AEA RCT Registry

Field	Before	After
Last Published	July 09, 2022 09:20 AM	December 17, 2023 05:05 AM
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)	279 individuals	279 individuals completed both sessions of the experiment, of which 11 were excluded from the analysis
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations	279 individuals	279 individuals completed both sessions of the experiment, of which 11 were excluded from the analysis
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms		"High concern": 136 individuals "Low concern": 132 individuals

Field	Before	After
Paper Abstract		I conduct an online experiment to test whether negative emotional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic impair labor productivity. Subjects are exposed to a worry-amplifying or worry-alleviating media report before working on a cognitively demanding mental arithmetic task for a piece-rate wage. The treatment manipulation induces a multi-faceted negative emotional response, comprising an increase in worry and a decrease in happiness, but does not meaningfully reduce subsequent productivity. Nontheless, I find suggestive evidence of changes in cognition: exposure to the worry-amplifying media report increases relative interest in pandemic-related news and the reported incidence of distracting throughts during the task. One plausible interpretation for the combined set of results is that subjects compensate for worry-induced cognitive effects by increasing their mental effort, in line with the notion of income targeting. My findings indicate that exposure to information about the danger of COVID-19 does not have adverse side effects on economic productivity.
Paper Citation		Apenbrink, Christian. 2022. "The Labor Productivity Cost of Worrying About an Epidemic." AEA RCT Registry. July 09. 2022.
Paper URL		https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.6558-2.0

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