The Effect of Information Framing on Policy Support: Experimental Evidence from Urban Policies

We administer a large-scale representative survey with randomised video treatments to test how different policy frames affect citizens’ attitudes towards urban tolls in two large European metropolitan areas, Berlin-Brandenburg and Paris-Ile de France. Providing information on air pollution increases support by up to 11.4%p, information on climate change and time savings increase support by 7.1 and 6.5 %p, respectively. Treatment effects are stronger in the Paris region, where initial support is lower. Urban toll support is higher among households with more education and income, trust in state institutions and science, as well as those living in urban centers. Women and car owners dislike tolls more strongly. Support more than doubles when tolling revenues are invested in public transport infrastructure. Our findings imply that providing targeted information to specific population groups can significantly alter policy support.