Public performance and political trust during the 2020 coronavirus

Last registered on March 31, 2020
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Public performance and political trust during the 2020 coronavirus
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005616
Initial registration date
March 30, 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
March 31, 2020, 3:14 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Denmark
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Maria Falk Mikkelsen
Affiliation
VIVE - The Danish Center for Social Science Research
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-03-30
End date
2020-12-31
Keywords
Electoral, Governance, Health, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Political trust, Public performance, crisis management
JEL code(s)
H83, H11, H12
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This study will use a survey experiment to test the importance of production (efficiency) and process (equity and ethos of public employees) performance for political trust. The survey is fielded during the third week of school closures and other quarantine measures in Denmark (March 30th-April 6th) due to the coronavirus (covid-19). The survey experiment consist of seven groups: one control group and six treatment groups. The six treatment groups are presented with different information in the form of a headline about the current status on the coronavirus in Denmark. The aim of the survey experiment is to test whether political trust and satisfaction with the government’s effort toward coronavirus is affect by production performance outcomes (fatality rate and costs) and process performance (equity and ethos of public employee and the prime minister).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Mikkelsen, Maria Falk. 2020. "Public performance and political trust during the 2020 coronavirus." AEA RCT Registry. March 31. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5616-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The survey experiment consist of seven groups: one control group and six treatment groups. The six treatment groups are presented with different information in the form of a headline about the current status on the coronavirus in Denmark.
Two groups receive information on production performance (fatality rate, cost)
Two groups receive information on process performance (equity)
Two groups receive information on process performance (ethos of public employees and prime minister)
Intervention Start Date
2020-03-30
Intervention End Date
2020-04-06

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Political trust, satisfaction with government efforts in relations to covid-19
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Political trust will be constructed using a sum index of trust in the:
- Government
- Parliament
- Health sector
- health authorities
- Police
- Justice system

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The survey experiment consist of seven groups: one control group and six treatment groups that receive different information on the current status of the coronavirus in Denmark. Respondents are each randomly assigned to the seven groups and are asked their satisfaction with the government's efforts in relation to the coronavirus and their trust in government, parliament, the health sector, health authorities, the police, the justice system (presented randomly)
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization by computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2000 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
2000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Approximately 285 individuals in each group (7 groups in total)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
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