Social norms and energy conservation in China

IF 2.6 3区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

Resource and Energy Economics Pub Date : 2025-02-13 DOI:10.1016/j.reseneeco.2025.101491

Libo Wu , Yang Zhou

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This paper investigates how social norms influence energy conservation behaviors in China. Through a field experiment, we demonstrate that simply providing social comparison information can lead to significant energy reductions, even when the potential consumption and monetary gains from energy savings are limited. Specifically, energy consumption was reduced by 0.42 kWh, sufficient to meet a household’s daily energy needs for lighting. Our findings further indicate that this conservation effect is only significant for households using convenient payment schemes (quick-pay) via other digital platforms, which only offer monetary costs without other information. Hence, attention and information on energy consumption are relatively lacking for these households. This result reveals the potential mechanism of social norms as a reminder, drawing users’ attention to their energy consumption behaviors. This study offers valuable insights into the application and mechanism of social norms, emphasizing the importance of providing additional reminder information as auto- and quick-pay schemes become more prevalent.

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中国的社会规范与节能

本文研究了社会规范对中国节能行为的影响。通过现场实验，我们证明，即使在节约能源的潜在消耗和经济收益有限的情况下，简单地提供社会比较信息也可以导致显著的能源减少。具体来说，能源消耗减少了0.42千瓦时，足以满足一个家庭的日常照明能源需求。我们的研究结果进一步表明，这种节约效应仅对通过其他数字平台使用便捷支付方案（快速支付）的家庭有效，这些平台只提供货币成本，而不提供其他信息。因此，这些家庭对能源消耗的关注和信息相对缺乏。这一结果揭示了社会规范作为一种提醒，吸引用户注意自己的能源消费行为的潜在机制。这项研究为社会规范的应用和机制提供了有价值的见解，强调了提供额外提醒信息的重要性，因为自动支付和快速支付计划变得越来越普遍。

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来源期刊

Resource and Energy Economics Multiple-

CiteScore

5.40

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Resource and Energy Economics provides a forum for high level economic analysis of utilization and development of the earth natural resources. The subject matter encompasses questions of optimal production and consumption affecting energy, minerals, land, air and water, and includes analysis of firm and industry behavior, environmental issues and public policies. Implications for both developed and developing countries are of concern. The journal publishes high quality papers for an international audience. Innovative energy, resource and environmental analyses, including theoretical models and empirical studies are appropriate for publication in Resource and Energy Economics.