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Information and Narrow Search: Job-Search Frictions in Malaysia’s Public Universities

Last registered on October 23, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Information and Narrow Search: Job-Search Frictions in Malaysia’s Public Universities
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017045
Initial registration date
October 16, 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
October 23, 2025, 6:42 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
Yifan Xu
Affiliation
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Maisy Wong
PI Affiliation
University of Pennsylvania
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PI Name
Chen Chen Yong
PI Affiliation
Universiti Malaya
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PI Name
Muhammad Aizat Zainal Alam
PI Affiliation
Universiti Malaya
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PI Name
Daniel Halim
PI Affiliation
World Bank
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-10-27
End date
2026-07-31
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
Beliefs
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project examines how information frictions and a narrow search scope contribute to unemployment and underemployment of college graduates. We will implement an information intervention with senior undergraduate students at Universiti Malaya, a leading public university in Malaysia. Treated students will receive information on industry placement shares of recent graduates and salaries by industry. We will elicit baseline beliefs and collect intended search behavior using direct questions and vignettes of hypothetical job postings. We will test whether the information shifts student beliefs on the likelihood of entering different industries and future salaries and changes students’ search scope and their employment outcomes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Halim, Daniel et al. 2025. "Information and Narrow Search: Job-Search Frictions in Malaysia’s Public Universities." AEA RCT Registry. October 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17045-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
There will be one treatment group and one control group. The treatment group will receive information on previous students' industry placement and salary information by industry. The control group won't receive any information.
Intervention Start Date
2025-10-27
Intervention End Date
2025-11-07

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Student-level outcomes: number of industries the student plans to apply to, whether the student considers applying to any industry outside finance or professional, share of applications outside finance/professional industries among vignette postings.

Hypothetical job posting-level outcomes: application decision for the job posting at start of search, application decision for the job posting after 3 months of search without offer, perceived chance of receiving an offer if applying, expected salary at age 35 if this posting is taken as the first job after graduation.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Number of industries the student actually applies to, whether the student actually applies to any industry outside finance or professional, actual share of applications outside finance or professional industries, employment status, monthly salary, whether employer industry is finance or professional, whether employed in a clerical or sales position
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will send out a survey with the information treatment embedded. The survey will include pre-treatment measures of students' expectations about industry placement, salaries by industry, and intended job search behavior, post-treatment measure of intended search scope (only for treatment group), and hypothetical job postings where we ask students about their application intention and associated beliefs.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization embedded in Qualtrics. Treatment will be stratified by major and gender.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
548 students
Sample size: planned number of observations
548 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
274 students in control, 274 students in 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
Harvard University-Area Committee on the Use of Human Subjects
IRB Approval Date
2025-09-11
IRB Approval Number
IRB25-0676
Analysis Plan