The Effect of Messaging on Electric Vehicle Purchases

Last registered on September 01, 2017
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Effect of Messaging on Electric Vehicle Purchases
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002248
Initial registration date
August 31, 2017

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
September 01, 2017, 10:57 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region
Connecticut

Primary Investigator

Name
Kenneth Gillingham
Affiliation
Yale University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Stephanie Weber
PI Affiliation
Yale University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2017-05-31
End date
2017-09-30
Keywords
Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
pro-social choices, incentives
JEL code(s)
Q4, R4
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Electric vehicles made up 0.7 percent of the U.S. vehicle stock in 2015, despite state and federal subsidies and incentives. This study analyzes the effect of email messages with different emphases on the decision to purchase a subsidized electric vehicle. Households with residential solar photovoltaic installations are randomly assigned to receive an email alerting them to a substantial ($10,000) electric vehicle rebate and emphasizing either economic or environmental incentives for electric vehicle ownership. A third, control group is not informed for the rebate until after the experiment. Households interested in the incentive must fill out a survey to access a promotional code, after which they can purchase a subsidized Nissan LEAF. We will compare the effect of the alternate messaging on survey completion and electric vehicle purchasing behavior.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Gillingham, Kenneth and Stephanie Weber. 2017. "The Effect of Messaging on Electric Vehicle Purchases." AEA RCT Registry. September 01. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2248-1.0
Former Citation
Gillingham, Kenneth and Stephanie Weber. 2017. "The Effect of Messaging on Electric Vehicle Purchases." AEA RCT Registry. September 01. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2248/history/21111
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2017-05-31
Intervention End Date
2017-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The main outcomes are actual purchases of the Nissan LEAF and the responses to the survey about electric vehicle preferences.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Households participating in the residential solar investment program through the CT Green Bank are randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups or the control. All groups are informed of their eligibility for a $10,000 discount on a 2017 Nissan LEAF, but the economic treatment emails emphasize the financial incentives for EV ownership, while the environmental treatment emails focus on environmental motivations. The treatment emails are sent several weeks before the control group is informed of the incentive.
Experimental Design Details
The Connecticut Green Bank ran the survey and collaborators at Yale received matched and anonymized data after the survey was run.
Randomization Method
Randomization was performed using a uniform random number generator in Stata.
Randomization Unit
household
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
21,751 households
Sample size: planned number of observations
21,751 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
7,164 households control, 7,178 households financial treatment, 7,409 households environmental treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials