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Do liberal home owners consume less electricity? A test of the voluntary restraint hypothesis

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  • Costa, Dora L.
  • Kahn, Matthew E.

Abstract

Using a unique data set that merges an electric utility’s residential customer monthly electricity consumption in 2008 with household level data on demographics, structure and neighborhood characteristics and the political party of registration for the head of household, this paper documents that liberal households consume less electricity than observationally identical households. In the absence of first best carbon pricing, such “voluntary restraint” helps to mitigate the challenge of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Costa, Dora L. & Kahn, Matthew E., 2013. "Do liberal home owners consume less electricity? A test of the voluntary restraint hypothesis," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 119(2), pages 210-212.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:119:y:2013:i:2:p:210-212
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2013.02.020
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bryan Bollinger & Kenneth Gillingham, 2012. "Peer Effects in the Diffusion of Solar Photovoltaic Panels," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(6), pages 900-912, November.
    2. Kahn, Matthew E., 2007. "Do greens drive Hummers or hybrids? Environmental ideology as a determinant of consumer choice," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 129-145, September.
    3. Kotchen, Matthew J. & Moore, Michael R., 2007. "Private provision of environmental public goods: Household participation in green-electricity programs," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 1-16, January.
    4. Koichiro Ito, 2014. "Do Consumers Respond to Marginal or Average Price? Evidence from Nonlinear Electricity Pricing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(2), pages 537-563, February.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H3 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents
    • Q3 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation
    • Q4 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy

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