Cited by 2,802Pro-Environmental Behavior and AttitudesEnergy, Environment, and Transportation PoliciesExperimental Behavioral Economics Studies

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Social norms and energy conservation

Allcott, Hunt·2011·Journal of Public Economics

DOI 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2011.03.003

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Abstract

This paper evaluates a series of programs run by a company called OPOWER to send Home Energy Report letters to residential utility customers comparing their electricity use to that of their neighbors. Using data from randomized natural field experiments at 600,000 treatment and control households across the United States, I estimate that the average program reduces energy consumption by 2.0%. The program provides additional evidence that non-price interventions can substantially and cost effectively change consumer behavior: the effect is equivalent to that of a short-run electricity price increase of 11 to 20%, and the cost effectiveness compares favorably to that of traditional energy conservation programs. Perhaps because the treatment included descriptive social norms, effects are heterogeneous: households in the highest decile of pre-treatment consumption decrease usage by 6.3%, while consumption by the lowest decile decreases by only 0.3%. A regression discontinuity design shows that different categories of “injunctive norms” played an insignificant role in encouraging relatively low users not to increase usage.

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Bar‐Gill, O., & Sunstein, C. R. (2015) · The Journal of Legal Analysis · doi:10.1093/jla/lav005 · Cited by 18
“Or invoking behavioral insights, the government can require utility companies to disclose, on the monthly bill, how an individual’s electricity consumption compares to that of her neighbors (Allcott 2011).”
Background
To follow or not to follow the herd? Transparency and social norm nudges
Kantorowicz‐Reznichenko, E., & Kantorowicz, J. (2021) · Kyklos · doi:10.1111/kykl.12274 · Cited by 19
Differentiation and Changes of Household Electricity Prices in EU Countries
Rokicki, T., Bórawski, P., Gradziuk, B., Gradziuk, P., Mrówczyńska-Kamińska, A., Kozak, J. M., Guzal-Dec, D. J., & Wojtczuk, K. (2021) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en14216894 · Cited by 18
“Wild” tariff schemes: Evidence from the Republic of Georgia
Alberini, A., Bezhanishvili, L., & Ščasný, M. (2022) · Energy Economics · doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106030 · Cited by 17
The effectiveness of home energy audits: A case study of Jackson, Wyoming
Considine, T. J., & Sapci, O. (2016) · Resource and Energy Economics · doi:10.1016/j.reseneeco.2016.02.004 · Cited by 18
A Review of Nudges: Definitions, Justifications, EffectivenessPreprint
Congiu, L., & Moscati, I. (2020) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3728512 · Cited by 18
“…when tax debtors are told that their peers pay their taxes on time (Behavioural Insights Team, 2016; John & Blume, 2018; Kettle et al., 2016) or households receive feedback on the lower energy consumption of their eco-friendly neighbors (Allcott, 2011; Allcott & Rogers, 2014; Bernedo et al., 2014).”
Smart Meter Devices and the Effect of Feedback on Residential Electricity Consumption: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Northern IrelandPreprint
Gans, W., Alberini, A., & Longo, A. (2011) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.1865171 · Cited by 18
When do "Nudges" Increase Welfare?
Allcott, H., Cohen, D., Morrison, W., & Taubinsky, D. (2022) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w30740 · Cited by 18
Self-citation
Social comparison and energy conservation in a collective action context: A field experiment
Kandul, S., Lang, G., & Lanz, B. (2020) · Economics Letters · doi:10.1016/j.econlet.2020.108947 · Cited by 17
“…bruno.lanz@unine.ch 1 Introduction Social comparison feedback, which informs people about their behavior relative to the typical behavior of others, has been established as a cost-effective tool to promote en- ergy conservation (e.g. Allcott, 2011; Costa and Kahn, 2013; Allcott and Rogers, 2014).”
