Effect of Tax Price Salience on Charitable Giving

Last registered on October 18, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Effect of Tax Price Salience on Charitable Giving
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000846
Initial registration date
September 25, 2015

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
September 25, 2015, 2:01 PM EDT

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

Last updated
October 18, 2023, 1:57 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Canada
Region
British Columbia

Primary Investigator

Name
Ross Hickey
Affiliation
University of British Columbia
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Abigail Payne
PI Affiliation
McMaster University
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PI Name
Justin Smith
PI Affiliation
Wilfrid Laurier University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2015-09-21
End date
2015-10-29
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Charitable Giving, Donations, Taxation, Tax Incentives
JEL code(s)
H0, H40, H84
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This is a fundraising field experiment. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of increasing the tax price salience of charitable gifts on giving behaviour.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hickey, Ross, Abigail Payne and Justin Smith. 2023. "Effect of Tax Price Salience on Charitable Giving." AEA RCT Registry. October 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.846-1.1
Former Citation
Hickey, Ross, Abigail Payne and Justin Smith. 2023. "Effect of Tax Price Salience on Charitable Giving." AEA RCT Registry. October 18. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/846/history/197142
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants were randomly selected from a large local employer. This experiment is done in collaboration with a charitable foundation that facilitates employee giving - allowing donors to have donations automatically deducted from their pay by their employer and remitted to the foundation. There are two protocols for the experiment that have been randomly assigned. Under protocol 1 participants will be asked to sign up for employee giving. Under protocol 2 participants will be informed about the tax treatment of giving in their jurisdiction and then asked to sign up for employee giving.
Intervention Start Date
2015-09-21
Intervention End Date
2015-10-29

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Employee signed up for employee giving.
Employee retained form and indicated willingness to sign up for employee giving.
Employee did not keep form for employee giving.
Employee gifts.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Framed field experimental design.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Done live by computer on server through web-interface.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1 employer
Sample size: planned number of observations
200 (approximately 800 solicited for participation, expect 1/4 sample size)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
100 individuals in control, 100 individuals in 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
University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus Behavioural Research Ethics Board (BREB)
IRB Approval Date
2015-09-21
IRB Approval Number
H15-02126
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
October 29, 2015, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
October 29, 2015, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
80
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
80
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
40 treated individuals, 40 control
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials