Showing papers by "Lorenz Goette published in 2018"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present evidence from a field experiment, where they provide residents with feedback about their electricity consumption, specific to a high-energy use appliance (i.e. air-conditioner).
Abstract: The provision of feedback about individual electricity consumption is a widely used approach to promote pro-environmental behavior. This form of feedback typically invokes social comparisons by informing households about their aggregate electricity consumption relative to others. While previous research has shown that aggregate consumption feedback translates into significant energy savings, the potential for further reductions may remain untapped because households lack knowledge about their appliance energy consumption patterns. In this paper, we present evidence from a field experiment, where we provide residents with feedback about their electricity consumption, specific to a high-energy use appliance (i.e. air-conditioner). We provide the relevant social norm information by varying the reference group of each resident. We find that our appliance-specific feedback is a powerful tool to curb electricity consumption. Residents significantly reduce their average air-conditioning usage by 17\% in our treatment groups. Notwithstanding, our effects are not driven by comparative feedback with respect to different reference groups. We interpret this as encouraging evidence to promote the use of appliance-specific feedback to realize energy savings.
6 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the role of heterogeneity in loss aversion for identifying models of expectations-based reference dependence (Kőszegi and Rabin, 2006, 2007) (KR) and found that different levels of loss aversion lead to different signs for comparative statics previously used to test the KR model.
Abstract: This project examines the role of heterogeneity in loss aversion for identifying models of expectations-based reference dependence (Kőszegi and Rabin, 2006, 2007) (KR). Different levels of loss aversion lead to different signs for comparative statics previously used to test the KR model. In an experiment with 607 subjects, we show heterogeneous treatment effects over loss aversion types. Recognizing heterogeneity in loss aversion allows us to reliably recover the KR model’s central element of expectations-based reference points. Additional effects are discussed related to the subjective perception of exchange experiences.
5 citations