-03-31
Keywords
Behavior, Environment & Energy, Governance
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Focusing on food choices made by participants in university conferences, we study how different ‘avoid-meat’ nudges perform in inducing conference participants to choose or accept meat-free meals. We also study the attitudes of conference participants toward the use of different avoid-meat nudges and outright imposition of meat-free meals.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Tiezzi, Silvia and Stefano Verde. 2025. "To nudge or impose? Meat-free meals at university conferences." AEA RCT Registry. March 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15513-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2025-03-01
Intervention End Date
2026-02-28

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Firstly, effectiveness of different types of nudge in driving sustainable menu choices. Secondly, social acceptability of the same nudges.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The design includes 4 information treatments and one control treatment. The treatments are implemented through ad-hoc modifications (none in the case of control) of conference registration forms. Treatment randomization is at the conference level. We then compare the choices of meal menus between participants in different conferences to see whether subjects respond to different ‘avoid-meat’ information nudges. A dedicated post-conference online survey is also used to study social acceptability of the nudges applied in the experiment.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Conferences
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
50 conferences
Sample size: planned number of observations
1250 conference participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
10 clusters (conferences) per treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee at the European University Institute
IRB Approval Date
2023-10-20
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan