Gene

Ecology

Biology

Statistics

Social psychology

Complement (music)

Water resource management

Economics

Biochemistry

Randomized experiment

Water consumption

Business

Test (biology)

Complementation

Psychology

Mathematics

Nudge theory

Sociology

Environmental science

Chemistry

Consumption (sociology)

Agricultural economics

Irrigation

Phenotype

Social science

European Review of Agricultural Economics

We test whether social comparison nudges can promote water-saving behaviour among farmers as a complement to traditional CAP measures. We conducted a randomised controlled trial among 200 farmers equipped with irrigation smart meters in South-West France. Treated farmers received weekly information on individual and group water consumption over four months. Our results rule out medium to large effect-sizes of the nudge. Moreover, they suggest that the nudge was effective at reducing the consumption of those who irrigate the most, although it appears to have reduced the proportion of those who do not consume water at all.

Can we nudge farmers into saving water? Evidence from a randomised experiment