Experimental Evidence of Unemployment Pressure and Work Ethics

Last registered on August 20, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Experimental Evidence of Unemployment Pressure and Work Ethics
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016734
Initial registration date
August 11, 2026

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
August 20, 2026, 8:24 AM EDT

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

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Primary Investigator

Name
Maoxin Shi
Affiliation
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-01-01
End date
2026-09-30
Keywords
Firms & Productivity, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines how workers respond to information about labor market conditions and messages about work-related values. We conduct a field experiment with production workers at a manufacturing firm in China. Workers are randomly assigned to receive information about expected labor market conditions, messages emphasizing work ethics (e.g., diligence, and commitment to work), both types of messages, or no substantive information. We study how these interventions affect workers’ beliefs and attitudes toward work, as well as workplace outcomes including working hours, earnings, productivity, and other measures of job performance. The study aims to better understand how information about workers’ outside labor market opportunities and work-related values shape behavior in the workplace.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Shi, Maoxin. 2026. "Experimental Evidence of Unemployment Pressure and Work Ethics." AEA RCT Registry. August 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16734-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The study consists of two information-based interventions delivered to production workers at a manufacturing firm. The first intervention provides workers with information about expected labor market conditions, including unemployment and job availability. The second intervention provides messages emphasizing work ethics (including diligence and commitment to work). Workers are randomly assigned to receive the labor market information, the work ethics messages, both types of information, or no substantive information.
Intervention Start Date
2024-06-03
Intervention End Date
2024-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Labor market beliefs (e.g., unemployment-rate belief), work ethics beliefs (e.g., ideal work effort), working hours, production wages, and hourly production efficiency.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Labor market beliefs are measured by workers’ expectations about whether the unemployment rate will increase or decrease.

Work ethics beliefs capture workers’ beliefs and attitudes regarding work and effort. For example, we plan to use ideal work effort as a measure of work ethics beliefs, elicited on a 0–10 scale reflecting the level of work effort workers consider ideal.

Working hours are measured as total monthly hours worked, including overtime. Production wages are earnings directly tied to production output. Hourly production efficiency is constructed as production wages divided by total hours worked. These workplace outcomes are obtained from the firm’s administrative records.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Survey-based work-related outcomes (e.g., self-reported work effort, perceived pressure, happiness, and work ethics measures) and supplementary administrative outcomes (components of earnings and workplace performance, e.g., bonuses, operational penalties, and attendance penalties).
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Survey-based work-related outcomes capture workers’ self-reported work effort, perceived pressure, happiness, and attitudes toward different dimensions of work ethics.

Supplementary administrative outcomes capture additional components of workers’ earnings and workplace performance and are obtained from the firm’s administrative records. These include bonuses, operational penalties related to production and operational performance, and attendance penalties related to attendance behavior.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We conduct a randomized field experiment with approximately 500 production workers at a manufacturing firm in China. Workers are randomly assigned at the individual level to one of four groups: a labor market information treatment, a work ethics treatment, a combined treatment receiving both types of information, or a control group receiving no substantive information. We collect survey measures before and after the intervention and combine them with administrative records on workers’ workplace outcomes. The experiment examines how information about labor market conditions and work ethics affects workers’ beliefs, work attitudes, and workplace performance.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is conducted by computer using a rerandomization procedure to achieve balance across treatment groups on pre-intervention observable characteristics.
Randomization Unit
Individual worker
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
About 500 individual production workers
Sample size: planned number of observations
About 500 individual production workers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Approximately 135 workers in the labor market information treatment, 135 workers in the work ethics treatment, 135 workers in the combined treatment, and 100 workers in the control 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, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University
IRB Approval Date
2025-09-08
IRB Approval Number
2025-30
Analysis Plan