 Recognizing a good deal: Short-term subsidies and the dynamics of public service useJournal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2025, vol. 130, issue C Abstract: I study the longer-run dynamics of household use of a public service in response to short-term subsidies. I exploit spatial variation in exposure to subsidies that induced households to use a publicly-provided matching platform for sanitation services in Dakar, Senegal. Using platform administrative data, I show that neighborhoods exposed to short-term subsidies are significantly more likely to use the platform after subsidies end, but this effect declines gradually to zero over time. Following a subsequent city-wide subsidy campaign two years later, increased use re-emerges in previously-subsidized neighborhoods before declining again. The pattern of decline and re-emergence shows that short-term subsidies can have persistent effects, but sustaining these effects may require repeated intervention. Keywords: Technology adoption; Environmental quality; Urban sanitation; Subsidies; Development; Public services; Fecal sludge management (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:130:y:2025:i:c:s0095069624001888 DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2024.103114 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Environmental Economics and Management is currently edited by M.A. Cole, A. Lange, D.J. Phaneuf, D. Popp, M.J. Roberts, M.D. Smith, C. Timmins, Q. Weninger and A.J. Yates More articles in Journal of Environmental Economics and Management from Elsevier |
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