Pro-environmental intervention and its spillover effect: evidence from Chinese dormitories

Last registered on November 09, 2017

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Pro-environmental intervention and its spillover effect: evidence from Chinese dormitories

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0002573

Initial registration date

November 08, 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

November 09, 2017, 11:37 PM EST

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

Locations

Country

China

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Shiqi Guo

Affiliation

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Chengzheng Hang

PI Affiliation

Tsinghua University

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2017-11-01

End date

2018-02-01

Keywords

Environment & Energy

Additional Keywords

pro-environmental intervention, spillover effect, energy consumption

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Abstract

As two primary types of energy consumption, water and electricity have been extensively investigated in the literature on conservation behaviors. But rarely do the researchers compare the intervention effects between water and electricity consumptions. Since the daily activities consuming water and electricity are to a large extent different, their intervention elasticities may differ. With access to the daily records of both the water and electricity usage of the dormitory rooms in a Chinese university, we are able to study both the water and electricity conservation behaviors of the residents. In the experiment, we periodically provide the residents with their past usage of either water and electricity and examine the effects of the different interventions. The experiment setting also allows us to study the spillover effect of pro-environmental interventions. We estimate the direction and magnitude of the spillover effects.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Guo, Shiqi and Chengzheng Hang. 2017. "Pro-environmental intervention and its spillover effect: evidence from Chinese dormitories." AEA RCT Registry. November 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2573-1.0

Former Citation

Guo, Shiqi and Chengzheng Hang. 2017. "Pro-environmental intervention and its spillover effect: evidence from Chinese dormitories." AEA RCT Registry. November 09. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2573/history/23115

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2017-11-12

Intervention End Date

2017-12-16

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Electricity consumption and water consumption.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

In the experiment, the dormitory residents will receive a letter at the beginning of every week, revealing the information on their electricity or water usages during the last week. We vary the information in the letters in different treatments. Overall, we have a 2×2 factorial design. In the treatments of water, only the usage of water is shown in the letter, while in the treatments of electricity, only the usage of electricity is revealed. In the treatments of feedback, we only disclose their own energy usage, while in the treatments of social comparison, we show the usage of themselves and their efficient neighbors. As a result, we have four treatment groups. In Group W-F, the water usage of the same room during the last week is reported in the letter. In Group W-S, the water usage of both the same room and the efficient rooms are reported. In Group E-F, the electricity usage of the same room is reported. In Group E-S, the electricity usage of both the same room and the efficient rooms are reported.

For comparison, we also have two baseline groups. In Group A, we announce to the subjects that the researchers will investigate their daily water and electricity usage records. This is to reveal the experimenter demand effects. In Group C, we make no interventions or announcements.

The observation is on room level. To reduce the spillover effects among treatments, the rooms on the same floor are included in the same treatment. So we cluster the treatment on the floor level. The sample size calculation with the power of 0.8 yields a sample size of about 50 rooms. Thus, to guarantee that we have enough well-functioning dormitory rooms, we randomly select two floors for each treatment and baseline group. At the beginning of each week, we will send letters to every room with the room number on the envelop, showing the relevant information depending on the treatment groups. The experiment will last for about four weeks.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization done in office by a computer.

Randomization Unit

Randomization is on the building floor level.

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

12 building floors (each has a cluster of about 50 rooms)

Sample size: planned number of observations

600 rooms

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

2 floors in treatment arm A, 2 floors in treatment arm B, 2 floors in treatment arm C, 2 floors in treatment arm D, 2 floors in treatment arm E, 2 floors in control.

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB