IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-03191523.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Do monetary and non-monetary incentives influence environmental attitudes and behavior? Evidence from an experimental analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Darshana Rajapaksa

    (University of Sri Jayewardenepura)

  • Robert Gifford

    (UVIC - University of Victoria [Canada])

  • Benno Torgler

    (Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA) - Partenaires INRAE)

  • María A. García-Valiñas

    (Universidad de Oviedo = University of Oviedo)

  • Wasantha Athukorala

    (University of Peradeniya)

  • Shunsuke Managi

    (Kyushu University)

  • Clevo Wilson

    (QUT - Queensland University of Technology [Brisbane])

Abstract

There is a wide array of empirical work on the use of monetary and non-monetary measures to manage residential water consumption. However, there has been little focus on exploring the ability to change human attitudes and behavior through offering consumers sustainable resource management. This research helps bridge this gap, through an experimental trial in Brisbane, Australia. Choices of different monetary and non-monetary incentives for managing water demand are offered to survey participants. A structural behavioral model is then developed to identify direct and indirect impacts of attitudes and behavior and which can be compared between separate groups drawn from the survey's participants. Our results suggest that both monetary and non-monetary incentives offered to households significantly reduce water consumption, which is especially so for those holding pro-environmental attitudes/behavior. Importantly, the impact is higher for non-monetary incentives. The results therefore provide valuable insight for the development of long-term sustainable resource management policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Darshana Rajapaksa & Robert Gifford & Benno Torgler & María A. García-Valiñas & Wasantha Athukorala & Shunsuke Managi & Clevo Wilson, 2019. "Do monetary and non-monetary incentives influence environmental attitudes and behavior? Evidence from an experimental analysis," Post-Print hal-03191523, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03191523
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.05.034
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-03191523
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-03191523/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.05.034?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Masserini Lucio & Romano Giulia & Corsini Lorenzo, 2018. "Investigating Attitudes towards Water Savings, Price Increases, and Willingness to Pay among Italian University Students," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(12), pages 4123-4138, September.
    2. Tiefenbeck, Verena & Staake, Thorsten & Roth, Kurt & Sachs, Olga, 2013. "For better or for worse? Empirical evidence of moral licensing in a behavioral energy conservation campaign," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 160-171.
    3. Anastasia Gkargkavouzi & George Halkos & Steriani Matsiori, 2019. "A Multi-dimensional Measure of Environmental Behavior: Exploring the Predictive Power of Connectedness to Nature, Ecological Worldview and Environmental Concern," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 859-879, June.
    4. Jasper M. Dalhuisen & Raymond J. G. M. Florax & JHenri L. F. de Groot & Peter Nijkamp, 2003. "Price and Income Elasticities of Residential Water Demand: A Meta-Analysis," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 79(2), pages 292-308.
    5. H. Allen Klaiber & V. Kerry Smith & Michael Kaminsky & Aaron Strong, 2014. "Measuring Price Elasticities for Residential Water Demand with Limited Information," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 90(1), pages 100-113.
    6. Wichman, Casey J., 2014. "Perceived price in residential water demand: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 308-323.
    7. Andrew C. Worthington & Mark Hoffman, 2008. "An Empirical Survey Of Residential Water Demand Modelling," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 842-871, December.
    8. Duflo, Esther & Glennerster, Rachel & Kremer, Michael, 2008. "Using Randomization in Development Economics Research: A Toolkit," Handbook of Development Economics, in: T. Paul Schultz & John A. Strauss (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 61, pages 3895-3962, Elsevier.
    9. Md Haque & Ataur Rahman & Dharma Hagare & Golam Kibria, 2014. "Probabilistic Water Demand Forecasting Using Projected Climatic Data for Blue Mountains Water Supply System in Australia," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(7), pages 1959-1971, May.
    10. Olmstead, Sheila M. & Michael Hanemann, W. & Stavins, Robert N., 2007. "Water demand under alternative price structures," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 181-198, September.
    11. Botetzagias, Iosif & Dima, Andora-Fani & Malesios, Chrisovaladis, 2015. "Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior in the context of recycling: The role of moral norms and of demographic predictors," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 58-67.
