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History-dependent fairness preferences

Last registered on February 23, 2022
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
History-dependent fairness preferences
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008997
Initial registration date
February 18, 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 23, 2022, 8:40 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Norway
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Kjetil Madland
Affiliation
NHH
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-02-20
End date
2022-08-31
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
fairness, economics, experiment, distribution, preferences
JEL code(s)
D91 Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project aims to study the effect of choice-set history on the trade-off between equality and efficiency. I conduct an incentivized spectator game, where subjects through eleven decision problems choose between two distributions of money for pairs of anonymous stakeholders. In the first ten, I manipulate the efficiency of one distribution in the choice-set in order to test for path-dependence and spillovers to the eleventh decision. The main hypothesis is that repeated exposure to high efficiency costs leads to a normalization of high efficiency costs, and thus increased acceptance towards outcomes that are more equal but less efficient, in subsequent choices.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Madland, Kjetil. 2022. "History-dependent fairness preferences." AEA RCT Registry. February 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8997-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Experimental spectator-survey in MTurk. I manipulate choice-set history to study path-dependence in the trade-off between fairness and efficiency.
Intervention Start Date
2022-02-20
Intervention End Date
2022-03-12

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The probability of choosing the more equal distribution.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomized between-subject treatment. Subjects are divided into two groups, one in which there is a high efficiency cost associated with choosing the most equal distribution in the first ten choices, the other with no cost. In the eleventh choice, both groups face the same decision problem, where there is a moderate efficiency cost associated with the more equal outcome.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Subjects are assigned to treatment by a random algorithm in the survey provider Qualtrics. For each subject, there is a ten percent probability that one of his/her choices are implemented for a real pair of stakeholders. This is randomly drawn from lists generated by random.org.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1100 individuals, more is money allows.
Sample size: planned number of observations
1100, more if money allows
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
550 individuals in high group and 550 individuals in low group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Eight percentage points difference in means, provided five percent confidence level and 80% statistical power.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
NHH Internal Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2021-12-05
IRB Approval Number
NHH-IRB 31/21
Analysis Plan

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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