A study describes a natural field experiment in which more than 42,000 households in Southern California received none, either, or both of two social nudges designed to reduce household electricity consumption; the average effect of receiving both nudges was similar to the sum of the individual effects of each nudge, suggesting a limited role for crowd-out effects when implementing multiple nudges simultaneously, with potential policy implications for energy markets.
###
Article #18-02874: "Testing for crowd out in social nudges: Evidence from a natural field experiment in the market for electricity," by Alec Brandon, John A. List, Robert Metcalfe, Michael Price, and Florian Rundhammer.
MEDIA CONTACT: Robert D. Metcalfe, Boston University, MA; tel: 312-835-2884; e-mail: rdmet@bu.edu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences