Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/223506
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 8434
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
A growing literature points to the effectiveness of leveraging social interactions and nudges to spur adoption of pro-social behaviors. This study investigates a large-scale behavioral intervention designed to actively leverage social learning and peer interactions to encourage adoption of residential solar photovoltaic systems. Municipalities choose a solar installer offering group pricing, and undertake an informational campaign driven by volunteer ambassadors. We find a causal treatment effect of 37 installations per municipality from the campaigns, and no evidence of harvesting or persistence. The intervention also lowers installation prices. Randomized controlled trials based on the intervention show that selection into the program is important while group pricing is not. Our results suggest that the program provided economies of scale and lowered consumer acquisition costs, leading to low-cost emissions reductions.
Subjects: 
non-price interventions
social learning
renewable energy
solar photovoltaic panels
technology adoption
natural experiment
JEL: 
D03
L22
Q42
Q48
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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