Information frictions and take-up of environmental subsidies: A field experiment with firms

Last registered on July 06, 2026
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Information frictions and take-up of environmental subsidies: A field experiment with firms
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0019093
Initial registration date
July 02, 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
July 06, 2026, 9:19 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Germany
Region
Hesse

Primary Investigator

Name
Guido Friebel
Affiliation
Goethe U
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jakob Famulok
PI Affiliation
Goethe U
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Elisa Rodepeter
PI Affiliation
ZEW
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Martin Kesternich
PI Affiliation
U Augsburg

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-03-01
End date
2027-03-01
Keywords
Behavior, Environment & Energy, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Take-up of environmental subsidies by firms is often lower than anticipated by program administrators. We partner with public authorities of a large central European metropolitan region to run a firm-level field experiment within an existing energy-efficiency subsidy program. We investigate whether information frictions and the source of information can explain historically low take-up rates.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Famulok, Jakob et al. 2026. "Information frictions and take-up of environmental subsidies: A field experiment with firms." AEA RCT Registry. July 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.19093-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Information treatments with different content.
Intervention Start Date
2026-07-05
Intervention End Date
2026-10-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Primary outcome: Firm engagement with the program (e.g., application submission).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary: click-through, elicited beliefs, follow-up interaction with authorities, adoption where observable.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We randomize firms into four different treatment arms: (i) a control group which is not contacted at all (ii) a generic description group, (iii) a group that is receiving feedback on key statistics of successful firms and (iv) a group which in addition to (iii) is exposed to a short appraisal of a comparable and successful firm.
Firms receive outreach, addressed to the firm head, about available subsidies and are directed to a landing page randomized at the firm level in (i), (ii), (iii), (iv).
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
computer, sratified
Randomization Unit
firms
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
around 10000
Sample size: planned number of observations
10000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
10000 firms
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Goethe U and Mainz U joint IRB
IRB Approval Date
2026-06-21
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan