Willingness to Pay for Urban Climate Adaptation

Last registered on July 11, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Willingness to Pay for Urban Climate Adaptation
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016351
Initial registration date
July 08, 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
July 11, 2025, 6:14 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Wendong Wei
Affiliation
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Shuai Chen
PI Affiliation
Zhejiang University
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PI Name
Zhujun Chen
PI Affiliation
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
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PI Name
Shuo Li
PI Affiliation
The University of Hong Kong
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PI Name
Ding Ma
PI Affiliation
Peking University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-07-15
End date
2025-08-31
Keywords
Environment & Energy, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Climate adaptation, Willingness to Pay, Information provision, Experiment
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
As extreme heat events become increasingly frequent and intense under climate change, governments are considering a range of public adaptation strategies. Yet public preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for these collective measures remain underexplored. This study implements a survey experiment in China, where participants are first exposed to a brief informational script describing recent extreme heat events and future climate risks. They are then asked to evaluate and choose among three hypothetical adaptation plans with varying costs and benefits. The results shed light on how individuals respond to climate information and how much they are willing to contribute financially toward urban heat adaptation.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chen, Shuai et al. 2025. "Willingness to Pay for Urban Climate Adaptation." AEA RCT Registry. July 11. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16351-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We design an information provision experiment. Participants are randomly assigned to a control group with no information or a treatment group receiving a message describing the rising risk of high-temperature disasters due to climate change.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-07-15
Intervention End Date
2025-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The two main outcomes we will examine are:
Perceived temperature experience, measured by subjective estimates of hot days in the past year.
Preferred adaptation plan, options with different benefit–cost profiles.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In a between-subjects design, participants are randomly assigned to either a control group or a treatment group.
The treatment group is first presented with a short informational message describing the rising risk of high-temperature disasters due to climate change. The control group receives no such information before proceeding to the main questions. After that, participants are asked about their perceived temperature experience over the past year, and then evaluate three hypothetical public adaptation plans differing in intensity and cost.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is conducted at the individual level using pre-generated random lists embedded in survey enumerator instructions.
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
4,000 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
4,000 individuals (If feasible, we aim to increase the sample size further to enhance statistical power and improve the robustness of our findings)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2,000 individuals in the control group and 2,000 individuals in the treatment group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institutional Review Board for Human Research Protections of Shanghai Jiao Tong University
IRB Approval Date
2025-05-07
IRB Approval Number
H20250398I
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials