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Social norms and energy conservation beyond the US

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  • Andor, Mark Andreas
  • Gerster, Andreas
  • Peters, Jörg
  • Schmidt, Christoph M.

Abstract

The seminal studies by Allcott and Mullainathan (2010), Allcott (2011), and Allcott and Rogers (2014) suggest that social comparison-based home energy reports (HER) are a cost-effective non-price intervention to stimulate energy conservation. The present paper demonstrates the context-dependency of this result. We show that, outside the US, electricity consumption levels and carbon intensities are typically much lower and, hence, HER interventions can only become cost-effective when treatment effect sizes are substantially higher. Yet, our evidence from a large-scale randomized controlled trial in Germany suggests that effect sizes are actually much lower than in the US.

Suggested Citation

  • Andor, Mark Andreas & Gerster, Andreas & Peters, Jörg & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2017. "Social norms and energy conservation beyond the US," Ruhr Economic Papers 714, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:714
    DOI: 10.4419/86788833
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social norms; energy demand; external validity; randomized field experiments; non-price interventions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices

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