Quantifying the role of greenhouse gas emissions in consumption choice

Last registered on June 17, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Quantifying the role of greenhouse gas emissions in consumption choice
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007858
Initial registration date
June 21, 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
June 22, 2021, 10:09 AM EDT

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

Last updated
June 17, 2022, 1:47 PM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Bonn

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2021-06-22
End date
2024-06-30
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The goal of this project is to provide insights into food consumption choices in the presence of greenhouse gas emissions. This will be investigated in an experiment studying incentivized choices between different restaurant meal options. The experimental conditions vary in the information which is provided to participants at the moment of choice.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Schulze Tilling, Anna. 2022. "Quantifying the role of greenhouse gas emissions in consumption choice." AEA RCT Registry. June 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7858-1.1
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2021-06-22
Intervention End Date
2021-07-23

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The effect of providing carbon emission labels on meal choices, the effect of carbon offsetting on meal choices
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants are randomly sorted into either one of the two treated groups or the control group. Depending on the treatment group participants are assigned to, the information conditions under which they make consumption decisions in the core part of the survey differ. In the course of the survey, participants’ willingness to pay (WTP) for various restaurant meals is elicited under different conditions. In one information condition, participants are shown the greenhouse gas emissions caused by each meal.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Treatment conditions are randomly assigned by the survey software.
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
300-600 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
300-600 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
100-200 control, 200-400 treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Due to the fact that the experiment procedure differs from usual procedures at the BonnEcon-Lab and that some potential participants may not physically be in Bonn due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is difficult to predict how successful recruitment will be. I plan for a minimum of 300 and an ideal number of 600 participants. Power calculations based on a pre-survey suggest that a sample size of 300 participants will yield power of over 80% for the main outcomes. The MDE for change in WTP induced by labels interacted with meal greenhouse gas emissions is 0.278 Euros, which is 17% of average WTP in the hypothetical pre-survey. The MDE for change in WTP induced by offsetting interacted with expected greenhouse gas emissions is 0.024 Euros, which is 1.5% of average WTP in the hypothetical pre-survey.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
German Association for Experimental Economic Research
IRB Approval Date
2021-06-26
IRB Approval Number
BnyKWhHQ
Analysis Plan

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