The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Behavioral Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Energy Conservation
Hunt Allcott, Todd Rogers
American Economic Review / NBER · 2014
Abstract
Asks what happens to a social-norm nudge over time—whether repeated Home Energy Reports build lasting habits or whether their effects fade—by following households for years, including after the reports stop.
Methodology
Analysis of large, long-running randomized field experiments with Opower Home Energy Reports, tracking treatment effects across repeated mailings and after discontinuation to separate habit formation from ongoing prompting.
Findings
Each report produces an immediate drop in usage followed by partial 'backsliding,' but repetition builds a durable habit stock: effects persist substantially even after reports cease, and the pattern implies the intervention creates lasting capital rather than a purely transient response.
Applied nudge
Repeated prompts build habits that outlast the prompt—space reminders to consolidate behavior into a durable routine, and expect (and design against) short-term backsliding between touchpoints.
Citation
Allcott, H., & Rogers, T. (2014). The short-run and long-run effects of behavioral interventions: Experimental evidence from energy conservation. American Economic Review, 104(10), 3003-3037.
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