Policy experimentation: To what extent can the use of social norms promote low-carbon mobility options?

By li [dot] strandberg [at] iiiee [dot] lu [dot] se (Li Strandberg) - published 1 March 2022

Lots of people waiting at a train station with the train in the background. Photo.

In a newly published article in Energy Policy, researchers from the IIIEE show the potential impacts that social norms can have if they were used to promote low-carbon mobility options.

The transport sector is crucially important to limit global warming to 1.5ᵒC above pre-industrial levels. Its management is also important to reduce negative health impacts and the dependence on fossil fuels. Using Sweden as case study, the ‘Behavioural Insights Lab for Sustainable Energy Use and Rapid Decarbonisation’ at the IIIEE, in collaboration with the University of Sevilla (Spain), embarked on policy experiments that assessed the impacts of using social norms for promoting low-carbon mobility options. Researchers deployed two randomised controlled experiments. What did they find out? Are injunctive norms more effective than descriptive norms? Can the use of social norms lead to crowd-out effects? Are there any critical policy pre-conditions for social norms to be effective?

Read the full article here (open access)