Inform the People or Fix the Problem? Which lessons should we draw from the Refugee Crisis?

Last registered on January 31, 2022
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Inform the People or Fix the Problem? Which lessons should we draw from the Refugee Crisis?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007606
Initial registration date
April 26, 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 27, 2021, 7:10 AM EDT

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

Last updated
January 31, 2022, 7:55 AM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Germany
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Laurenz Günther
Affiliation
University of Bonn
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2021-04-26
End date
2022-01-31
Keywords
Behavior, Electoral
Additional Keywords
Populism, Immigration, Law-Enforcement
JEL code(s)
C9; D72; F22; K42; Z1
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In this project, I want to examine whether subjects respond differently to the presence of asylum seekers (AS) when this presence showcases flaws in the asylum system. Because the asylum system was specifically designed only to host those fleeing wars or persecution, I designed an information intervention in Germany in which subjects either receive information about the number of AS still in Germany who fled war or persecution, information about the corresponding number of those that came for other reasons, or no information.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Günther, Laurenz. 2022. "Inform the People or Fix the Problem? Which lessons should we draw from the Refugee Crisis?." AEA RCT Registry. January 31. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7606-1.3000000000000003
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2021-04-26
Intervention End Date
2021-10-20

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Two measures for populist voting (party-program preference and self-reported voting intention) and two measures for immigration attitudes (donation decision and self-reported attitudes).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The information intervention includes three conditions. (German) subjects are randomly assigned to exactly one of them. In all three conditions, subjects are first asked about 1) the number of asylum seekers that were rejected by the German migration agency and still reside in Germany and 2) the number of asylum seekers that were accepted by the German migration agency and still reside in Germany.

Thereafter, conditions differ. Subjects in the first treatment are told the actual number of accepted asylum seekers, while participants in the second treatment learn the number of rejected asylum seekers. Subjects in the last condition are not informed about any of these numbers.

Afterward, outcomes are elicited.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is done by a computer. The whole experiment is computerized.
Randomization Unit
Randomization is done at the level of individuals.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2100.
Sample size: planned number of observations
2100
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
700 for each of the three conditions.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-Analysis Plan

MD5: 7c3750b24290e2dff31b33fc186b6fc3

SHA1: 28eca4c07336f1402d143a6f837c1fe2d5902ae0

Uploaded At: August 30, 2021

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