Social comparison nudges without monetary incentives: Evidence from home energy reports

Erica Myers and Mateus Souza

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2020, vol. 101, issue C

Abstract: We explore the mechanisms driving the effectiveness of a widely-used behavioral intervention that reduces energy consumption by repeatedly mailing social comparison-based home energy reports (HERs) to households. With a randomized controlled trial, we introduce HERs in a college residence, where tenants do not pay energy bills. Our results indicate that HERs induced almost no behavioral changes for heating demand, with precise estimates that allow us to rule out thermostat changes greater than 0.36 °F. To the extent that our findings can be extrapolated to other non-dormitory residential contexts, this suggests that behavioral channels, such as competitiveness, social norms, or moral suasion, may not motivate conservation in the absence of direct monetary incentives.

Keywords: Behavioral nudges; Energy conservation; Moral suasion; Social norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D92 L94 Q41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:101:y:2020:i:c:s0095069620300383

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2020.102315

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