Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/286352 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IES Working Paper No. 23/2023
Publisher: 
Charles University in Prague, Institute of Economic Studies (IES), Prague
Abstract: 
This study investigates the effectiveness of "nudges" through monthly peer comparison reports on household energy consumption in Yerevan, Armenia. We collected data from 300 households for a total of 8 months. While monthly peer comparison reports show no significant effect on energy consumption, we find strong and statistically significant heterogeneous treatment effects. Specifically, we find that households utilizing electricity as their primary heating source, households where the respondent is an educated female, and households with respondents aged 56 and above experienced a decrease in electricity usage as a result of the peer comparison reports. Moreover, we discover that high electricity consumers reduce their consumption significantly after receiving the reports. However, we also observe a small "boomerang" effect, whereby households in the lower quartile of electricity consumption slightly increase their usage in response to the reports. Furthermore, we find that the bulk of the reduction in electricity consumption comes from daytime consumption when the marginal cost of electricity is higher. Additionally, we explore the heterogeneous treatment effects of nudges on the investment in the physical stock of appliances.
Subjects: 
demand side management
nudges
household energy consumption
peer comparison
developing country
heterogeneous treatment effects
electrical appliances
JEL: 
Q4
Q53
Q48
Q58
C93
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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