Can we nudge farmers into saving water? Evidence from a randomised experiment

Sylvain Chabé-Ferret, Philippe Le Coent, Arnaud Reynaud, Julie Subervie and Daniel Lepercq
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Sylvain Chabé-Ferret

European Review of Agricultural Economics, 2019, vol. 46, issue 3, 393-416

Abstract: We test whether social comparison nudges can promote water-saving behaviour among farmers as a complement to traditional CAP measures. We conducted a randomised controlled trial among 200 farmers equipped with irrigation smart meters in South-West France. Treated farmers received weekly information on individual and group water consumption over four months. Our results rule out medium to large effect-sizes of the nudge. Moreover, they suggest that the nudge was effective at reducing the consumption of those who irrigate the most, although it appears to have reduced the proportion of those who do not consume water at all.

Keywords: nudges; behavioural economics; irrigation water use; public policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (31)

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Working Paper: Can we nudge farmers into saving water? Evidence from a randomized experiment (2018)
Working Paper: Can we nudge farmers into saving water? Evidence from a randomized experiment (2018)
Working Paper: Can we nudge farmers into saving water? Evidence from a randomized experiment (2018)
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