The Impact of Policy Awareness: Evidence from Vehicle Choices Response to Fiscal Incentives

Economics Working Paper Series 19/316 March 2019

69 Pages Posted: 16 Apr 2019

See all articles by Davide Cerruti

Davide Cerruti

ETH Zürich - CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research at ETH Zurich

Claudio Daminato

Lund University; ETH Zürich - CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research at ETH Zurich

Massimo Filippini

ETH Zürich; University of Lugano - Faculty of Economics

Date Written: March 22, 2019

Abstract

Isolating the role of limited knowledge, psychological frictions and policy characteristics is key when evaluating a public program and designing future policies. This paper explores the role of awareness about the presence of fiscal programs in determining their impact on individual choices. Our identification strategy exploits quasi-experimental variation in the introduction of fiscal incentives aimed at promoting the purchase of energy efficient vehicles, and a direct measure of policy awareness at the individual level. We find an important impact of awareness on consumers’ vehicle choices, highlighting that limited awareness may represent a critical barrier to the effectiveness of public programs.

Keywords: Policy awareness, Fiscal programs, Environmental taxation, Vehicle choices

JEL Classification: D12, D83, H23, H31, Q48

Suggested Citation

Cerruti, Davide and Daminato, Claudio and Filippini, Massimo, The Impact of Policy Awareness: Evidence from Vehicle Choices Response to Fiscal Incentives (March 22, 2019). Economics Working Paper Series 19/316 March 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3358407 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3358407

Davide Cerruti (Contact Author)

ETH Zürich - CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research at ETH Zurich ( email )

Zürichbergstrasse 18
Zurich, 8092
Switzerland

Claudio Daminato

Lund University ( email )

Box 117
Lund, SC Skane S221 00
Sweden

ETH Zürich - CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research at ETH Zurich ( email )

Zürichbergstrasse 18
Zurich, 8092
Switzerland

Massimo Filippini

ETH Zürich ( email )

ETH-Zentrum
CH-8092 Zurich
Switzerland

University of Lugano - Faculty of Economics ( email )

Via Giuseppe Buffi 13
CH-6900 Lugano, CH-6904
Switzerland

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