    12. Shyama Ratnasiri & Clevo Wilson & Wasantha Athukorala & Maria A. Garcia-Valiñas & Benno Torgler & Robert Gifford, 2018. "Effectiveness of two pricing structures on urban water use and conservation: a quasi-experimental investigation," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 20(3), pages 547-560, July.
    13. Chenoweth, Jonathan & López-Avilés, Alma & Morse, Stephen & Druckman, Angela, 2016. "Water consumption and subjective wellbeing: An analysis of British households," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 186-194.
    14. C. J. Vörösmarty & P. B. McIntyre & M. O. Gessner & D. Dudgeon & A. Prusevich & P. Green & S. Glidden & S. E. Bunn & C. A. Sullivan & C. Reidy Liermann & P. M. Davies, 2010. "Global threats to human water security and river biodiversity," Nature, Nature, vol. 467(7315), pages 555-561, September.
    15. Ming-Feng Hung & Bin-Tzong Chie & Tai-Hsin Huang, 2017. "Residential water demand and water waste in Taiwan," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 19(2), pages 249-268, April.
    16. Yumi Yoshida & Kenta Tanaka & Shunsuke Managi, 2017. "Which dynamic pricing rule is most preferred by consumers?—Application of choice experiment," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 6(1), pages 1-11, December.
    17. von Borgstede, Chris & Andersson, Maria & Johnsson, Filip, 2013. "Public attitudes to climate change and carbon mitigation—Implications for energy-associated behaviours," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 182-193.
    18. Gilg, Andrew & Barr, Stewart, 2006. "Behavioural attitudes towards water saving? Evidence from a study of environmental actions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 400-414, May.
    19. Zhao, Jing & Ni, Hongzhen & Peng, Xiujian & Li, Jifeng & Chen, Genfa & Liu, Jinhua, 2016. "Impact of water price reform on water conservation and economic growth in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 90-103.
    20. David W. Carter & J. Walter Milon, 2005. "Price Knowledge in Household Demand for Utility Services," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 81(2).
    21. Distefano, Tiziano & Kelly, Scott, 2017. "Are we in deep water? Water scarcity and its limits to economic growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 130-147.
    22. Dean, Angela J. & Lindsay, Jo & Fielding, Kelly S. & Smith, Liam D.G., 2016. "Fostering water sensitive citizenship – Community profiles of engagement in water-related issues," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(P1), pages 238-247.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Grilli, Gianluca & Curtis, John, 2021. "Encouraging pro-environmental behaviours: A review of methods and approaches," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    2. Meng-Meng Geng & Ling-Yun He, 2021. "Environmental Regulation, Environmental Awareness and Environmental Governance Satisfaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, April.
    3. Roberto Balado-Naves & Marian Garcia-Valiñas & David Roibas, 2023. "Efficiency, perceived prices, and household water demand: A stochastic frontier analysis for the Spanish city of Gijón," Efficiency Series Papers 2023/01, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    4. Hernández, Francisco & Jaime, Marcela & Vásquez, Felipe, 2024. "Nudges versus prices: Lessons and challenges from a water-savings program," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Agarwal, Sumit & Sing, Tien Foo & Sultana, Mahanaaz, 2022. "Public media campaign and energy conservation: A natural experiment in Singapore," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    6. Grilli, Gianluca & Curtis, John, 2021. "An evaluation of public initiatives to change behaviours that affect water quality," Papers WP696, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    7. Hasan Fehmi Topal & Dexter V. L. Hunt & Christopher D. F. Rogers, 2021. "Sustainability Understanding and Behaviors across Urban Areas: A Case Study on Istanbul City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-38, July.
    8. Wang, Bo & Deng, Nana & Li, Haoxiang & Zhao, Wenhui & Liu, Jie & Wang, Zhaohua, 2021. "Effect and mechanism of monetary incentives and moral suasion on residential peak-hour electricity usage," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    9. Roberto Balado-Naves & Marian Garcia-Valiñas & David Roibas, 2023. "Efficiency, perceived prices, and household water demand: A stochastic frontier analysis for the Spanish city of Gijón," Working Papers hal-04147781, HAL.
    10. Guang-Wen Zheng & Abu Bakkar Siddik & Mohammad Masukujjaman & Syed Shah Alam & Alvina Akter, 2020. "Perceived Environmental Responsibilities and Green Buying Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Attitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-27, December.
    11. Wang, Zhaohua & Li, Hao & Deng, Nana & Cheng, Kaiwei & Lu, Bin & Zhang, Bin & Wang, Bo, 2020. "How to effectively implement an incentive-based residential electricity demand response policy? Experience from large-scale trials and matching questionnaires," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    12. Si, Hongyun & Su, Yangyue & Wu, Guangdong & Liu, Bingsheng & Zhao, Xianbo, 2020. "Understanding bike-sharing users’ willingness to participate in repairing damaged bicycles: Evidence from China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 203-220.
