Article

Nudging and subsidising farmers to foster smart water meter adoption

Benjamin Ouvrard, Raphaele Préget, Arnaud Reynaud, and L. Tuffery

Abstract

We use a discrete choice experiment with treatments to test if voluntary adoption of smart water meters by French farmers can be fostered by (i) a collective conditional subsidy offered to farmers who adopt a smart meter only if the rate of adoption in their geographic area is sufficiently high and (ii) informational nudges. Using a sample of 1,272 farmers, we find contrasted results regarding our nudges, but we show that a conditional subsidy is an effective tool to foster adoption of smart meters. Interestingly, the willingness to pay for the conditional subsidy is equal to the subsidy amount and independent of the collective adoption threshold.

JEL codes

  • D70: General
  • Q18: Agricultural Policy • Food Policy
  • Q25: Water

Reference

Benjamin Ouvrard, Raphaele Préget, Arnaud Reynaud, and L. Tuffery, Nudging and subsidising farmers to foster smart water meter adoption, European Review of Agricultural Economics, vol. 50, n. 3, July 2023, p. 1178–1226.

Published in

European Review of Agricultural Economics, vol. 50, n. 3, July 2023, p. 1178–1226