Racial Discrimination in Seeking Advice

Last registered on May 21, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Racial Discrimination in Seeking Advice
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005812
Initial registration date
May 11, 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 11, 2020, 7:54 AM EDT

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

Last updated
May 21, 2025, 3:22 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Vojtech Bartos
Affiliation
University of Milan
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Ulrich Glogowsky
PI Affiliation
University of Munich
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Johannes Rincke
PI Affiliation
University of Erlangen–Nuremberg
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2020-05-11
End date
2021-05-11
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
discrimination, race, advice, real effort task, willingness to pay
JEL code(s)
C90, D01, D83, J15, J71
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We design an online experiment to study racial discrimination in seeking advice. In round 1 of the experimental design, subjects face a real effort task that is difficult to solve without prior advice from an expert. We offer subjects the option to watch a tutorial before working on the task. The main treatment variation is the race of the advisor (black vs. white), signalled by the skin color of a hand appearing at the beginning of the tutorial. We vary the skin color of a given hand model using video post-production techniques. This allows us to keep all features of the hand other than skin color constant between treatment arms. In round 1, we analyze how subjects’ willingness to pay for advice depends on the race of the advisor, and how the race of the advisor affects advice utilization. In round 2, subjects watch another tutorial containing advice about a different strategy to solve the real effort task. To elicit preferences, we let subjects choose between two different advisors. Using an information treatment stating that the content of both tutorials is identical, we identify the extent of taste-based discrimination in seeking advice.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bartos, Vojtech, Ulrich Glogowsky and Johannes Rincke. 2025. "Racial Discrimination in Seeking Advice." AEA RCT Registry. May 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5812-2.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
See abstract
Intervention (Hidden)
See PAP
Intervention Start Date
2020-05-11
Intervention End Date
2021-05-11

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
- individual’s willingness to pay for being advised by the first advisor in round 1
- individual's preference ordering for first and second round advisors in round 2 (categorical)
- individual's preference for round 2 advisor (constructed dummy)
- number of solved puzzles
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
See PAP for details

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
- individual used round 1 strategy (constructed dummy)
- individual used round 2 strategy (constructed dummy)
- number of puzzles solved with the strategy proposed by round 1 advisor (constructed)
- number of puzzles solved with the strategy proposed by round 2 advisor (constructed)
- share of puzzles solved with the strategy proposed by round 1 advisor (constructed)
- share of puzzles solved with the strategy proposed by round 2 advisor (constructed)
- willingness to pay for being advised by preferred advisor in round 2 (constructed)
- completion time per puzzle (constructed)
- number of moves used to solve the puzzle (constructed)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
See PAP for details

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment has two rounds. In round 1 of the experimental design, subjects face a real effort task that is difficult to solve without prior advice from an expert. We offer subjects the option to watch a tutorial before working on the task. The main treatment variation is the race of the advisor (black vs. white), signalled by the skin color of a hand appearing at the beginning of the tutorial. We vary the skin color of a given hand model using video post-production techniques. This allows us to keep all features of the hand other than skin color constant between treatment arms. In round 1, we analyze how subjects’ willingness to pay for advice depends on the race of the advisor, and how the race of the advisor affects advice utilization. In round 2, subjects watch another tutorial containing advice about a different strategy to solve the real effort task. To elicit preferences, we let subjects choose between two different advisors. Using an information treatment stating that the content of both tutorials is identical, we identify the extent of taste-based discrimination in seeking advice.
Experimental Design Details
See PAP for details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by a computer on a remote server (automated by the program).
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1100 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
1100 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
See PAP for details
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
See PAP for details
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Commission of the School of Business and Economics at the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg
IRB Approval Date
2017-10-18
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-analysis plan

MD5: 425e6f422abb5feb18ee9309c478f9d1

SHA1: 71083a56e267d35d685d587917632cb01a4ae821

Uploaded At: May 11, 2020

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
May 11, 2020, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
May 11, 2020, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
1100
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
1100
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
See PAP for details
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials