{"type":"script","doc_desc":{"producers":[{"name":"Reproducibility WBG","abbr":"DECDI","affiliation":"World Bank - Development Impact Department","role":"Verification and preparation of metadata"}],"prod_date":"2025-09-30","version":"1"},"project_desc":{"authoring_entity":[{"name":"Christopher Hoy","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"choy@worldbank.org"}],"title_statement":{"title":"Reproducibility package for Public Preferences For Economic Reforms Are Shaped More By Design Than Cost","idno":"RR_WLD_2025_426"},"data_statement":"Some data is restricted and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, please refer to the README file.","software":[{"name":"Stata","version":"18 MP"}],"scripts":[{"title":"Reproducibility package for Public Preferences For Economic Reforms Are Shaped More By Design Than Cost","date":"2025-09","notes":"Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.","instructions":"See README in reproducibility package.","file_name":"RR_WLD_2025_426","zip_package":"RR_WLD_2025_426.zip","dependencies":"Stata dependencies are listed in the ado folder."}],"repository_uri":[{"name":"Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank)","uri":"https:\/\/reproducibility.worldbank.org"}],"production_date":"2025-09-30","abstract":"Public opposition is a major barrier to economic reforms, such as subsidy removal. Using multilayered, randomized survey experiments with 10,000 respondents across ten surveys in five countries, we show that opposition to energy price reforms is shaped more by design and communication than by cost. Around 70 percent of respondents strongly opposed a 100% immediate price increase, but resistance was nearly halved when reforms were phased in, targeted at high-energy consumers, or paired with compensation. Informational messages also reduced opposition by as much as halving the price increase. An expert prediction survey revealed systematic misunderstandings: specialists underestimated the influence of design features and greatly misperceived coping strategies and compensation preferences. These findings demonstrate that behavioral biases\u2014such as present bias, loss aversion, and fairness heuristics\u2014are as influential as economic costs in shaping people\u2019s opposition to economic reforms, underscoring the importance of careful design and communication of politically sensitive reforms.","geographic_units":[{"name":"World","code":"WLD"}],"output":[{"type":"Working Paper","description":"Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)","title":"Public Preferences For Economic Reforms Are Shaped More By Design Than Cost"}],"language":[{"name":"English","code":"EN"}],"disclaimer":"The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development\/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.","license":[{"name":"Modified BSD3","uri":"https:\/\/opensource.org\/license\/bsd-3-clause\/"}],"contacts":[{"name":"Christopher Hoy","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"choy@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Reproducibility WBG","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"reproducibility@worldbank.org"}],"datasets":[{"name":"Global Monitoring Database (GMD)","note":"Source: World Bank The Global Monitoring Database (GMD) contains micro-level survey data, with access restricted to World Bank staff using Bank-managed computers. External access is not available. While most surveys in the GMD are accessible internally, some require special access requests. For more details, please refer to the README file.","access_type":"Restricted and not included in the package"},{"name":"Listening Surveys - Indonesia","uri":"https:\/\/microdata.worldbank.org\/","note":"Source: World Bank\nFilenames: anon_l2indo_M15_coping.dta, anon_l2indo_M14_gasoline.dta, Anon_HH_L2Indo_Analysisfile_r14.dta, anon_l2indo_M14_gasoline_r14.dta, Anon_HH_L2Indo_Analysisfile.dta\n","access_type":"Data is forthcoming in the World Bank Microdata Library and also included in the reproducibility package."},{"name":"Country Survey for Egypt","note":"Source: World Bank\n","access_type":"Data is forthcoming in the World Bank Microdata Library and also included in the reproducibility package.","uri":"https:\/\/microdata.worldbank.org\/"},{"name":"Country Survey for Mongolia","note":"Source: World Bank\n","access_type":"Data is forthcoming in the World Bank Microdata Library and also included in the reproducibility package.","uri":"https:\/\/microdata.worldbank.org\/"},{"name":"National Longitudinal Phone Survey - Nigeria","note":"Source: World Bank\nUsers must download the data from the URL below","uri":"https:\/\/microdata.worldbank.org\/index.php\/catalog\/4444\/get-microdata","license_uri":"https:\/\/microdata.worldbank.org\/index.php\/terms-of-use#public_use","license":"Public Use","access_type":"Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution."},{"name":"General Household Survey - Nigeria","note":"Source: World Bank\nUsers must download the data from the URL below","access_type":"Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution.","uri":"https:\/\/microdata.worldbank.org\/index.php\/catalog\/6410\/get-microdata","license_uri":"https:\/\/microdata.worldbank.org\/index.php\/terms-of-use#public_use","license":"Public Use"},{"name":"Listening Surveys - Uzbekistan","note":"Source: World Bank\n","access_type":"Data is forthcoming in the World Bank Microdata Library and also included in the reproducibility package.","uri":"https:\/\/microdata.worldbank.org\/"},{"name":"World Development Indicators ","note":"Source: World Bank\nFiles location: Data\/Raw data\/Descriptives\/P_Data_Extract_From_World_Development_Indicators.xlsx, P_Data_Extract_From_Gender_Statistics.xlsx\nAccess date: July 2025","access_type":"Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package","license":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)","license_uri":"https:\/\/datacatalog.worldbank.org\/public-licenses#cc-by","uri":"https:\/\/databank.worldbank.org\/source\/world-development-indicators?Series=SE.XPD.CTOT.ZS"},{"name":" Designing Publicly Acceptable Energy Price Reforms Survey data","note":"Source: Social Science Prediction Platform\nFilename: Designing Publicly Acceptable Energy Price Reforms_responses.csv. ","access_type":"Data is included in the reproducibility package."}],"reproduction_instructions":"**Obtain the data**: Some of the datasets used in this reproducibility package are forthcoming. Please see the section titled \u201cDatasets\u201d for details. \n**Place the data in the correct folders**: Once the data files have been accessed, copy them to the correct folders. See README for details.\n**Adjust file paths and run code**: Open the main dofile `0_master_do_file.do', update the file path to your directory in line 13 and run the dofile to reproduce the results.\nSince some data are restricted, the reproducibility package includes the outputs generated by the reviewers during the reproducibility verification in the \"Output\" folder.\n\n","technology_requirements":"Runtime: 2 hours","technology_environment":"Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:\n\u2022 OS: Windows 11 Enterprise, version 24H2\n\u2022 Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 7 165U (2.10 GHz)\n\u2022 Memory available: 1.45TB"},"tags":[{"tag":"DOI"},{"tag":"Open Code"},{"tag":"Open Data"}],"schematype":"script"}