Cash for Coolers: Evaluating a Large-Scale Appliance Replacement Program in Mexico

Lucas Davis, Alan Fuchs and Paul Gertler

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2014, vol. 6, issue 4, 207-38

Abstract: This paper evaluates a large-scale appliance replacement program in Mexico that from 2009 to 2012 helped 1.9 million households replace their old refrigerators and air conditioners with energyefficient models. Using household-level billing records from the universe of Mexican residential customers, we find that refrigerator replacement reduces electricity consumption by 8 percent, about one-quarter of what was predicted by ex ante analyses. Moreover, we find that air conditioning replacement actually increases electricity consumption. Overall, we find that the program is an expensive way to reduce externalities from energy use, reducing carbon dioxide emissions at a program cost of over $500 per ton.

JEL-codes: L68 L94 O12 O13 Q41 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.6.4.207
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (142)

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