Effect of income tax scales on perceived income distributions.

Last registered on May 15, 2020
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Effect of income tax scales on perceived income distributions.
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003365
Initial registration date
May 14, 2020

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 15, 2020, 2:16 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Daniel Diez-Alonso
Affiliation
University of Warwick
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-05-14
End date
2020-06-06
Keywords
Other, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Taxation, Inequalities, Redistribution
JEL code(s)
D03, D31, D63, H24, D90
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This experiment explores the potential impact of diferent designs of the Income Tax Sheme on perceived income distributions. It is implemented using Amazon Mechanical Turk in the USA, and identification is achieved by randomizing a placebo screen and two different tax systems.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Diez-Alonso, Daniel. 2020. "Effect of income tax scales on perceived income distributions.." AEA RCT Registry. May 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3365-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants either face a progressive tax system, a flat tax system or no tax system at all.
Intervention Start Date
2020-05-23
Intervention End Date
2020-06-06

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Dependent: Perceived income rank, perceived group mean income, perceived probability of being above the mean income.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Biases in perceived rank and income distribution.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participant perform some tasks that earn them a level of income, which is subject to a tax system. For treatment groups, the tax system is revealed before the target questions. For control group, the tax system is only shown after answering the target questions.
Experimental Design Details
Participants perform some tasks that earn them some level of income, which will be subject to a tax system at the end of the experiment. Treatment groups are shown details of the tax system (either a progressive tax system or a flat rate tax system) before being asked to report their beliefs on income rank, group average income and probability of being above the group average income.
Randomization Method
Automatised randomization defines the group they are matched with (to define income distribution) and the treatment they are assigned to.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Non-clustered
Sample size: planned number of observations
1836 participants (612 per group)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1836 participants (612 per 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
HSSREC at The University of Warwick
IRB Approval Date
2020-05-12
IRB Approval Number
ECONPGR 05/19
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials