Does the support for behavioral policies depend on why they work? Representative evidence on the relevance of psychological mechanisms

Last registered on June 04, 2020

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Does the support for behavioral policies depend on why they work? Representative evidence on the relevance of psychological mechanisms
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005965
Initial registration date
June 03, 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
June 04, 2020, 2:25 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
ifo Institut, Munich

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
ifo Institute, Munich
PI Affiliation
ifo Institute, Munich
PI Affiliation
WZB Berlin

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-06-03
End date
2021-12-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
In this project, we investigate whether people’s support of a behavioral policy depends on the psychological mechanism by which it affects behavior. We implement an online-survey experiment among a representative sample of adults aged 18 to 69 years in Germany. Each subject is randomly assigned to one of ten experimental groups, and completes three consecutive stages. In stage 1 all subjects are asked whether they support training for the unemployed. In stage 2 all subjects are presented with a vignette of an unemployed individual, who is informed by letter that the Federal Employment Agency registered him for a training course and that he has two weeks to object to his registration, and is otherwise obliged to participate. Depending on the treatment, subjects learn in the vignette that he participated in the training with (i) no further information given to the subjects, (ii) because he did not read the letter and hence did not know that he could opt out, (iii) because he thought due to his registration that the training would help him to find a new job faster, (iv) because he felt socially pressured to participate in the training, (v) with no further information, except that the individual was undecided whether to participate, (vi) because he did not know that he could opt out and that he was undecided whether to participate, (vii) because he did not know that he could opt out due to no fault of his own and that he was undecided whether to participate, (viii) because he thought due to his registration that the training would help him to find a new job faster and that he was undecided whether to participate, (ix) because he felt socially pressured to participate in the training and that he was undecided whether to participate, (x) or because he felt socially pressured to participate since he thought society would expect him to and that he was undecided whether to participate. All subjects are then asked to report their level of agreement with the described procedure. Stage 3 elicits subjects’ beliefs about whether the procedure (i) restricts the freedom of those that are unemployed, (ii) influences the beliefs about the effectiveness of the course for finding employment, (iii) exerts social pressure on those that are unemployed, (iv) increases the chances of unemployed to find back into paid employment, and (v) is welfare-enhancing for the unemployed.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Fischer, Mira et al. 2020. "Does the support for behavioral policies depend on why they work? Representative evidence on the relevance of psychological mechanisms ." AEA RCT Registry. June 04. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5965-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We investigate whether people’s support of a behavioral policy depends on the psychological mechanism by which it affects behavior. Subjects complete a questionnaire on (i) their support for further training for the unemployed (ii) their support for an automatic registration for further training for the unemployed with the possibility to opt out presented to them in a vignette, and (iii) their beliefs about the importance of different psychological mechanisms for the effectiveness of the behavioral policy and their evaluation of the policy. Depending on the treatment, subjects learn in the vignette that an unemployed individual participated in the training (i) with no further explanation given to the subjects, (ii) because he did not read the letter and hence did not know that he could opt out, (iii) because he thought due to his registration that the training would help him to find a new job faster, (iv) because he felt socially pressured to participate in the training, (v) with no further information, except that the individual was undecided whether to participate, (vi) because he did not know that he could opt out and that he was undecided whether to participate, (vii) because he did not know that he could opt out due to no fault of his own and that he was undecided whether to participate, (viii) because he thought due to his registration that the training would help him to find a new job faster and that he was undecided whether to participate, (ix) because he felt socially pressured to participate in the training and that he was undecided whether to participate, (x) or because he felt socially pressured to participate since he thought society would expect him to and that he was undecided whether to participate.
The treatment variation allows us to study whether respondents’ beliefs about how a nudge affects decision-making affects their support for a behavioral policy.
Intervention Start Date
2020-06-03
Intervention End Date
2020-06-17

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our primary outcomes of interest are subjects’ support for a behavioural policy.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Questionnaire on support for the automatic registration of unemployed individuals for training courses with the possibility to opt out, beliefs about the psychological mechanisms by which the procedure affects the behavior of unemployed individuals.


[Question wording:]
“Are you in favor of or against the Federal Employment Agency’s described practice to bindingly register the unemployed for further training courses if they do not object to the registration?”

[Explanation of question: measurement of support for the default rule]

[Answer categories:]
5-point scale: 1=”completely in favor”, 2=”somewhat in favor”, 3=”neither in favor nor against”, 4=”somewhat against”, 5=”completely against”


[Question wording:]
“How much do you agree with the following statements about the described practice?”

