Willingness to be Paid: Who will fill tech jobs?

Last registered on August 09, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Willingness to be Paid: Who will fill tech jobs?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004525
Initial registration date
August 08, 2019

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
August 09, 2019, 9:48 AM EDT

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

Locations

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Samford University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2019-08-21
End date
2020-04-30
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This experimental study assesses the value of computer programming jobs to young workers. The controlled environment allows for measuring the effect of information and messaging.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Buchanan, Joy. 2019. "Willingness to be Paid: Who will fill tech jobs?." AEA RCT Registry. August 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4525-1.0
Former Citation
Buchanan, Joy. 2019. "Willingness to be Paid: Who will fill tech jobs?." AEA RCT Registry. August 09. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4525/history/51493
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants fill out a survey to indicate if they will do a computer programming exercise.
Intervention (Hidden)
A control group indicates in a survey if they would like the opportunity to train and do a computer programming exercise at a variety of payment levels. The two treatment groups have the same choices, with the addition of messaging that might change their confidence or preference for the task.
Intervention Start Date
2019-08-21
Intervention End Date
2020-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Price level
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Confidence
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Between subjects design
Experimental Design Details
Subjects will respond to a discrete price elicitation to indicate if they are willing to participate in two one-hour future sessions in the lab. In the first session, they learn basic commands in a computer programming language and answer quiz questions. In the second session, they apply what they have learned on a data analysis task. The payments for completing the two sessions range from $20 to $90, in ten dollar increments. There is an additional task with no quiz to control for the opportunity cost of time.
I will use survey questions to determine individual characteristics. Additionally, an incentivized prediction about own performance on the training quiz will be an indication of confidence relative to other subjects.
The first treatment is to add words to the description of the programming exercise that is encouraging to subjects.
The second treatment is to add a short example of a computer programming quiz question. This provides subjects with more information.
Randomization Method
After the initial surveys have been filled out, software will enforce randomization of wage offers.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
500 participants
Sample size: planned number of observations
500 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
166 participants per treatment arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Samford University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2019-04-09
IRB Approval Number
N/A

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