Reducing consumption of electricity: A field experiment in Monaco with boosts and goal setting

Nathalie Lazaric and Mira Toumi ()
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Mira Toumi: GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur

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Abstract: We investigate the complementarity among different treatments which involved "boosts" (provision of information) and "goals" (ambitious or modest goals) by means of a field experiment conducted in the Principality of Monaco between December 2018 and May 2019. We collected data from 77 households in four groups: ambitious electricity reduction goal combined with information (Treatment 1), modest electricity reduction goal combined with information (Treatment 2), only information (Treatment 3), and a control group (CG). Treatments 1 and 2 increased the chances of reduced electricity consumption. We show that a modest, more realistic electricity saving goal when combined with a "boost" generates better electricity conservation performance (T2). We explore the link between behavioral strategies and the household's concern for the environment in the context of the new ecological paradigm (NEP). Our results show that treatments T1 and T2 are efficient for reducing electricity consumption only in households with high levels of environmental concern; those whose level of concern about the environment is low will not respond to any of the behavioral interventions. We provide some recommendations for the implementation of behavioral tools and "boosts".

Keywords: Boost; nudges; goal setting; electricity consumption; field experiment; environmental profile (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-ene, nep-env and nep-exp
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03402212
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published in Ecological Economics, 2022, 191, pp.107231. ⟨10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107231⟩

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Journal Article: Reducing consumption of electricity: A field experiment in Monaco with boosts and goal setting (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03402212

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107231

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