SMU SOE Seminar (Oct 30, 2019): The power of moral suasion: The case of electricity conservation in post-Fukushima Japan

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TOPIC:

THE POWER OF MORAL SUASION: THE CASE OF ELECTRICITY CONSERVATION IN POST-FUKUSHIMA JAPAN

ABSTRACT We examine the effects of moral suasion on household electricity consumption in a non-experimental setting. Before the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, a quarter of electricity was generated by nuclear power plants in Japan, but all the plants had shut down by 2013 for regular checkups. To meet severe supply constraint without increasing the price, the government run a massive conservation campaign with explicit targets by electric company districts. Exploiting the differential timing of pre-determined checkup cycle and heterogeneous dependence on nuclear power generation in pre-accident period by the electric company districts as the exogeneous determinant of the target, we estimate the impact of the target on household electricity demand based on monthly consumer expenditure survey controlling for temperature as well as detailed information of housing unit and demographic characteristics. We also exploit the price increase that occurred with time lag to estimate the price elasticity. We show that increasing the conservation target by 1 percentage point reduced the consumption by 2\% whereas the price elasticity was around 0.5. We also find a suggestive evidence that the conservation target induced the purchase of electricity saving durable goods. Click here to view the CV.
		PRESENTER Daiji Kawaguchi University of Tokyo
		RESEARCH FIELDS Labor Economics Emprical Microeconomics
		DATE: 30 October 2019 (Wednesday)
		TIME: 4pm - 5.30pm
		VENUE: Meeting Room 5.1, Level 5 School of Economics Singapore Management University 90 Stamford Road Singapore 178903

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