AEA RCT Registry

This study explores whether preferences for redistribution are reduced because people underestimate the level of inequality and overestimate the degree of social mobility in their country. In addition, it examines the degree that an individual’s perceived place in the income distribution effects their support for redistribution. This research will be conducted through online surveys in 10 countries whereby ‘information interventions’ are provided to randomly selected treatment groups to see the impact on their preferences for redistribution. These information interventions are motivated by existing surveys that have shown misperceptions of inequality and mobility exist in many countries around the world.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Hoy, Christopher and Franziska Mager. 2019. "Cross country evidence about perceptions of inequality and support for redistribution." AEA RCT Registry. January 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2534-10.0

Former Citation

Hoy, Christopher, Christopher Hoy and Franziska Mager. 2019. "Cross country evidence about perceptions of inequality and support for redistribution." AEA RCT Registry. January 22. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2534/history/40429

Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Two types of ‘information interventions’ will be provided in the online survey in each country:

(T1) - information about the level of inequality and prospect for mobility in their country

(T2) - information about their place in the national income distribution

Intervention Start Date

2017-10-14

Intervention End Date

2017-11-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

There are two main outcomes of interest. These are:
1) Concern about inequality (measured in questions 8 and 9)
2) Preferences for redistribution (measured in questions 10 to 13)

(see the questionnaire in the documents section)

The key research questions are as follows:
- How accurately do people perceive inequality?
- Do people prefer lower levels of inequality then what currently exists?
- How accurately can people perceive their place in the national income distribution?
- What are the underlying preferences for redistribution in each country?
- Are preferences for redistribution elastic to information?
- What types of information about inequality have the largest effect on preferences for redistribution?
- Are people’s preferences for redistribution predominantly influenced by just their place in the distribution or a combination of the overall level of inequality and mobility?
- How do the answers to the questions above vary based upon the background characteristics of respondents, such as income, political preferences and gender?
- Does information about inequality effect people's beliefs about what the wage ratios are and should be between workers and CEOs?

(see the analysis plan in the documents section)

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

The impact of the information interventions will be evaluated via an online survey in 9 countries (UK, Spain, US, Netherlands, Mexico, South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco and India) in late 2017.

The experiment is designed as a randomized control trial at the individual level. There will be two treatment groups and one control group with 1000 people in each. Respondents in the treatment groups will receive one of the following ‘interventions’:

(T1) - information about the level of inequality and prospect for mobility in their country

(T2) - information about their place in the national income distribution

(see the content of the information interventions in the documents section)

Experimental Design Details

Not available

Randomization Method

Randomisation was conducted using the survey firm’s software.

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

N/A

Sample size: planned number of observations

3000 people in each country

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

1000 people in each treatment arm and the control group

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Power calculations have been conducted to estimate the sample size required based upon the average effect size and treatment group size of similar studies on this topic (eg Karadja et al (2017)). The minimum detectable effect size is around 6 percentage points (with power 0.8 and alpha 0.05) as the sample size is 1000 individuals in each group.

Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARDS (IRBs)

IRB Name

Australian National University Asia Pacific Delegated Ethics Review Committee

IRB Approval Date

2017-09-11

IRB Approval Number

2017/638

Analysis Plan

There are documents in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access to this information.

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AEA RC T Registr y The American Economic Association's registry for randomized controlled trials

Cross country evidence about perceptions of inequality and support for redistribution

Pre-Trial

AEA RC T Registr y

The American Economic Association's registry for randomized controlled trials