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CanWe Nudge Farmers Into SavingWater? Evidence from a randomized experiment.
1 : Toulouse School of Economics
(TSE)
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Site web
Toulouse School of Economics
Manufacture de Tabacs, 21 allées de Brienne 31000 Toulouse -
France
2 : Centre dÉconomie de lÉnvironnement - Montpellier - FRE2010
(CEE-M)
-
Site web
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique : FRE2010, Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Université de Montpellier
2 Place VialaINRA - MSA34060 Montpellier Cedex 2 -
France
3 : Toulouse School of Economics
(TSE)
-
Site web
Toulouse School of Economics
Manufacture de Tabacs, 21 allées de Brienne 31000 Toulouse -
France
4 : cacg
* : Auteur correspondant
Compagnie d'aménagement des côteaux de Gascogne - CACG
Improving water efficiency is a growing challenge for the Common Agricultural Policy. In this article, we test whether social comparison nudges can promote water-saving behavior among farmers. We report on a pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, in which information on individual and group water consumption were sent every week to farmers equipped with smartmeters. We do not detect an effect of nudges on average water consumption. We however find that the nudge decreases water consumption at the top of the distribution while it increases consumption at the bottom. This study highlights the potential of nudges as an agricultural policy tool.
