IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v225y2021ics0360544221005417.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do households conserve electricity when they receive signals of greater consumption than neighbours? The Korean case

Author

Listed:
  • Choi, Sunghee
  • Hwang, Seok-Joon
  • Denzau, Arthur T.

Abstract

This study examines whether households are encouraged to conserve electricity when their monthly utility statements indicate that their electricity usage is higher than that of their neighbours. A difference-in-differences analysis for 1161 Korean apartment households from 2016 to 2017 shows that the conservation effect appears only for those in medium-sized housing units. An eye-tracking experiment suggests a reason for this limited conservation effect: the average gazing time for the section of the statement that compares electricity usage across neighbouring households is lesser than the gazing time for other sections, indicating little interest in the information. We discuss this in the context of shared mental models that can guide people to consider social norms as context for their individual energy usage.

Suggested Citation

  • Choi, Sunghee & Hwang, Seok-Joon & Denzau, Arthur T., 2021. "Do households conserve electricity when they receive signals of greater consumption than neighbours? The Korean case," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:225:y:2021:i:c:s0360544221005417
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.120292
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544221005417
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120292?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shin Kinoshita, 2020. "Conjoint analysis of Japanese households’ energy-saving behavior after the earthquake: The role of the preferences for renewable energy," Energy & Environment, , vol. 31(4), pages 676-691, June.
    2. Kavousian, Amir & Rajagopal, Ram & Fischer, Martin, 2013. "Determinants of residential electricity consumption: Using smart meter data to examine the effect of climate, building characteristics, appliance stock, and occupants' behavior," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 184-194.
    3. Hara, Keishiro & Uwasu, Michinori & Kishita, Yusuke & Takeda, Hiroyuki, 2015. "Determinant factors of residential consumption and perception of energy conservation: Time-series analysis by large-scale questionnaire in Suita, Japan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 240-249.
    4. Karthik Muralidharan & Paul Niehaus, 2017. "Experimentation at Scale," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(4), pages 103-124, Fall.
    5. Harding, Matthew & Hsiaw, Alice, 2014. "Goal setting and energy conservation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 209-227.
    6. Arthur T. Denzau & Douglass C. North, 1994. "Shared Mental Models: Ideologies and Institutions," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 3-31, February.
    7. Allcott, Hunt, 2011. "Social norms and energy conservation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9-10), pages 1082-1095, October.
    8. Allcott, Hunt, 2011. "Social norms and energy conservation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9), pages 1082-1095.
    9. Paul J. Ferraro & Michael K. Price, 2013. "Using Nonpecuniary Strategies to Influence Behavior: Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Experiment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(1), pages 64-73, March.
    10. Hailey Hayeon Joo & Jungmin Lee & Sangkon Park, 2018. "Every Drop Counts: A Water Conservation Experiment With Hotel Guests," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(3), pages 1788-1808, July.
    11. Noah J. Goldstein & Robert B. Cialdini & Vladas Griskevicius, 2008. "A Room with a Viewpoint: Using Social Norms to Motivate Environmental Conservation in Hotels," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(3), pages 472-482, March.
    12. Antonio Silva & Peter John, 2017. "Social norms don’t always work: An experiment to encourage more efficient fees collection for students," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-9, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Bo & Yang, Zihan & Le Hoa Pham, Thi & Deng, Nana & Du, Heran, 2023. "Can social impacts promote residents’ pro-environmental intentions and behaviour: Evidence from large-scale demand response experiment in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    2. Ahir, Rajesh K. & Chakraborty, Basab, 2021. "A meta-analytic approach for determining the success factors for energy conservation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Isler, Ozan & Gächter, Simon, 2022. "Conforming with peers in honesty and cooperation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 75-86.
    2. Rita Abdel Sater, 2021. "Essays on the application of behavioural insights to environmental policy [Essais sur l’application des connaissances comportementales aux politiques environnementales]," SciencePo Working papers tel-03450909, HAL.
    3. Hailey Hayeon Joo & Jungmin Lee & Sangkon Park, 2018. "Every Drop Counts: A Water Conservation Experiment With Hotel Guests," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(3), pages 1788-1808, July.
    4. Rita Abdel Sater, 2021. "Essays on the application of behavioural insights to environmental policy [Essais sur l’application des connaissances comportementales aux politiques environnementales]," SciencePo Working papers Main tel-03450909, HAL.
    5. Boun My, Kene & Ouvrard, Benjamin, 2019. "Nudge and tax in an environmental public goods experiment: Does environmental sensitivity matter?," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 24-48.
    6. Denis Hilton & Nicolas Treich & Gaetan Lazzara & Philippe Tendil, 2018. "Designing effective nudges that satisfy ethical constraints: the case of environmentally responsible behaviour," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 17(1), pages 27-38, November.
    7. Jason Delaney & Sarah Jacobson, 2016. "Payments or Persuasion: Common Pool Resource Management with Price and Non-price Measures," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 65(4), pages 747-772, December.
    8. Komatsu, Hidenori & Nishio, Ken-ichiro, 2015. "An experimental study on motivational change for electricity conservation by normative messages," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 35-43.
    9. Holladay, J. Scott & Price, Michael K. & Wanamaker, Marianne, 2015. "The perverse impact of calling for energy conservation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 1-18.
    10. Brade, Raphael, 2022. "Social Information and Educational Investment - Nudging Remedial Math Course Participation," MPRA Paper 113076, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Pinar Yildirim & Yanhao Wei & Christophe Bulte & Joy Lu, 2020. "Social network design for inducing effort," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 381-417, December.
    12. Andor, Mark A. & Fels, Katja M., 2018. "Behavioral Economics and Energy Conservation – A Systematic Review of Non-price Interventions and Their Causal Effects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 178-210.
    13. Datta,Saugato & Miranda Montero,Juan Jose & Zoratto,Laura De Castro & Calvo-Gonzalez,Oscar & Darlingm,Matthew & Lorenzana,Karina Josephine Orduna, 2015. "A behavioral approach to water conservation: evidence from Costa Rica," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7283, The World Bank.
    14. Chantal Toledo, 2016. "Do Environmental Messages Work on the Poor? Experimental Evidence from Brazilian Favelas," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 37-83.
    15. Matilde Giaccherini & David Herberich & David Jimenez-Gomez & John List & Giovanni Ponti & Michael Price, 2020. "Are Economics and Psychology Complements in Household Technology Diffusion? Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment," Natural Field Experiments 00713, The Field Experiments Website.
    16. Botao Qin & Haoyan Chen, 2022. "Does the nudge effect persist? Evidence from a field experiment using social comparison message in China," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(3), pages 689-703, July.
    17. John A. List & James J. Murphy & Michael K. Price & Alexander G. James, 2019. "Do Appeals to Donor Benefits Raise More Money than Appeals to Recipient Benefits? Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment with Pick.Click.Give," NBER Working Papers 26559, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Sylvain Chabé-Ferret & Philippe Le Coent & Arnaud Reynaud & Julie Subervie & Daniel Lepercq, 2019. "Can we nudge farmers into saving water? Evidence from a randomised experiment," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 46(3), pages 393-416.
    19. Peth, Denise & Mußhoff, Oliver & Funke, Katja & Hirschauer, Norbert, 2018. "Nudging Farmers to Comply With Water Protection Rules – Experimental Evidence From Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 310-321.
    20. Giaccherini, Matilde & Gilli, Marianna & Mancinelli, Susanna & Zoli, Mariangela, 2021. "Nudging food waste decisions at restaurants," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:225:y:2021:i:c:s0360544221005417. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.