    13. Alt, Marius, 2021. "Committing to behave pro-environmentally: An assessment of time and regulatee-size effects on the demand for environmental regulation," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242419, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    14. Wankmüller, Christian & Pulsfort, Johannes & Kunovjanek, Maximilian & Polt, Romana & Craß, Stefan & Reiner, Gerald, 2023. "Blockchain-based tokenization and its impact on plastic bottle supply chains," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael O'Donnell & Robert P. Berrens, 2018. "Understanding Falling Municipal Water Demand in a Small City Dependent on the Declining Ogallala Aquifer: Case Study of Clovis, New Mexico," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(04), pages 1-40, October.
    2. Liang Lu & David Deller & Morten Hviid, 2019. "Price and Behavioural Signals to Encourage Household Water Conservation: Implications for the UK," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 33(2), pages 475-491, January.
    3. Liang Lu & David Deller & Morten Hviid, 2018. "Price and Behavioural Signals to Encourage Household Water Conservation in Temperate Climates," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) 2018-01, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    4. María Ángeles García-Valiñas & Sara Suárez-Fernández, 2022. "Are Economic Tools Useful to Manage Residential Water Demand? A Review of Old Issues and Emerging Topics," Post-Print hal-04067487, HAL.
    5. Shyama Ratnasiri & Clevo Wilson & Wasantha Athukorala & Maria A. Garcia-Valiñas & Benno Torgler & Robert Gifford, 2018. "Effectiveness of two pricing structures on urban water use and conservation: a quasi-experimental investigation," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 20(3), pages 547-560, July.
    6. Milan Ščasný & Šarlota Smutná, 2021. "Estimation of price and income elasticity of residential water demand in the Czech Republic over three decades," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 580-608, June.
    7. Daminato, Claudio & Diaz-Farina, Eugenio & Filippini, Massimo & Padrón-Fumero, Noemi, 2021. "The impact of smart meters on residential water consumption: Evidence from a natural experiment in the Canary Islands," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    8. Wichman, Casey J. & Taylor, Laura O. & von Haefen, Roger H., 2016. "Conservation policies: Who responds to price and who responds to prescription?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 114-134.
    9. Schleich, Joachim & Hillenbrand, Thomas, 2009. "Determinants of residential water demand in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1756-1769, April.
    10. Nathan DeMaagd & Michael J. Roberts, 2020. "Estimating water demand using price differences of wastewater services," Working Papers 2020-1, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
    11. Mónica Maldonado-Devis & Vicent Almenar-Llongo, 2021. "A Panel Data Estimation of Domestic Water Demand with IRT Tariff Structure: The Case of the City of Valencia (Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-26, January.
    12. Arnaud Reynaud & Giulia Romano, 2018. "Advances in the Economic Analysis of Residential Water Use: An Introduction," Post-Print hal-01948631, HAL.
    13. Maria Carmela Aprile & Damiano Fiorillo, 2016. "Water Conservation Behavior and Environmental Concerns," Discussion Papers 6_2016, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    14. Fuente, David, 2019. "The design and evaluation of water tariffs: A systematic review," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    15. Lin, Boqiang & Chen, Xing, 2018. "Is the implementation of the Increasing Block Electricity Prices policy really effective?--- Evidence based on the analysis of synthetic control method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 734-750.
    16. Zhang, Zibin & Cai, Wenxin & Feng, Xiangzhao, 2017. "How do urban households in China respond to increasing block pricing in electricity? Evidence from a fuzzy regression discontinuity approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 161-172.
    17. Henrique Monteiro, 2010. "Residential Water Demand in Portugal: checking for efficiency-based justifications for increasing block tariffs," Working Papers Series 1 ercwp0110, ISCTE-IUL, Business Research Unit (BRU-IUL).
    18. Kenneth A. Baerenklau & Kurt A. Schwabe & Ariel Dinar, 2014. "The Residential Water Demand Effect of Increasing Block Rate Water Budgets," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 90(4), pages 683-699.
    19. M. Allaire & A. Dinar, 2022. "What Drives Water Utility Selection of Pricing Methods? Evidence from California," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(1), pages 153-169, January.
    20. Lee, Gi-Eu & Chou, Chang-Erh, 2020. "The Ex Ante Price Information Effect on Water Conservation: A Case Study of Taipei’s Water Tariff Adjustment," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304253, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    pro-environmental behavior; environmental attitudes; water consumption;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03191523. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.