Reciprocity, Accountability, and the Fiscal Social Contract

Last registered on June 23, 2026
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Reciprocity, Accountability, and the Fiscal Social Contract
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018669
Initial registration date
June 17, 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
June 23, 2026, 8:24 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
Anna Lo Prete
Affiliation
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-06-18
End date
2026-06-30
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Electoral, Finance & Microfinance, Governance, Other
Additional Keywords
fiscal social contract, tax morale, democratic accountability, survey experiment
JEL code(s)
D72, D91, H26, H41, I21
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study investigates whether support for the fiscal social contract is shaped not only by reciprocal exchange between taxes and public goods, but also by citizens’ perceived ability to monitor and discipline governments through democratic accountability.

The project implements a three-arm randomized online survey experiment in Italy. Participants are assigned to a no-text control condition, a reciprocity treatment, or a democratic accountability treatment.

The study examines whether these treatments affect beliefs about the fiscal social contract, fiscal legitimacy, democratic accountability, political participation and collective contribution behavior.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Lo Prete, Anna. 2026. "Reciprocity, Accountability, and the Fiscal Social Contract." AEA RCT Registry. June 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18669-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The study implements a three-arm randomized online survey experiment. Participants are randomly assigned to one of the following conditions:
- Control: No-text control condition.
- Treatment 1: Reciprocity narrative emphasizing collective financing and public goods provision.
- Treatment 2: Democratic accountability narrative emphasizing democratic delegation and electoral accountability,.
Intervention Start Date
2026-06-18
Intervention End Date
2026-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Primary outcomes consist of post-treatment measures of fiscal legitimacy, democratic accountability, and collective contribution behavior.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary outcomes include additional measures related to political participation and exit-versus-voice attitudes that may be analyzed separately in future work.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study is a between-subjects randomized online survey experiment implemented through Qualtrics.

Participants are randomly assigned to one of three conditions:
- Control group: no-text condition.
- Reciprocity treatment: emphasizes reciprocal exchange between taxes and public goods provision.
- Accountability treatment: emphasizes democratic monitoring, delegation, voting, and electoral accountability.

The survey structure is:
- pre-treatment measures;
- treatment exposure;
- attitudinal outcomes;
- behavioral and quasi-behavioral outcomes;
- demographic variables.

Randomization occurs at the individual level.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is implemented automatically through the Qualtrics randomizer using computer-generated pseudo-random assignment at the individual respondent level.
Randomization Unit
Individual respondent
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Approximately 1,800 individual respondents.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Approximately 1,800 individual respondents.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Approximately one-third of respondents will be assigned to each experimental condition.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan