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

Sylvain Chabé-Ferret, Philippe Le Coent, Arnaud Reynaud, Julie Subervie and Daniel Lepercq
Additional contact information
Arnaud Reynaud: TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Daniel Lepercq: CACG - Compagnie d'aménagement des côteaux de Gascogne - Compagnie d'aménagement des côteaux de Gascogne - CACG

CEE-M Working Papers from CEE-M, Universtiy of Montpellier, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro

Abstract: Improving water efficiency is a growing challenge for the Common Agricultural Policy. In this article, we test whether social comparison nudges can promote water-saving behavior among farmers. We report on a pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, in which information on individual and group water consumption were sent every week to farmers equipped with smartmeters. We do not detect an effect of nudges on average water consumption. We however find that the nudge decreases water consumption at the top of the distribution while it increases consumption at the bottom. This study highlights the potential of nudges as an agricultural policy tool.

Keywords: behavioral economics; nudges; goverment policy; irrigation water use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-12-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-cbe and nep-exp
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-01947420v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Can we nudge farmers into saving water? Evidence from a randomised experiment (2019)
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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