Automated Enforcement of Irrigation Regulations and Social Pressure for Water Conservation

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
Year: 2021
Volume: 8
Issue: 6
Pages: 1179 - 1207

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This study evaluates two interventions for residential water conservation. Comparing households across an enforcement algorithm’s cutoff using a regression discontinuity design, we find that automated irrigation violation warnings cause substantial water conservation but also shift some consumption from regulated to unregulated hours within the week. In contrast, we show using data from a randomized experiment with the same customers that normative home water reports reduce water use by a much smaller amount, but that this social pressure is effective during all hours both before and after automating irrigation policy enforcement. Our findings highlight the merits of implementing multidimensional conservation programs.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jaerec:doi:10.1086/715472
Journal Field
Environment
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25