[Items:]
1. “The procedure restricts the unemployed’s freedom of decision.”
2. “Due to the procedure, the unemployed are more likely to believe that they will find a new job more quickly due to further training courses.”
3. “The procedure increases the social pressure on the unemployed.”
4. “Participation in further training improves the labor market chances of the unemployed.”
5. “The procedure is generally good for the unemployed.”
[Explanation of items: 1: belief about restriction of freedom; 2: belief about the unemployed’s belief updating; 3: belief about social costs for the unemployed individual; 4: belief about effectiveness of training for re-employment; 5: belief about welfare-enhancing effects of training]

[Answer categories:]
5-point scale: 1=”completely agree”, 2=”somewhat agree”, 3=”neither agree nor disagree”, 4=”somewhat disagree”, 5=”completely disagree”

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Heterogeneity by baseline level of support for training of the unemployed
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Questionnaire on baseline support for training for the unemployed.

[Question wording:]
“Are you in favor of or against the participation of the unemployed in further training courses?”

[Explanation of question: Baseline support for training for the unemployed.]

[Answer categories:]
5-point scale: 1=”completely in favor”, 2=”somewhat in favor”, 3=”neither in favor nor against”, 4=”somewhat against”, 5=”completely against”

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We conduct the experiment in a sample of 10,000 adults aged between 18 and 69 years. The survey is conducted in cooperation with respondi. The recruitment and polling is managed by respondi, who collect the data via an online platform. That is, our participants answer the survey questions autonomously on their own digital devices. Randomization is carried out by respondi at the individual level, using a computer.

Our experiment is structured as follows:
Treatment 1a:
Stage 1: Question on baseline level of support for training for the unemployed
Stage 2: Vignette to measure support for default rule, no information on decision-making by the unemployed is given
Stage 3: Questionnaire to measure beliefs about the psychological mechanisms relevant for decision making and evaluation of the policy

Treatment 2a:
Stage 1: Question on baseline level of support for training for the unemployed
Stage 2: Vignette to measure support for default rule, information that the unemployed does not know about the default rule
Stage 3: Questionnaire to measure beliefs about the psychological mechanisms relevant for decision making and evaluation of the policy

Treatment 3a:
Stage 1: Question on baseline level of support for training for the unemployed
Stage 2: Vignette to measure support for default rule, information that the unemployed interprets the default as containing positive information about the effectiveness of the object of the default
Stage 3: Questionnaire to measure beliefs about the psychological mechanisms relevant for decision making and evaluation of the policy

Treatment 4a:
Stage 1: Question on baseline level of support for training for the unemployed
Stage 2: Vignette to measure support for default rule, information that the unemployed feels socially pressured by the default
Stage 3: Questionnaire to measure beliefs about the psychological mechanisms relevant for decision making and evaluation of the policy

Treatment 1b:
Stage 1: Question on baseline level of support for training for the unemployed
Stage 2: Vignette to measure support for default rule, information that the unemployed is ex-ante indifferent
Stage 3: Questionnaire to measure beliefs about the psychological mechanisms relevant for decision making and evaluation of the policy

Treatment 2b:
Stage 1: Question on baseline level of support for training for the unemployed
Stage 2: Vignette to measure support for default rule, information that the unemployed does not know about the default rule and that he is ex-ante indifferent
Stage 3: Questionnaire to measure beliefs about the psychological mechanisms relevant for decision making and evaluation of the policy

Treatment 2b’:
Stage 1: Question on baseline level of support for training for the unemployed
Stage 2: Vignette to measure support for default rule, information that the unemployed does not know about the default rule due to no fault of his own, and that he is ex-ante indifferent
Stage 3: Questionnaire to measure beliefs about the psychological mechanisms relevant for decision making and evaluation of the policy

Treatment 3b:
Stage 1: Question on baseline level of support for training for the unemployed
Stage 2: Vignette to measure support for default rule, information that the unemployed interprets the default as containing positive information about the effectiveness of the object of the default and that he is ex-ante indifferent
Stage 3: Questionnaire to measure beliefs about the psychological mechanisms relevant for decision making and evaluation of the policy

Treatment 4b:
Stage 1: Question on baseline level of support for training for the unemployed
Stage 2: Vignette to measure support for default rule, information that the unemployed feels socially pressured by the default and that he is ex-ante indifferent
Stage 3: Questionnaire to measure beliefs about the psychological mechanisms relevant for decision making and evaluation of the policy

Treatment 4b’:
Stage 1: Question on baseline level of support for training for the unemployed
Stage 2: Vignette to measure support for default rule, information that the unemployed feels socially pressured by the default, that he believes the default to be expected by society and that he is ex-ante indifferent
Stage 3: Questionnaire to measure beliefs about the psychological mechanisms relevant for decision making and evaluation of the policy
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is carried out by the survey company respondi, using a computer.
Randomization Unit
at the individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
10,000 adults aged 18-69 years
Sample size: planned number of observations
10,000 adults aged 18-69 years
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
approx. 1,000 will be assigned to each of the Treatment groups
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

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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