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Automated Enforcement of Irrigation Regulations and Social Pressure for Water Conservation

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  • West, Jeremy
  • Fairlie, Robert W
  • Pratt, Bryan
  • Rose, Liam

Abstract

This study evaluates two interventions for residential water conservation. Comparing households across an enforcement algorithm’s cutoff using a regression discontinuity design, we find that automated irrigation violation warnings cause substantial water conservation but also shift some consumption from regulated to unregulated hours within the week. In contrast, we show using data from a randomized experiment with the same customers that normative Home Water Reports reduce water use by a much smaller amount, but that this social pressure is effective during all hours both before and after automating irrigation policy enforcement. Our findings highlight the merits of implementing multidimensional conservation programs.
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Suggested Citation

  • West, Jeremy & Fairlie, Robert W & Pratt, Bryan & Rose, Liam, 2021. "Automated Enforcement of Irrigation Regulations and Social Pressure for Water Conservation," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt2bq5f1zq, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
  • Handle: RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt2bq5f1zq
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    Cited by:

    1. Browne, Oliver R. & Gazze, Ludovica & Greenstone, Michael & Rostapshova, Olga, 2022. "Man vs. Machine : Technological Promise and Political Limits of Automated Regulation Enforcement," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 646, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    2. Erik Ansink & Carmine Ornaghi & Mirco Tonin, 2021. "Technology vs information to promote conservation: Evidence from water audits," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 21-014/VIII, Tinbergen Institute.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economics; Applied Economics;

    JEL classification:

    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • L98 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Government Policy
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water
    • R22 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Other Demand

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