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The impact of coronavirus framings on attitudes to aid and migration

Last registered on May 18, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The impact of coronavirus framings on attitudes to aid and migration
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005864
Initial registration date
May 17, 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 18, 2020, 12:36 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Australia
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Terence Wood
Affiliation
The Australian National University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Christopher Hoy
PI Affiliation
The Australian National University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Ryan Edwards
PI Affiliation
The Australian National University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-05-27
End date
2021-07-30
Keywords
Governance
Additional Keywords
Aid, Public Opinion, Migration, Coronavirus
JEL code(s)
F35-Foreign Aid, C93-Field Experiments, F22-International Migration I15-Health and Economic Development, F52-National Security, Economic Nationalism
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This survey experiment will study the impact on public opinion of describing the utility of Australia’s foreign aid response to coronavirus using different frames. The frames used will be: benefits to developing countries; health benefits to Australia; and geostrategic benefits to Australia. The impact will be measured in terms of views on Australian aid volumes and views on relaxing restrictions on migration to Australia from neighbouring Pacific countries.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Edwards, Ryan, Christopher Hoy and Terence Wood. 2020. "The impact of coronavirus framings on attitudes to aid and migration." AEA RCT Registry. May 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5864-1.2
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
In addition to the control group, three types of ‘information interventions’ will be provided in the survey experiment.

(T1) The ‘benefits to developing countries’ treatment group – that will receive a factually-accurate vignette on the need for Australian foreign aid in response to corona virus. This treatment will emphasise the need in developing countries and the importance of aid in helping people in developing countries.

(T2) The ‘health benefits to Australia’ treatment group – that will receive a factually-accurate vignette on the need for Australian foreign aid in response to corona virus. This treatment will emphasise the important role aid can play in keeping Australia safe from future waves of the coronavirus.

(T3) The ‘geostrategic benefits to Australia’ treatment group – that will receive a factually-accurate vignette on the need for Australian foreign aid in response to corona virus. This treatment will emphasise the important role aid can play in advancing Australia’s geostrategic desire to counter the influence of Chinese aid during the coronavirus pandemic
Intervention Start Date
2020-05-27
Intervention End Date
2020-06-23

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
There are two main outcomes of interest. These are:
1) Desire for level of Australian aid spending to be changed.
2) Views about reopening borders with Pacific Island countries during the pandemic.
Responses are measured on a 5 point scale.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The effect of effects of these treatments will be evaluated via an online survey of a nationally representative (on age and gender) sample of the Australian population.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomisation was conducted using the survey firm’s software. Randomization will take place within 6 strata (young men, middle aged men, old men, young women, middle aged women, old women).
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
na
Sample size: planned number of observations
2700-2800 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
675-700 individuals
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 (e.g. Hoy & Wood (2018)). The minimum detectable effect size on the primary question of interest (desire for level of aid spending to be changed) is around 7 percentage points (with power 0.8 and alpha 0.05) with a sample size of 675 individuals per group.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
July 22, 2023, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
June 30, 2020, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
1
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
3036
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
T1: 766 T2: 764 T3: 763 Control: 763
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

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Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials

Description
Blog of results.
Citation
Chris Hoy, Ryan Edwards and Terence Wood. 2020, "Altruism, China and attitudes to aid" Devpolicy Blog, https://devpolicy.org/altruism-china-and-attitudes-to-aid-20200723/
URL
https://devpolicy.org/altruism-china-and-attitudes-to-aid-20200723/