Intra-household resource alloaction and parental beliefs in Norway

Last registered on May 11, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Intra-household resource alloaction and parental beliefs in Norway
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018566
Initial registration date
May 06, 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
May 11, 2026, 9:09 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
Ingvild Almas
Affiliation
IIES, Stockholm University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2026-04-01
End date
2026-05-31
Keywords
Behavior, Gender
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We conduct a controlled incentivized experiment where we aim to reach 5,000 Norwegian parents (mothers and fathers) with at least one child aged 1–6 years. Using these data, the aim is twofold. First, we (a) compare a hypothetical survey instrument on household resource alloction to an incentivized version of the same instrument and (b) study whether and how allocation preferences differ between mothers and fathers. Second, we (c) study gender differences and the socioeconomic gradient in parental beliefs; (d) estimate the overall effect of an information
treatment on parental beliefs; and (e) examine heterogeneity in treatment effects by gender and socio-economic status.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Almas, Ingvild. 2026. "Intra-household resource alloaction and parental beliefs in Norway." AEA RCT Registry. May 11. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18566-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We run a controlled incentivized experiment, aiming to reach 5,000 Norwegian parents (mothers and fathers) who have at least one child aged 1-6 years. The data collection includes two interventions, each tied to a separate research objective.

For the first intervention, we vary whether an experimental task that meaures intra-household resource allocations is completed hypothetically or with incentives.

For the second intervention, we run an information treatment where respondents receive information on the importance of interacting with their children and subsequently answer questions on how they generally interact with their child and their intentions to interact with their child.
Intervention Start Date
2026-04-01
Intervention End Date
2026-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Intra-household resource alloction to the child and parental beliefs
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
See pre-analysis plan

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Intra-household resource allocation to oneself and to one's spouse or partner
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The design has two parts: (i) the intra-household resource alloaction task and (ii) the information treatment and measurement of parental beliefs.

For the intra-household resource allocation task, participants do two things. First, they allocate a household endowment of NOK 1,900 between themselves, their (oldest) child aged 1-6 years and the other parent. Second, we ask them to divide the amount they allocated to each person between different categories that vary slightly between parents and children.

The participants are randomly assigned to either an incentivized or a hypothetical version of this allocation task.

For the information treatment and parental beliefs measurement, participants are randomized into treatment and control group. In the treatment group, participants receive a message about the importance of interacting with their child and are then asked about past interactions with their child and their intentions to interact with their child going forward. In the control group, participants do not receive the information and are not asked these questions.

We then elicit parental beliefs about returns to parental investments in their child and beliefs about malleability of child's abilities with all participants.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is done by a computer (the survey software/code), coded by Norstat, the survey company.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
5,000 individual parents (mothers or fathers) of children aged 1-6 years old
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
For the resource allocation task: 750 observations in the incentivized version and 4,250 observations in the hypothetical version.

For the information treatment: 2,000 observation in the treatment group, 3,000 observations 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
NHH IRB
IRB Approval Date
2026-03-12
IRB Approval Number
NHH-IRB-2026-153
Analysis Plan

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