Testing for Spillovers in Resource Conservation: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment

Abstract

This paper studies whether behavioral interventions designed to promote resource conservation in one domain generate spillovers in another. Using a natural field experiment involving over 2,000 residents, we identify the direct and spillover effects of real-time feedback and social comparisons on water and energy consumption. We implement three interventions: two targeting shower use and one targeting air-conditioning use. We find significant reductions in shower use from both water-saving interventions, but no direct effect of the energy-saving intervention on air-conditioning use. For spillovers, we estimate precise null effects of water-saving interventions on air-conditioning use, and of the energy-saving intervention on shower use.