National Pride or Personal Gain? Experimental Evidence on Framing the Energy Transition in Indonesia

Last registered on February 24, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
National Pride or Personal Gain? Experimental Evidence on Framing the Energy Transition in Indonesia
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017920
Initial registration date
February 23, 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
February 24, 2026, 8:48 AM EST

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
Armand Sim
Affiliation
CISDI
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Paramita Mohamad
PI Affiliation
C4C
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PI Name
Elghafiky Bimardhika
PI Affiliation
Bahana
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PI Name
Agnes Patricia
PI Affiliation
C4C
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-04-01
End date
2026-07-01
Keywords
Behavior, Environment & Energy, Governance, Health
Additional Keywords
clean energy transition, information campaign, framed field experiment, Indonesia
JEL code(s)
Q48, Q54, D83, C93
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Public support is essential for the energy transition, yet many citizens in developing countries remain poorly informed about transition policies, and the sense of urgency for climate action is declining. Whether highlighting personal gains or national interests when communicating the transition's benefits is more effective remains untested. We conduct a randomized field experiment with 2,000 nationally representative Indonesian adults, randomly assigning short videos that frame transition benefits at the state level (economic sovereignty, climate leadership), the individual level (health, stable prices, local jobs), or an unrelated placebo topic. Indonesia is an ideal setting for this study because its heavy coal dependence and large fuel subsidies make energy transition trade-offs salient to individuals, while strong national pride makes it suitable to identify which framing resonates most. We measure treatment effects on incentivized behavioral outcomes, including donations to an environmental NGO, petition signing with identity disclosure, and information seeking.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bimardhika, Elghafiky et al. 2026. "National Pride or Personal Gain? Experimental Evidence on Framing the Energy Transition in Indonesia." AEA RCT Registry. February 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17920-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Respondents are randomly assigned to one of three arms, each exposed to a 2.5-minute video during the survey interview.

T1 (State Benefits): Video emphasizing national-level benefits of the energy transition, such as economic sovereignty, reduced import dependence, increased attractiveness for foreign investment, and global climate leadership.

T2 (Individual Benefits): Video emphasizing individual- and community-level benefits, such as improved air quality and health outcomes, stable energy prices, local employment opportunities, and environmental protection.

Control (Placebo): Video on an unrelated topic with no energy or climate content.

T1 and T2 share identical basic climate science information and a call to action. They differ only in the framing of benefits (national vs. individual).
Intervention Start Date
2026-04-01
Intervention End Date
2026-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our primary outcomes measure costly commitments, not stated preferences.

(1) Donation Amount: allocation of IDR 0–30,000 (~USD 2) from survey compensation to an environmental NGO. We will capture both the extensive margin (any donation) and intensive margin (amount conditional on giving).

(2) Petition Signing: binary choice to sign an online petition urging coal phase-out and renewable energy expansion, requiring disclosure of the respondent's name

(3) Information Seeking: binary choice to receive a link to additional environmental videos after the survey.

We will then construct an index variable (behavioral engagement) out of those three measures
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We examine standard attitudinal outcomes capturing respondents’ beliefs and policy preferences regarding the energy transition.

- Fossil Fuel Attribution Index: extent to which respondents attribute harms to fossil fuels

- Transition Urgency: perceived urgency of Indonesia's energy transition

- Policy Support Index: feasibility and acceptability beliefs for energy transition policies

- Energy Policy Priorities (selection and ranking across 6 policy domains: fuel subsidies, power generation, social assistance, mining, green incentives, transportation)

- Development Policy Priorities (selection and ranking across 6 development domains).

We will also explore plausible psychological mechanisms through which our treatments operate as our intermediate outcomes.

- Energy Transition Comprehension Score (extensive and intensive margins)

- Moral Emotions Index

- Politicized Identity Index

- Collective Efficacy Index.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomized experiment with 2,000 nationally representative Indonesian adults (aged 18+), conducted between April and May 2026. Survey will be conducted once alongside intervention, which is embedded within the survey.

Respondents are stratified by urban/rural residence and randomly assigned with equal probability to three arms, where each respondent will be exposed to a 2.5-minute video.

- T1 (State Benefits frame),

- T2 (Individual Benefits frame)

- Control (Placebo).

Outcomes are measured immediately after a transitional survey module designed to reduce demand effects. Incentivized attention and manipulation checks are included to assess compliance. A self-monitoring scale is included to assess potential demand effect bias.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is conducted by computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2000 clusters (individuals)
Sample size: planned number of observations
2000 nationally representative adults
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2000 individuals distributed evenly to three groups: roughly 667 per 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
Institute of Research and Community Service, Atma Jaya University
IRB Approval Date
2026-02-06
IRB Approval Number
KE251108
Analysis Plan

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