Spillovers from Behavioral Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Water and Energy Use
通过随机对照试验，研究关于家庭用水的社会规范信息如何影响电力消费，发现该干预措施在夏季小幅减少了用电量，其中约四分之一的减少量可由水电设备互补性解释，考虑跨部门溢出效应后干预的净收益显著增加。
This paper provides experimental evidence that behavioral interventions spill over to untreated sectors by altering consumer choice. We use a randomized controlled trial and high-frequency data to test the effect of social norms messaging about residential water use on electricity consumption. Messaging appears to induce a small reduction in summertime electricity use. Empirical tests and household survey data support the hypothesis that this nudge alters electricity choices. An engineering simulation suggests that complementarities between appliances that use water and electricity explain roughly a quarter of the electricity reduction. Incorporating the cross-sectoral spillover increases the net benefits of the intervention substantially.