Labels as nudges? An experimental study of car eco-labels

Cristiano Codagnone (), Giuseppe Alessandro Veltri (), Francesco Bogliacino, Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (), George Gaskell (), Andriy Ivchenko (), Pietro Ortoleva and Francesco Mureddu ()
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Cristiano Codagnone: Università degli Studi di Milano
Giuseppe Alessandro Veltri: University of Leicester
Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
George Gaskell: London School of Economics and Political Science
Andriy Ivchenko: Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, 2016, vol. 33, issue 3, No 5, 403-432

Abstract: Abstract This article presents the results of a laboratory experiment and an online multi-country experiment testing the effect of motor vehicle eco-labels on consumers. The laboratory study featured a discrete choice task and questions on comprehension, while the ten countries online experiment included measures of willingness to pay and comprehension. Labels focusing on fuel economy or running costs are better understood, and influence choice about money-related eco-friendly behaviour. We suggest that this effect comes through mental accounting of fuel economy. In the absence of a cost saving frame, we do not find a similar effect of information on CO2 emissions and eco-friendliness. Labels do not perform as well as promotional materials. By virtue of being embedded into a setting designed to capture the attention, the latter are more effective. We found also that large and expensive cars tend to be undervalued once fuel economy is highlighted.

Keywords: Eco-label; Nudge; Willingness to pay; Fuel economy; Experiments; CO2 emission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C9 D3 Q56 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Working Paper: Labels as Nudges? An Experimental Study of Car Eco-labels (2016)
Working Paper: Labels as nudges? An experimental study of car eco-labels (2016)
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DOI: 10.1007/s40888-016-0042-2

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