Do Conservation Contests Work : An Analysis of a Large-Scale Energy Competitive Rebate Program?

Contests are widely used as mechanisms to incentivize efforts in various contexts, from research innovation to athlete and employee performance. This paper presents a model suggesting that a contest with multiple prizes and a minimum effort requirement can be an effective way to promote conservation. The model identifies factors that influence the conservation effort, such as effort costs, size of prizes, and contestant types. To validate the model's findings, the paper uses a large data set from a real-world residential energy conservation contest. The results showed that the contest significantly reduced electricity consumption among contestants, and the effect of the contest could persist months after it ended, leading to an abatement cost of $27 per ton of CO2 emissions