The Effects of Incentives and Information on Perceptions and Policy Preferences about Immigrants

Last registered on October 15, 2020
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Effects of Incentives and Information on Perceptions and Policy Preferences about Immigrants
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0006586
Initial registration date
October 15, 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
October 15, 2020, 12:33 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Korea (Republic of)
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Seonghoon Kim
Affiliation
Singapore Management University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Chung-Yoon Choi
PI Affiliation
Seoul National University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Syngjoo Choi
PI Affiliation
Seoul National University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-10-16
End date
2020-11-12
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance, Governance
Additional Keywords
Incentives, Information, Perception, Immigrants, Policy Preferences
JEL code(s)
D83, J15, J61, J71
Secondary IDs
Abstract
People tend to have misperceptions about many things, but particularly more so about others whom they are not familiar with, such as racial minorities and immigrants . One possible source of persistent misperceptions is that they have little incentive to search for information to correct their bias. This paper conducts a randomized controlled survey experiment to examine the effects of financial incentives to search for true information and access to true information on perceptions, policy preferences, and altruistic behavior in the context of immigrants. About 4,000 survey participants will be randomly assigned to one of equal-sized groups that receive i) financial rewards for providing correct answers, ii) access to true information, iii) both interventions, or iv) none. We will estimate their independent and joint effects of the above interventions on perceptions, preferences, and choice.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Choi, Chung-Yoon, Syngjoo Choi and Seonghoon Kim. 2020. "The Effects of Incentives and Information on Perceptions and Policy Preferences about Immigrants." AEA RCT Registry. October 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.6586-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors

Partner

Name
Hankook Research
Type
private_company
URL
https://www.hrc.co.kr
Name
Hankook Research
Type
private_company
URL
https://www.hrc.co.kr
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We conduct an online survey in South Korea. We recruit a nationally representative sample of 4,000 study participants (born in South Korea and aged 19 and above) in terms of age, gender, and education, through a survey company.
Intervention Start Date
2020-10-16
Intervention End Date
2020-11-12

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Target perception questions
a) Immigrants’ characteristics in terms of population size, education, income, crime rate, welfare benefits
b) Suicide rate
c) Whether and how they change their original responses when they are given a chance to revise

2. The response to a incentivized choice experiment on charity donation

3. Policy preferences
a ) Minimum wage
b) Earned income tax credit
c) Public policy regarding Immigration and re-unification
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
1. We use five target perception questions for which subjects have an opportunity to revise their answers after being assigned to one of randomized arms. We measure the extent to which subjects have misperception on issues as the difference between a respondent’s response and official statistics about immigrant characteristics (population size, the share of transnational marriage, net benefits of national health insurance, and crime rates) and non-immigrant topic (suicide rate). To account for the unique context of South Korea, we categorize immigrants as North Korean refugees, Korean Chinese, and other foreign immigrants. To test whether a respondent is misperceived about just immigrants or other topics, we also examine misperceptions about a non-immigrant topic (suicide rate).

2. We randomly give KRW 50,000 (about US$ 43) to about 1% of respondents at the end of the survey and ask them whether they are interested in donating some or all of it. If they are willing to, they can donate the designated amounts up to 3 NGOs (one of which is an NGO that supports immigrants in South Korea).

3. Policy preferences are measured by a series of questions that ask whether a respondent supports or opposes public policies such as minimum wage, earned income tax credit, re-unification, expanding immigration, etc.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
At the end of the survey on individual characteristics and perceive statistics, we conduct two-way randomization: reward and information. The first randomization arm concerns random assignment of respondents into whether to receive financial rewards if their answers to target perception questions are correct. The second randomization arm concerns whether subjects have direct access to information about actual statistics regarding target perception questions. Information contents on actual statistics across the questions are summarized into two paragraphs in a standardized manner. In each group, subjects will be given an opportunity to revise their responses. These randomized trials lead to a 2x2 factorial design on the impacts of rewards and information on misperception:
Control
Financial reward
Information
Financial reward + Information

The first group with neither financial reward nor information access serves as the control group. The second group receives financial rewards if subjects’ answers to target perception questions are correct. The third group is exposed directly to true information regarding the question being asked. We provide a hyperlink in which respondents can find actual statistics when they click it. The fourth group receives both treatments.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Survey participants are randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups by the survey platform software used by the survey company.
Randomization Unit
survey respondent
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
None
Sample size: planned number of observations
4,000 respondents
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1,000 respondents for each arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Seoul National University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2020-10-08
IRB Approval Number
2006/002-013
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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