Download This PaperEnergy Conservation "Nudges" and Environmentalist Ideology: Evidence from a Randomized Residential Electricity Field Experiment
28 Pages Posted: 26 Apr 2010 Last revised: 4 Jul 2013
Date Written: April 2010
Abstract
“Nudges” are being widely promoted to encourage energy conservation. We show that the popular electricity conservation “nudge” of providing feedback to households on own and peers’ home electricity usage in a home electricity report is two to four times more effective with political liberals than with conservatives. Political conservatives are more likely than liberals to opt out of receiving the home electricity report and to report disliking the report. Our results suggest that energy conservation nudges need to be targeted to be most effective.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Costa, Dora L. and Kahn, Matthew E., Energy Conservation "Nudges" and Environmentalist Ideology: Evidence from a Randomized Residential Electricity Field Experiment (April 2010). NBER Working Paper No. w15939. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1594573
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