22
Feb
2024
Can information-provision strategies encourage responsible mobile data consumption? A field experiment across France
with Andrea Guido (Burgundy School of Business)
Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)
Maison des Sciences Humaines
11, Porte des Sciences
L-4366 Esch-sur-Alzette / Belval
LISER Salle de Conference, 1st Floor
01:30 pm
02:45 pm
For inquiries:
3E-seminars@liser.lu

Abstract

The transition towards sustainable behaviors is a crucial step in mitigating climate change. However, individuals are often poorly informed about the consequences of their actions, especially in contexts in which it is not obvious what is the ‘right thing’ to do. This study reports evidence from a field experiment on Internet data consumption. Evidence from a survey we conduct shows that most of smartphone users lack knowledge about the environmental advantages of Wi-Fi networks relative to mobile ones (e.g., 4/5G). We design and test two behavioral interventions aiming at informing users about the consequences of their consumption choices and shifting Internet data consumed on mobile to Wi-Fi networks. Results show that information alone is not sufficient to produce a change in consumption levels. However, when combined with personal goals, we observe a significant and persistent effect. Such a cost-effective solution can potentially reduce Co2 emissions by 2.4 kg per year/person, remarking the advantages of behavioral tools for policymaking.

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Supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (PRIDE19/14233191).

https://sites.google.com/site/andreaguidouni/home

More about the 3E DTU

The Doctoral Training Unit (DTU) 3E - Experiments, Ethics and Economics - consists of an interdisciplinary consortium of 9 social scientists who use scientific experiments involving human subjects in their research. The objective of the consortium is to create a formal link for collaboration across the three existing social science research laboratories in Luxembourg, with the aim to push forward the state-of-the-art of what we know about human behavior in economic interactions. The DTU 3E gathers members across 5 Luxembourgish research units:

(1) Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research LISER
(2) Institute for Health and Behavior IHB (Faculty of Humanities FLSHASE, University of Luxembourg UL)
(3) Institute of Cognitive Science and Assessment COSA (FLSHASE, UL)
(4) Luxembourg School of Finance LSF (Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance FDEF, UL)
(5) Luxembourg Centre of Logistics LCL (Economics Research Centre CREA, FDEF, UL)