Providing procedural knowledge: A field experiment to encourage resource conservation in Namibia

I conduct a large-scale field experiment (N = 14876) with a public water utility in Namibia to encourage water conservation during a drought. Providing a short list of specific conservation strategies via text message decreases residential water consumption by around 5.3 percent. Other treatment arms that ask individuals to use and develop their own strategies are ineffective, suggesting that individuals may lack knowledge on how to reduce their water consumption effectively. This interpretation is corroborated by survey evidence as most respondents struggle to name effective conservation strategies. As a secondary outcome, I examine whether the intervention influences the payment of water utility bills. Utility bills are often not paid in full in my setting, which affects the fiscal sustainability (i.e., cost recovery) of the water utility. I find that payments do not decrease. This implies that customers pay a larger amount of their bill, since they consume less water without reducing payments.