The Experts below are selected from a list of 312 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Assar Lindbeck - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Incentives and Social Norms in Household Behavior
1997Co-Authors: Assar LindbeckAbstract:In a broad psychological perspective, both economic incentives and social norms may be be regarded as giving rise to purposesful, or “rational” Behavior. By this I simply mean that individuals act in accordance with expected reward or punishment, even though the form these take differs substantially in the two cases. Whereas economic incentives imply “material rewards”, or favors that can be traded for such rewards including leisure, social norms imply “social rewards”. The latter basically take the form of approval or disapproval from others, and related feelings of pride or shame. Moreover, once a social norm has been internalized in an individual’s own value system, Behavior in accordance with, or against, the norm will also result in feelings of self-respect or guilt. 2 All this
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Incentives and Social Norms in Household Behavior
The American Economic Review, 1997Co-Authors: Assar LindbeckAbstract:In a broad psychological perspective, both economic incentives and social norms may be be regarded as giving rise to purposesful, or “rational” Behavior. By this I simply mean that individuals act in accordance with expected reward or punishment, even though the form these take differs substantially in the two cases. Whereas economic incentives imply “material rewards”, or favors that can be traded for such rewards including leisure, social norms imply “social rewards”. The latter basically take the form of approval or disapproval from others, and related feelings of pride or shame. Moreover, once a social norm has been internalized in an individual’s own value system, Behavior in accordance with, or against, the norm will also result in feelings of self-respect or guilt. All this suggests that not only economic incentives but also social norms may be analyzed by means of utility theory, as will be illustrated below. Many social norms may not have much to do with economic incentives (Elster,1989). In some cases, it is, however, useful to study the interaction between them. Indeed, this is the basic message of the paper. My discussion will be limited to three norms of apparent importance for Household Behavior: (i) work norms; (ii) norms against wage underbidding; and (iii) saving and consumption norms. Thus, the paper deals with norms concerning willingness to work, ability to get a job and the use of income.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Michael Greenstone - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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up in smoke the influence of Household Behavior on the long run impact of improved cooking stoves
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2016Co-Authors: Rema Hanna, Esther Duflo, Michael GreenstoneAbstract:Laboratory studies suggest that improved cooking stoves can reduce indoor air pollution, improve health, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. We provide evidence, from a large-scale randomized trial in India, on the benefits of a common, laboratory-validated stove with a four-year follow-up. While smoke inhalation initially falls, this effect disappears by year two. We find no changes across health outcomes or greenhouse gas emissions. Households used the stoves irregularly and inappropriately, failed to maintain them, and usage declined over time. This study underscores the need to test environmental technologies in real-world settings where Behavior may undermine potential impacts.
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up in smoke the influence of Household Behavior on the long run impact of improved cooking stoves
National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012Co-Authors: Rema Hanna, Esther Duflo, Michael GreenstoneAbstract:It is conventional wisdom that it is possible to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution, improve health outcomes, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the rural areas of developing countries through the adoption of improved cooking stoves. This belief is largely supported by observational field studies and engineering or laboratory experiments. However, we provide new evidence, from a randomized control trial conducted in rural Orissa, India (one of the poorest places in India), on the benefits of a commonly used improved stove that laboratory tests showed to reduce indoor air pollution and require less fuel. We track Households for up to four years after they received the stove. While we find a meaningful reduction in smoke inhalation in the first year, there is no effect over longer time horizons. We find no evidence of improvements in lung functioning or health and there is no change in fuel consumption (and presumably greenhouse gas emissions). The difference between the laboratory and field findings appear to result from Households' revealed low valuation of the stoves. Households failed to use the stoves regularly or appropriately, did not make the necessary investments to maintain them properly, and usage rates ultimately declined further over time. More broadly, this study underscores the need to test environmental and health technologies in real-world settings where Behavior may temper impacts, and to test them over a long enough horizon to understand how this Behavioral effect evolves over time.