Background
The effect of inertia on brand-name versus generic drug choices
Ito, Y., Hara, K., & Kobayashi, Y. (2020) · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2019.12.022 · Cited by 17
Paint It Red - A Multimethod Study of the Nudging Effect of Coloured Cycle Lanes
Fyhri, A., Karlsen, K., & Sundfør, H. B. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.662679 · Cited by 17
“Nudges have been found to have effect in the areas of personal savings (Thaler and Sunstein, 2008), health (e.g., Kroese et al., 2015) and household energy-consumption (e.g., Allcott, 2011; Momsen and Stoerk, 2014).”
Background
Bestseller lists and product discovery in the subscription-based market: Evidence from music streaming
Sim, J., Park, J. G., Cho, D., Smith, M. D., & Jung, J. (2022) · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2021.12.030 · Cited by 17
Sustainable behavior in motion: designing mobile eco-driving feedback information systems
Gimpel, H., Heger, S., & Wöhl, M. (2022) · Information Technology and Management · doi:10.1007/s10799-021-00352-6 · Cited by 18
Save A Tree or 6 kg of CO2? Understanding Effective Carbon Footprint Interventions for Eco-Friendly Vehicular Choices
Mohanty, V., Filipowicz, A. L. S., Bravo, N. S., Carter, S., & Shamma, D. A. (2023) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3544548.3580675 · Cited by 20
“Both of these examples are consistent with work in social norm theory, which consistently demonstrates the power of highlighting social norms and dynamics in shaping people’s behavior [3, 61, 62].”
Result
The origins and consequences of administrative burdens in mass immunization programs: Experimental evidence based on the monkeypox outbreak
Zhang, Y., & Wang, H. (2023) · Governance · doi:10.1111/gove.12818 · Cited by 17
Boosting vs. nudging sustainable energy consumption: a long-term comparative field test in a residential context
Paunov, Y., & Grüne‐Yanoff, T. (2023) · Behavioural Public Policy · doi:10.1017/bpp.2023.30 · Cited by 17
“Examples include activating social norms (Allcott, 2011), re-setting thermo-stat defaults (McCalley, 2006) or re-framing energy costs (Cheng et al. 2011).”
The energy transition: A balancing act
Fabra, N., & Reguant, M. (2023) · Resource and Energy Economics · doi:10.1016/j.reseneeco.2023.101408 · Cited by 20
“Allcott (2011) and Allcott and Rogers (2014) evaluate the impact of social comparison-based home energy reports sent repeatedly to US households, allowing them to compare their electricity use to that of neighbors.”
Background
Housing policies and energy efficiency spillovers in low and moderate income communities
Asensio, O. I., Churkina, O., Rafter, B. D., & O’Hare, K. E. (2024) · Nature Sustainability · doi:10.1038/s41893-024-01314-w · Cited by 16
“As expected, the cost-effectiveness ratios of housing spillovers are less favourable than those estimated for Information & Behavioural programmes 27,28,32,33,41,42 (that is, ranging from 64.3 to 0.1 kWh $ −1 ) (Fig.”
Influential

Authors: Allcott, H.
Affiliations: New York University (US)
Corresponding author: Allcott, Hunt
Venue: Journal of Public Economics
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2011-10
Volume: 95
Issue: 9-10
Pages: 1082-1095
ISSN: 0047-2727 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2011.03.003
OpenAlex: W2139035425
Cited by: 2,802
References: 104
Citations by year: 2026: 225 · 2025: 209 · 2024: 194 · 2023: 208 · 2022: 226 · 2021: 257 · 2020: 225 · 2019: 240 · 2018: 199 · 2017: 171 · 2016: 165 · 2015: 161 · 2014: 147 · 2013: 94 · 2012: 55
FWCI: 263.94
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations: Journal of Public Economics (publishedVersion)
Topics: Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Pro-Environmental Behavior and Attitudes
Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies
Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
Keywords: social norms, energy conservation, social comparison, residential electricity consumption, cost-effectiveness, injunctive norms, descriptive norms, treatment effect heterogeneity

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