Paternalism and Energy Efficiency: An Overview
This review paper provides an overview of the application of behavioral public economics to energy efficiency. I document policymakers' arguments for “paternalistic” energy efficiency policies, formalize with a simple model of misoptimizing consumers, review and critique empirical evidence, and suggest future research directions. While empirical results suggest that policies to address imperfect information and internalities may increase welfare in some cases, some existing policies may be mistargeted or miscalibrated.
-
-
Copy CitationHunt Allcott, "Paternalism and Energy Efficiency: An Overview," NBER Working Paper 20363 (2014), https://doi.org/10.3386/w20363.
-
Published Versions
Hunt Allcott, 2016. "Paternalism and Energy Efficiency: An Overview," Annual Review of Economics, vol 8(1).
Related
Topics
Working Groups
More from the NBER
In addition to working papers, the NBER disseminates affiliates’ latest findings through a range of free periodicals — the NBER Reporter, the NBER Digest, the Bulletin on Health, and the Bulletin on Entrepreneurship — as well as online conference reports, video lectures, and interviews.
