Economics - Research Publications

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End date: 2019 × Type: Working Paper × Author: La Nauze, Andrea ×

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    Tell Me Something I Don’t Already Know: Informedness and External Validity in Information Programs
    BYRNE, D ; La Nauze, A ; Martin, LA (Department of Economics, University of Melbourne, 2014)
    Information programs that leverage peer comparisons are used to encourage pro-social behavior in many contexts. We document how imperfect information generates heterogenous responses to treatments involving personalized feedback and peer comparisons. In our field experiment in retail electricity, we find that most households either overestimate or underestimate their relative energy consumption pre-treatment. Households that overestimated respond to new information by temporarily increasing electricity consumption, whereas households that underestimated take steps that lead to long term energy conservation. We explore the implications of these results for the external validity and design of information programs.