Information provision and consumer behavior: A natural experiment in billing frequency

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Wichman, Casey J.
• 署名单位: Resources for the Future
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.05.004
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 13-33
• 关键词: Information provision; Billing frequency; Price and quantity perception; natural experiment; Water demand; CONSERVATION; welfare

摘要

In this study, I estimate a causal effect of increased billing frequency on consumer behavior. I exploit a natural experiment in which residential water customers switched exogenously from bimonthly to monthly billing. Customers increase consumption by 3.5-5% in response to more frequent information. This result is reconciled in models of price and quantity uncertainty, where increases in billing frequency reduce the distortion in consumer perceptions. Using treatment effects as sufficient statistics, I calculate consumer welfare gains equivalent to 0.5-1% of annual water expenditures. Heterogeneous treatment effects suggest increases in outdoor water use. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.