Replication data for: Evaluating Behaviorally Motivated Policy: Experimental Evidence from the Lightbulb Market

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Hunt Allcott; Dmitry Taubinsky

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
Allcott-and-Taubinsky---TESSAudio			10/12/2019 01:54:AM
Analysis			10/12/2019 01:54:AM
Allcott-and-Taubinsky---In-Store-Experiment-Protocol.docx	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document	24.3 KB	10/11/2019 09:54:PM
Allcott-and-Taubinsky---The-Lightbulb-Paradox---Replication-Instructions.pdf	application/pdf	5.2 KB	10/11/2019 09:54:PM

Project Description

Summary: Imperfect information and inattention to energy costs are important potential motivations for energy efficiency standards and subsidies. We evaluate these motivations in the lightbulb market using a theoretical model and two randomized experiments. We derive welfare effects as functions of reduced-form sufficient statistics capturing economic and psychological parameters, which we estimate using a novel within-subject information disclosure experiment. The main results suggest that moderate subsidies for energy-efficient lightbulbs may increase welfare, but informational and attentional biases alone do not justify a ban on incandescent lightbulbs. Our results and techniques generate broader methodological insights into welfare analysis with misoptimizing consumers. (JEL D12, D83, H21, H31, L67, Q41, Q48)

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
      D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
      H21 Taxation and Subsidies: Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
      H31 Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household
      L67 Other Consumer Nondurables: Clothing, Textiles, Shoes, and Leather Goods; Household Goods; Sports Equipment
      Q41 Energy: Demand and Supply; Prices
      Q48 Energy: Government Policy

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Published Versions

V1 [2019-10-12]

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