IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/nceewp/348904.html

Door Hanger Outreach And Incentives Did Not Induce Water System Customers to Participate in Lead Water Pipe Inspections

Author

Listed:
  • Gazze, Ludovica
  • Klemick, Heather
  • Parthum, Bryan
  • Wolverton, Ann

Abstract

The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized regulations to require water systems to replace millions of lead pipes with safer alternatives for carrying drinking water into U.S. homes. Before replacing them, public water systems must first identify where these lead service lines are located due to incomplete inventories and a lack of historical records. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate an intervention that targeted properties with unknown pipe material in Trenton, New Jersey—a community with older housing stock and a high concentration of people of color, renters, and households experiencing poverty. The intervention included two treatments: door hangers with information about a self-inspection process that allowed residents to submit a photo of their service line; and similar door hangers offering gift card incentives upon submission of a self-inspection photo. These treatments did not motivate residents to participate in a self-inspection of their service lines. Well under 1% of treated addresses participated in a self-inspection, including those offered the highest gift card incentive of $100.

Suggested Citation

  • Gazze, Ludovica & Klemick, Heather & Parthum, Bryan & Wolverton, Ann, 2024. "Door Hanger Outreach And Incentives Did Not Induce Water System Customers to Participate in Lead Water Pipe Inspections," National Center for Environmental Economics-NCEE Working Papers 348904, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:nceewp:348904
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.348904
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/348904/files/2024-09.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.348904?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ferrie, Joseph P. & Rolf, Karen & Troesken, Werner, 2012. "Cognitive disparities, lead plumbing, and water chemistry: Prior exposure to water-borne lead and intelligence test scores among World War Two U.S. Army enlistees," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 98-111.
    2. Amy Finkelstein & Matthew J Notowidigdo, 2019. "Take-Up and Targeting: Experimental Evidence from SNAP," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1505-1556.
    3. Deniz Dutz & Michael Greenstone & Ali Hortaçsu & Santiago Lacouture & Magne Mogstad & Azeem M. Shaikh & Alexander Torgovitsky & Winnie van Dijk, 2024. "Nonrepresentativeness in Population Health Research: Evidence from a COVID-19 Antibody Study," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 313-323, September.
    4. Anna Aizer & Janet Currie, 2019. "Lead and Juvenile Delinquency: New Evidence from Linked Birth, School, and Juvenile Detention Records," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 575-587, October.
    5. Heather Klemick & Ann Wolverton & Bryan Parthum & Kristin Epstein & Sandra Kutzing & Sarah Armstrong, 2024. "Factors Influencing Customer Participation in a Program to Replace Lead Pipes for Drinking Water," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(3), pages 791-832, March.
    6. Alex Hollingsworth & Ivan Rudik, 2021. "The Effect of Leaded Gasoline on Elderly Mortality: Evidence from Regulatory Exemptions," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 345-373, August.
    7. Deniz Dutz & Michael Greenstone & Ali Hortaçsu & Santiago Lacouture & Magne Mogstad & Azeem M. Shaikh & Alexander Torgovitsky & Winnie van Dijk, 2023. "Representation and Hesitancy in Population Health Research: Evidence from a COVID-19 Antibody Study," NBER Working Papers 30880, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Alex Hollingsworth & Jiafang Mike Huang & Ivan Rudik & Nicholas J. Sanders, 2025. "A Thousand Cuts: Cumulative Lead Exposure Reduces Academic Achievement," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 60(3), pages 950-976.
    2. Fletcher, Jason & Noghanibehambari, Hamid, 2025. "Early-life lead exposure and male longevity: Evidence from historical municipal water systems," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    3. Ludovica Gazze & Claudia Persico & Sandra Spirovska, 2024. "The Long-Run Spillover Effects of Pollution: How Exposure to Lead Affects Everyone in the Classroom," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 357-394.
    4. Erixson, Oscar & Granath, Jakob & Hu, Xiao & Öhman, Mattias, 2024. "Toxic Metal Injustice? Socioeconomic status at birth and exposure to airborne pollution," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    5. Gazze, Ludovica & Persico, Claudia L. & Spirovska, Sandra, 2020. "The Spillover Effects of Pollution: How Exposure to Lead Affects Everyone in the Classroom," IZA Discussion Papers 13133, IZA Network @ LISER.
    6. Jason Fletcher & Hamid Noghanibehambari, 2023. "Toxified to the Bone: Early-Life and Childhood Exposure to Lead and Men’s Old-Age Mortality," NBER Working Papers 31957, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Abbasi, Ali & DiTraglia, Francis J. & Gazze, Ludovica & Pals, Bridget, 2023. "Hidden hazards and screening policy: Predicting undetected lead exposure in Illinois," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    8. Daniel S. Grossman & David J.G. Slusky, 2019. "The Impact of the Flint Water Crisis on Fertility," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(6), pages 2005-2031, December.
    9. Heather Klemick & Ann Wolverton & Bryan Parthum & Kristin Epstein & Sandra Kutzing & Sarah Armstrong, 2024. "Factors Influencing Customer Participation in a Program to Replace Lead Pipes for Drinking Water," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(3), pages 791-832, March.
    10. Higney, Anthony & Hanley, Nick & Moro, Mirko, 2022. "The lead-crime hypothesis: A meta-analysis," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    11. Alex Hollingsworth & Ivan Rudik, 2021. "The Effect of Leaded Gasoline on Elderly Mortality: Evidence from Regulatory Exemptions," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 345-373, August.
    12. Stephen B. Billings & Kevin T. Schnepel, 2018. "Life after Lead: Effects of Early Interventions for Children Exposed to Lead," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 315-344, July.
    13. Claudia Persico, 2026. "Can Pollution Cause Poverty? The Effects of Pollution on Educational, Health, and Economic Outcomes," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(2), March.
    14. Federico Curci & Federico Masera, 2025. "Flight from Urban Blight: Lead Poisoning, Crime, and Suburbanization," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 107(3), pages 621-638, May.
    15. repec:osf:socarx:rdy6g_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Laura Castell & Marc Gurgand & Clément Imbert & Todor Tochev, 2025. "Take-up of Social Benefits: Experimental Evidence from France," Institut des Politiques Publiques halshs-05366074, HAL.
    17. Hollingsworth, Alex J. & Konisky, David M. & Zirogiannis, Nikolaos, 2021. "The health consequences of excess emissions: Evidence from Texas," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    18. Ingrid Gould Ellen, 2024. "Neighborhoods in the 21st century: What do we know, and what do we still have to learn?: AREUEA Presidential Address," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 52(4), pages 997-1019, July.
    19. Friedrichsen, Jana & König, Tobias & Schmacker, Renke, 2018. "Social image concerns and welfare take-up," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 174-192.
    20. Laura Castell & Marc Gurgand & Clément Imbert & Todor Tochev, 2024. "Take-up of Social Benefits: Experimental Evidence from France," PSE Working Papers halshs-04720989, HAL.
    21. Tatiana Homonoff & Jason Somerville, 2021. "Program Recertification Costs: Evidence from SNAP," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 271-298, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ags:nceewp:348904. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nepgvus.html .

    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.