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Creating pro-environmental behavior change: Economic incentives or norm-nudges?

Author

Listed:
  • Ekström, Mathias

    (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

  • Sjåstad, Hallgeir

    (Dept. of Strategy and Management, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

  • Bjorvatn, Kjetil

    (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

Abstract

To mitigate global warming, collective behavior change is needed. But which tools should policymakers prioritize: economic incentives, nudges, or a combination? Current evidence from social science provides little direct advice, as it either lacks credible identification of causality or objective long-term behavioral data. Addressing both limitations, we present causal evidence from a two-year field experiment, comparing how a small price incentive and a social norm-nudge affect the recycling behavior of more than 2,000 households. The results show a large, immediate, and persistent positive effect of incentives on both the quantity and quality of recycling, but no effect of the norm-nudge. However, the price incentive reduced customer satisfaction, unless it was combined with the norm-nudge, suggesting that appealing to norms can make climate incentives more acceptable.

Suggested Citation

  • Ekström, Mathias & Sjåstad, Hallgeir & Bjorvatn, Kjetil, 2024. "Creating pro-environmental behavior change: Economic incentives or norm-nudges?," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 15/2024, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2024_015
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic incentives; nudges; behavior change; norm-nudge;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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