Chen Zhigang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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review on sustainable utilization of salt affected land
Acta Geographica Sinica, 2011Co-Authors: Chen ZhigangAbstract:The exploitation of salt-affected land resources has made significant contribution to grain production. However it will be faced with a big challenge due to fresh water shortage and climate change. In the past few years, great progress has been made in sustainable utilization of salt-affected land. The contents of this paper include the following parts: (1) the major progress of Technology Research and Development (Tech RD), drainage waters disposed off in an environmentally safe manner, and necessary management for technology of sustainable use of salt-affected land; (2) a detailed review of farm Household Behavior of technology choice for sustainable salt-affected land; (3) a brief review of the scientific research method for sustainable use of saline land. It is suggested that the following aspects should be further studied: (1) to strengthen the cooperation of scientists in different disciplines; (2) to emphasize the research on micro-subject farm Household Behavior of technology choice; (3) to increase the scientificity of research method.
Rema Hanna - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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up in smoke the influence of Household Behavior on the long run impact of improved cooking stoves
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2016Co-Authors: Rema Hanna, Esther Duflo, Michael GreenstoneAbstract:Laboratory studies suggest that improved cooking stoves can reduce indoor air pollution, improve health, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. We provide evidence, from a large-scale randomized trial in India, on the benefits of a common, laboratory-validated stove with a four-year follow-up. While smoke inhalation initially falls, this effect disappears by year two. We find no changes across health outcomes or greenhouse gas emissions. Households used the stoves irregularly and inappropriately, failed to maintain them, and usage declined over time. This study underscores the need to test environmental technologies in real-world settings where Behavior may undermine potential impacts.
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up in smoke the influence of Household Behavior on the long run impact of improved cooking stoves
National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012Co-Authors: Rema Hanna, Esther Duflo, Michael GreenstoneAbstract:It is conventional wisdom that it is possible to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution, improve health outcomes, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the rural areas of developing countries through the adoption of improved cooking stoves. This belief is largely supported by observational field studies and engineering or laboratory experiments. However, we provide new evidence, from a randomized control trial conducted in rural Orissa, India (one of the poorest places in India), on the benefits of a commonly used improved stove that laboratory tests showed to reduce indoor air pollution and require less fuel. We track Households for up to four years after they received the stove. While we find a meaningful reduction in smoke inhalation in the first year, there is no effect over longer time horizons. We find no evidence of improvements in lung functioning or health and there is no change in fuel consumption (and presumably greenhouse gas emissions). The difference between the laboratory and field findings appear to result from Households' revealed low valuation of the stoves. Households failed to use the stoves regularly or appropriately, did not make the necessary investments to maintain them properly, and usage rates ultimately declined further over time. More broadly, this study underscores the need to test environmental and health technologies in real-world settings where Behavior may temper impacts, and to test them over a long enough horizon to understand how this Behavioral effect evolves over time.
Jan Rouwendal - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Car User Taxes, Quality Characteristics and Fuel Efficiency: Household Behavior and Market Adjustment
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012Co-Authors: Bruno De Borger, Jan RouwendalAbstract:We study the impact of fuel taxes and kilometer taxes on Households' choices of vehicle quality, on their demand for kilometers driven, and on fuel consumption. Moreover, embedding this information in a model of the car market, we analyze the implications of these taxes for the opportunity costs of owning cars of different quality. Higher quality raises the fixed cost of car ownership, but it may raise (engine size, acceleration speed, etc.) or reduce (fuel technology, etc.) the variable user cost. Our results show that kilometer charges and fuel taxes have very different implications. For example, a higher fuel tax raises Household demand for more fuel efficient cars, provided that the demand for car use is inelastic; it reduces the demand for characteristics that raise variable user costs. Surprisingly, however, a kilometer tax unambiguously reduces the demand for more fuel efficient cars. Incorporating price adjustments at the market level, we find th at fuel taxes raise the marginal fixed opportunity cost of better fuel efficiency at all quality levels. Total annual opportunity costs of owning highly fuel efficient cars increase, while they decline for cars of low fuel efficiency. We further find that both a fuel tax and a kilometer charge reduce the total annual fixed ownership cost for car attributes that raise the variable cost of driving (engine power, acceleration speed, etc.). There is thus in general a trade-off between fixed and variable car costs: if the latter increase - due to higher fuel prices or a kilometer charge - total demand for cars decreases and a return to equilibrium is only possible by a decrease in fixed costs. All theoretical results are illustrated using a numerical version of the model. The analysis shows that modeling the effect of tax changes on Household Behavior alone can produce highly misleading results.
