Can transparency alleviate the gender pay gap?

Last registered on May 05, 2021
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Can transparency alleviate the gender pay gap?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007593
Initial registration date
May 04, 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
May 05, 2021, 11:24 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Germany
Region
Munich
Country
Netherlands
Region
Amsterdam

Primary Investigator

Name
Katharina Brütt
Affiliation
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Huaiping Yuan
PI Affiliation
University of Amsterdam
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2021-05-06
End date
2021-07-31
Keywords
Behavior, Gender, Lab, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
D90; D91; J16
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Wage transparency regulation is a promising tool to decrease the gender pay gap (Recalde and Vesterlund, 2020). Several European countries adopted such regulation in recent years, among them Germany. We study the effectiveness of the German policy using large scale representative survey data, exploiting an exogenous cutoff in firm size that determines whether companies are subject to this regulation. Furthermore, we want to investigate the conditions that facilitate a successful transparency policy in a laboratory experiment. In this, we focus on how wage transparency has an impact on gender differences in negotiation outcomes. The experiment varies along two dimensions. First, we manipulate the type of information provided, specifically whether only wage information or also information on relative performance is available. Adding information on relative performance removes uncertainty about justifications for wage inequality in negotiations. Second, we vary how this information is provided, endogenously or exogenously. Here, we address that low take-up can render wage transparency policies ineffective.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Brütt, Katharina and Huaiping Yuan. 2021. "Can transparency alleviate the gender pay gap?." AEA RCT Registry. May 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7593-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We manipulate the type of information participants in a laboratory experiment are provided during wage negotiations.
Intervention Start Date
2021-05-06
Intervention End Date
2021-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Gender differences in wages
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
See attached analysis plan
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Subjects negotiate the wage to a worker for performing a real-effort task. We employ a 3x2 experimental design, with three between- and two within-subject variations. We vary between subject whether wage information is provided exogenously, endogenously or not at all. Within subject, we vary whether performance information is provided.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by computer
Randomization Unit
Treatments are randomised on a matching group level, with 8 participants in one matching group.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
66 matching groups
Sample size: planned number of observations
2112 negotiation outcomes from 264 workers and 264 firms
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
22 matching groups per treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee Economics and Business (EBEC) University of Amsterdam
IRB Approval Date
2021-02-04
IRB Approval Number
20210204100206
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