Preferences for redistribution in Mexico

Last registered on October 25, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Preferences for redistribution in Mexico
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007664
Initial registration date
May 11, 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 14, 2021, 9:36 AM EDT

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

Last updated
October 25, 2023, 12:38 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Mexico
Region
Urban areas in Mexico: Ciudad de México, Guadalajara, Monterrey, León, Ciudad Juárez, San Luis Potosí, Mérida, Oaxaca

Primary Investigator

Name
Aurora A. Ramírez-Álvarez
Affiliation
El Colegio de México
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Raymundo Miguel Campos Vázquez
PI Affiliation
El Colegio de México
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PI Name
Alice Krozer
PI Affiliation
El Colegio de México
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2021-05-12
End date
2021-06-30
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
Taxes, taxation, inequality, redistribution, public expenditure
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We estimate perceptions of taxes and support for redistribution for a representative urban population in Mexico. Furthermore, we analyze whether people adjust the degree of preferred redistribution when information is provided on scenarios in which high-income people pay more taxes. To do this, we create four treatment groups and a control within a sample of 3,060 participants. Each group received information about a scenario in which the highest income group in the country will pay 60%, 50%, 40% or 20% of their income in taxes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Campos Vázquez, Raymundo Miguel, Alice Krozer and Aurora A. Ramírez-Álvarez. 2023. "Preferences for redistribution in Mexico." AEA RCT Registry. October 25. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7664-2.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We create four treatment groups and a control within a sample of 3,060 participants. Each group will receive an information card. Four groups receive the same information about:
a) Mean monthly income received by the lowest and the highest income deciles in Mexico.
b) Taxes as proportion of income paid by the lowest and the highest income deciles in Mexico.
Then, in order to measure if interviewees change their preferences for redistribution, each group will receive information in which the highest income group in the country will pay 60%, 50%, 40% or 20% of their income in taxes.
Intervention Start Date
2021-05-21
Intervention End Date
2021-06-13

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Proportion of income willing to pay in taxes
2. Perception regarding the functioning of democracy in Mexico
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
For the sample selection, we follow a stratified multi-stage probability sampling with four sampling stages:
• Selection of AGEBs by simple random sampling.
• Selection of housing blocks by simple random sampling.
• Selection of dwellings through systematic sampling with random start.
• For respondent selection, a simple roster will be made of all the members of the household from 25 to 69 years old based on the date of birth. The member whose birthday is closer to the date of the interview will be chosen from those in the household.
For the experimental design, the interviewees will be randomly assigned to one of the four control groups or the control one.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The interviewees will receive a message or information card in the questionnaire used; followed by five different questions that will be randomly distributed among five subgroups of interviewees of the same size by a software.

Survey is carried out by a third-party firm. By information protection laws, the firm does not share individual identifiers with researchers (name or specific address)
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
8 metropolitan areas
Sample size: planned number of observations
3,060 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment 1 for a 60% taxation rate: 612
Treatment 2 for a 50% taxation rate: 612
Treatment 3 for a 40% taxation rate: 612
Treatment 4 for a 20% taxation rate: 612
Control: 612
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

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
June 30, 2021, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
Yes
Public Data URL
https://github.com/auroraramirez/Preferred-Tax-Rates-Depend-on-the-Rates-Paid-by-the-Rich

Program Files

Program Files
Yes
Program Files URL
https://github.com/auroraramirez/Preferred-Tax-Rates-Depend-on-the-Rates-Paid-by-the-Rich
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Abstract
Using survey experiment data, we investigate whether individuals in Mexico modify their stated preferred tax
rate as a function of the rate paid by the rich. Our experimental treatment finds that participants increase their
willingness to pay taxes by approximately 2.3 percentage points, or 19 percent, when informed that the rich will
pay 60 percent of their income in taxes instead of 30 percent (control group). The effect is not statistically
significant for other scenarios, in which the rich pay 50, 40, or 20 percent relative to the control group. As
participants know that the current tax rate for the rich is 30 percent, the experiment can measure the willingness
to pay more in taxes as a function of the proposed rate for the rich. Our results show that people expect a
progressive system and are willing to pay more if the rich pay much more. Moreover, this increase in willingness
to pay taxes is driven mainly by individuals with high socioeconomic status and individuals whose trust in the
government is above the median. Our findings are in line with experiments using public goods games with
inequality in endowments that highlight the importance of social norms concerning the behavior of the rich.
However, they contradict the predictions of traditional economic and political science models in which an increase in taxes paid by the rich decreases the tax rates that others are willing to pay.
Citation
Campos-Vazquez, Raymundo M, Alice Krozer, and Aurora A Ramírez-Álvarez. 2023. “Preferred Tax Rates Depend on the Rates Paid by the Rich.” Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 104: 102025. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2023.102025.
URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2023.102025

Reports & Other Materials