Religion and Financial Behavior: Evidence from Muslims' Financial Decisions.

Last registered on June 03, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Religion and Financial Behavior: Evidence from Muslims' Financial Decisions.
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018675
Initial registration date
May 20, 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 03, 2026, 7:44 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
Abdennour Akoudad Ekajouan
Affiliation
Universitat de València
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Penélope Hernández Rojas
PI Affiliation
Universitat de València
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-05-25
End date
2026-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Religion
JEL code(s)
Z12, G41, G53, C93, D14, O16.
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study will investigates whether Muslim individuals make financial decisions in line with Islamic norms, with implications for financial inclusion. We will conduct a field experiment in Spain in which participants faced real financial choices. The analysis will examine how religous indentity and religiosity affects risk aversion, cooperation, and the likelihood of choosing prohibited (haram) financial options. This research contributes to understanding whether Muslim individuals are receptive to conventional non Islamic financial products or require Sharia-compliant alternatives, offering insights for policymakers and financial institutions aiming to provide inclusive and culturally sensitive financial services in multicultural societies.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Akoudad Ekajouan, Abdennour and Penélope Hernández Rojas. 2026. "Religion and Financial Behavior: Evidence from Muslims' Financial Decisions. ." AEA RCT Registry. June 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18675-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2026-05-25
Intervention End Date
2026-11-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
demand for non sharia-compliant financial products; risk aversion; cooperation ratio.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Religiosity, financial literacy
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
We consider a multidimensional approach of religiosity: 1) we measure how important is religion in muslim individuals in Spain, 2) practice of religion, 3) religious knowledge.
Financial literacy is measured used Big Five of Lusardi.
We measure islamic financial literacy asking about three islamic financial conceptos: riba (interest), gharar (uncertainty, hazard, risk, ambiguity...) and maysir (gambling).

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment has three treatments, with participants assigned with equal probability (1/3) to one of the following:
(1) Control: participants proceed directly to the conventional financial decision.
(2) Treatment 1: before the conventional financial decision, participants are first offered a Sharia-compliant decision.
(3) Treatment 2: before the conventional financial decision, participants are first offered an another different Sharia-compliant option.
The conventional financial decision is identical across all three treatments and is presented in neutral, non-religious framing. The control treatment/baseline differs from the two treatments only in that it does not include preceding "halal" financial option.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Random assignment is performed at the individual level. Prior to each session, the research team generates QR codes, each linked to one of the three treatments in balanced proportions within the session. On arrival, participants receive a QR code in order of entry from a shuffled set. The staff member distributing the codes does not know which treatment each code corresponds to.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
180 adult Muslim participants (60 × 3 arms).
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
60 participants in Control; 60 participants in Treatment 1; 60 participants in Treatment 2.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The Ethics Committee of Research in Humans of the Ethics Commission in Experimental Research of University of Valencia
IRB Approval Date
2025-06-06
IRB Approval Number
Application Reference 2025-OTRO-3906312
Analysis Plan

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