Tenant preferences and beliefs about eviction

Last registered on April 08, 2022

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Tenant preferences and beliefs about eviction

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0008975

Initial registration date

February 13, 2022

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

February 14, 2022, 1:19 PM EST

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

Last updated

April 08, 2022, 1:28 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

United States of America

Region

Memphis/Shelby County, TN

Primary Investigator

Name

Charlie Rafkin

Affiliation

MIT

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Evan Soltas

PI Affiliation

MIT

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2022-02-14

End date

2022-12-31

Keywords

Behavior, Labor

Additional Keywords

Public finance, housing

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.

Abstract

We implement a survey experiment among tenants in Shelby County/Memphis, TN who applied for its Emergency Rental and Utilities Assistance program. The survey experiment measures attitudes toward landlords, beliefs about eviction, and interest in informal negotiation with landlords. It also studies whether providing truthful information about landlords can affect tenant beliefs and negotiation behavior.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Rafkin, Charlie and Evan Soltas. 2022. "Tenant preferences and beliefs about eviction." AEA RCT Registry. April 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8975-2.1

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

We provide tenants with truthful information about landlords and the eviction process. We randomize how we elicit an altruism task.

Intervention Start Date

2022-02-14

Intervention End Date

2022-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Behavior in altruism exercise.
Beliefs (priors, posteriors, belief update).
Bargaining task outcomes.

Details embargoed but more detail is provided in the attached Study Details document (hidden until study is released).

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Details embargoed but provided in Study Details document (hidden until study is released).

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Heterogeneity in beliefs, belief updates, and altruism by: tenant gender, tenant race, whether the tenant has been evicted in the past, self-reported cost of communicating with the landlord, and back rents owed. Heterogeneity in belief update and payment plan offers by tenant altruism (which is elicited before the treatment) and belief uncertainty.

Hypothetical indifference points and willingness to pay for information. Landlord response to tenant payment plan offer.

Details given in Study Details document (hidden until study is released).

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Details embargoed but provided in Study Details document (hidden until study is released).

Experimental Design

We recruit tenants who apply to Memphis’s Emergency Rental and Utilities Assistance Program to participate in a survey experiment. We conduct an online survey with real incentives to measure beliefs, tenant altruism, and bargaining behavior. Other aspects of the design are hidden.

Experimental Design Details

See Study Details document.

Randomization Method

Randomization in Qualtrics

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

2,000. See discussion below.

Sample size: planned number of observations

2,000. We intend to send the survey to about 17,000 tenants and expect that roughly 2,000 will respond. However, our objective is to obtain as many responses as possible.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Information treatment: Approximately 500 (since we employ a 2 x 2 cross randomization, with probability 1/4 in each cell).
Altruism treatment: approximately 1,333 in own landlord treatment (probability: 2/3), approximately 667 in random landlord treatment (probability: 1/3). Starting March 28, we randomize across three stakes with probability 1/3 each. We have already received approximately 430 participants. We anticipate collecting another 1000-1500, so approximately about 333-500 will receive each treatment.

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials