Replication data for: Are Consumers Poorly Informed about Fuel Economy? Evidence from Two Experiments

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Hunt Allcott; Christopher Knittel

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data			10/13/2019 06:00:AM
LICENSE.txt	text/plain	14.6 KB	10/13/2019 02:00:AM

Project Citation:

Allcott, Hunt, and Knittel, Christopher. Replication data for: Are Consumers Poorly Informed about Fuel Economy? Evidence from Two Experiments. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2019. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-13. https://doi.org/10.3886/E114709V1

Project Description

Summary: It is often asserted that consumers are poorly informed about and inattentive to fuel economy, causing them to buy low-fuel economy vehicles despite their own best interest. This paper presents evidence on this assertion through two experiments providing fuel economy information to new vehicle shoppers. Results show zero statistical or economic effect on average fuel economy of vehicles purchased. In the context of a simple optimal policy model, the estimates suggest that current and proposed US fuel economy standards are significantly more stringent than needed to address the classes of imperfect information and inattention addressed by our interventions.

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      C93 Field Experiments
      D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
      D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
      D91 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
      L62 Automobiles; Other Transportation Equipment; Related Parts and Equipment
      Q48 Energy: Government Policy

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Published Versions

V1 [2019-10-13]

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DDI 2.5

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