The difference in the return to Swedish language skills across immigrant groups – ethnicity or region of origin?

Last registered on April 13, 2021
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The difference in the return to Swedish language skills across immigrant groups – ethnicity or region of origin?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007524
Initial registration date
April 13, 2021

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
April 13, 2021, 11:34 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Sweden
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Dan-Olof Rooth
Affiliation
Stockholm University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Stefan Eriksson
PI Affiliation
Uppsala University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Magnus Carlsson
PI Affiliation
Linnaeus University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2021-04-15
End date
2022-06-15
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
Correspondence testing, human capital, language skills
JEL code(s)
J24, J71
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The purpose of the research project is to use field experiments (correspondence tests) to investigate whether language skills in Swedish affect the probability of getting a callback for a job interview for different groups of immigrants. To this end, we set up field experiments in which fictitious job applications with different language levels are sent to employers with advertised jobs in the Swedish labor market. The applicants’ language skills and country of origin in randomly assigned to the job applications, and hence we can measure the causal effects of these factors.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Carlsson, Magnus, Stefan Eriksson and Dan-Olof Rooth. 2021. "The difference in the return to Swedish language skills across immigrant groups – ethnicity or region of origin?." AEA RCT Registry. April 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7524-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2021-04-15
Intervention End Date
2022-06-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The main variable of interest is an indicator taking the value one if the fictitious job applicant receives a callback from the employer.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The correspondence study will be conducted in the three largest cities of Sweden: Stockholm, Goteborg and Malmo. The population consists of all employers that post vacancies in 18 low-, medium-, and high-skilled occupations at Sweden's largest vacancy website Platsbanken in the geographic regions during the study period. For additional details, see the document preplan.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
We will send three unique fictitious applications to each posted vacancy in the sample. Randomization will be performed by a computer program. For additional details, see the document preplan.
Randomization Unit
The main variable (language level) is randomly assigned to the job applications. For additional details, see the document preplan.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
No clustering.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Around 9,000 fictitious job applications will be sent to around 3,000 employers with an advertised vacancy.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
We have four language levels, hence ¼ of the job applications for each language level. We have three applicant groups (country of origin), hence 1/3 of the job applications per group. For additional details, see the document preplan. See also planned total number of observations.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
See the document preplan. This calculation arrived at the planned total number of observations.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Etikprövningsmyndigheten
IRB Approval Date
2020-02-12
IRB Approval Number
Dnr 2019-06417
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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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