Author ORCID Identifier
Stephano Carattini: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1242-2457
Julia Blasch: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1082-9272
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2024
Abstract
Social interventions are a popular tool to stimulate pro-social (including climate friendly) behavior. Their use is, however, limited when the descriptive norm is low, i.e., when a desirable behavior is only practiced by a minority within the respective reference group. We tackle this issue by testing new strategies for social interventions with an especially sophisticated target group. We implement a field experiment at two subsequent conferences in environmental economics, with which we examine the conference participants’ proclivity to offset carbon emissions. For the two treatment conditions that we introduce, we document an average null effect. Yet, for one condition, we find that the intervention can be effective when the targeted individuals feel socially close to the referenced peer group. Further, we find suggestive evidence that the effectiveness of such interventions increases as individuals are exposed to repeated treatment but with decreasing marginal returns.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2024.102194
Recommended Citation
Carattini, Stefano, and Julia Blasch. “Nudging When the Descriptive Norm Is Low: Evidence from a Carbon Offsetting Field Experiment.” Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 110 (June 1, 2024): 102194.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Comments
Author accepted manuscript version of an article published by Elsevier in
Carattini, Stefano, and Julia Blasch. “Nudging When the Descriptive Norm Is Low: Evidence from a Carbon Offsetting Field Experiment.” Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 110 (June 1, 2024): 102194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2024.102194.