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Car User Taxes, Quality Characteristics and Fuel Efficiency: Household Behavior and Market Adjustment
2012Co-Authors: Bruno De Borger, Jan RouwendalAbstract:This discussion paper led to a publication in the 'Journal of Transport Economics and Policy' . We study the impact of fuel taxes and kilometer taxes on Households' choices of vehicle quality, on their demand for kilometers driven, and on fuel consumption. Moreover, embedding this information in a model of the car market, we analyze the implications of these taxes for the opportunity costs of owning cars of different quality. Higher quality raises the fixed cost of car ownership, but it may raise (engine size, acceleration speed, etc.) or reduce (fuel technology, etc.) the variable user cost. Our results show that kilometer charges and fuel taxes have very different implications. For example, a higher fuel tax raises Household demand for more fuel efficient cars, provided that the demand for car use is inelastic; it reduces the demand for characteristics that raise variable user costs. Surprisingly, however, a kilometer tax unambiguously reduces the demand for more fuel efficient cars. Incorporating price adjustments at the market level, we find that fuel taxes raise the marginal fixed opportunity cost of better fuel efficiency at all quality levels. Total annual opportunity costs of owning highly fuel efficient cars increase, while they decline for cars of low fuel efficiency. We further find that both a fuel tax and a kilometer charge reduce the total annual fixed ownership cost for car attributes that raise the variable cost of driving (engine power, acceleration speed, etc.). There is thus in general a trade-off between fixed and variable car costs: if the latter increase - due to higher fuel prices or a kilometer charge - total demand for cars decreases and a return to equilibrium is only possible by a decrease in fixed costs. All theoretical results are illustrated using a numerical version of the model. The analysis shows that modeling the effect of tax changes on Household Behavior alone can produce highly misleading results.
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Car User Taxes, Quality Characteristics and Fuel Efficiency: Household Behavior and Market Adjustment
2012Co-Authors: Bruno De Borger, Jan RouwendalAbstract:We study the impact of fuel taxes and kilometer taxes on Households’ choices of vehicle quality, on their demand for kilometers driven, and on fuel consumption. Moreover, embedding this information in a model of the car market, we analyze the implications of these taxes for the opportunity costs of owning cars of different quality. Higher quality raises the fixed cost of car ownership, but it may raise (engine size, acceleration speed, etc.) or reduce (fuel technology, etc.) the variable user cost. Our results show that kilometer charges and fuel taxes have very different implications. For example, a higher fuel tax raises Household demand for more fuel efficient cars, provided that the demand for car use is inelastic; it reduces the demand for characteristics that raise variable user costs. Surprisingly, however, a kilometer tax unambiguously reduces the demand for more fuel efficient cars. Incorporating price adjustments at the market level, we find that fuel taxes raise the marginal fixed opportunity cost of better fuel efficiency at all quality levels. Total annual opportunity costs of owning highly fuel efficient cars increase, while they decline for cars of low fuel efficiency. We further find that both a fuel tax and a kilometer charge reduce the total annual fixed ownership cost for car attributes that raise the variable cost of driving (engine power, acceleration speed, etc.). There is thus in general a trade-off between fixed and variable car costs: if the latter increase – due to higher fuel prices or a kilometer charge – total demand for cars decreases and a return to equilibrium is only possible by a decrease in fixed costs. All theoretical results are illustrated using a numerical version of the model. The analysis shows that modeling the effect of tax changes on Household Behavior alone can produce highly misleading results. (*) Bruno De Borger, Department of Economics, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium (bruno.deborger@ua.ac.be); Jan Rouwendal, Department of Spatial Economics, VU University, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Tinbergen Institute, Gustav Mahlerplein117, 1082 MS Amsterdam, The Netherlands (jrouwendal@feweb.vu.nl). Errors are our own responsibility.