Project

The state government of Baden-Württemberg, in line with the EU and Germany, aims to drastically reduce energy consumption. A fundamental question is how these energy consumption reductions can be achieved. Policymakers increasingly get interested in behaviourally motivated non-price interventions targeting residential energy consumption, which are relatively inexpensive to implement and do not interfere with people’s choice sets as strongly as for example taxes or bans for certain products. Within the scope of this meta-analysis the causal effects of five behavioural interventions on the energy consumption of private households are covered: feedback (deliberate feedback on previous behaviour, e.g. last year's electricity consumption); ii. social comparison (for example with the electricity consumption of other households); iii. commitment devices (e.g., to use 10% less artificial lighting within a year); iv. goal setting (e.g., incentive systems to achieve externally-specified energy savings), and v. labelling (e.g., the EU energy label for domestic appliances). In particular, important influencing factors are to be identified in the analysis.

Project-related publications

peer-reviewed

Andor, M.A, G. Bensch, K. Fels, N. Kneppel (2019) Per Stups zum Energiesparen? Eine Meta-Analyse zu den kausalen Effekten von verhaltensökonomischen Interventionen auf den Energieverbrauch von privaten Haushalten. Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik20 (4): 352-382.

Project reports

RWI (2017) Meta-Analyse kausaler Effekte von verhaltensökonomischen Interventionen auf den Energieverbrauch privater Haushalte. RWI Projektberichte.

Project start:
01. March 2017

Project end:
31. March 2018

Project management:
Dr. Mark Andor, Dr. Gunther Bensch

Project staff:
Dr. Katja Fels

Funding:
Ministerium für Ländlichen raum und Verbraucherschutz Baden-Württemberg, Forschungszentrum Verbraucher, Markt und Politik | CCMP an der Zeppelin Universität