Place-Based Green Industrial Policies and Labor Market Expectations

Last registered on November 17, 2025
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Place-Based Green Industrial Policies and Labor Market Expectations
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017239
Initial registration date
November 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
November 17, 2025, 10:29 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Shihan Xie
Affiliation
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Xu Zhang
PI Affiliation
Bank of Canada
PI Name
Victoria Wenxin Xie
PI Affiliation
Santa Clara University

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-11-13
End date
2025-12-12
Keywords
Environment & Energy, Labor
Additional Keywords
Labor market expectations, place-based policies
JEL code(s)
C83, D84, F16, L52, R11
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
We explore how green industrial policies shape workers' subjective labor market expectations. Using information-treatment-based RCT, we identify the causal effects of national and place-based clean energy tax credits affect labor market outlooks.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Xie, Shihan, Victoria Wenxin Xie and Xu Zhang. 2025. "Place-Based Green Industrial Policies and Labor Market Expectations." AEA RCT Registry. November 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17239-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
We designed a hypothetical information treatment targeted to participants residing in Energy Communities.

- Treatment group 1 receives a hypothetical vignette about nationwide clean-energy tax incentives.
- Treatment group 2 receives a hypothetical vignette about place-based tax credits available in their area.
- Treatment group 3 receives a hypothetical vignette about both national and place-based tax credits available in their area.
Intervention Start Date
2025-11-13
Intervention End Date
2025-12-12

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
labor market outlooks
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The survey begins by eliciting respondents' labor market status and labor market outlooks. All respondents are asked about their expectations for key economic indicators, such as income growth in the city and the energy-intensive and power generation-related industries sector, inflation, and unemployment rate.

Respondents then proceed to the information treatment stage. They are then randomly assigned to either a control or a treatment group. The control group receives no additional information, while treatment groups receive varying levels of information about national and place-based clean-energy tax credits.

To measure the effect of the treatment, respondents then revisit the labor market outlook questions, with wording adjustments designed to mitigate experimenter demand effects. This pre- and post-treatment design allows us to assess how exposure to IRA-related information affects respondents' subjective assessments of labor market conditions.

After that, we gather information on respondents' views about local and federal government credibility in carrying out clean-energy-related programs.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individuals living in energy communities
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
not applicable
Sample size: planned number of observations
3000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
800
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
IRB Approval Date
2024-02-01
IRB Approval Number
IRB24-0072
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