Identifying Free-Riding in Energy-Conservation Programs Using Revealed Preference Data

Arbeitspapier

Identifying the incidence of free-ridership is significant to a range of issues relevant to program evaluation, including the calculation of net program benefits and more general assessments of political acceptability. Estimates of free-ridership in the area of energy policy frequently rely on ex-post surveys that ask program participants whether they would have behaved differently in the absence of program support. The present paper proposes an ex-ante approach to the calculation of the free-rider share using revealed preference data on home renovations from Germany's residential sector. We employ a discrete-choice model to simulate the effect of grants on renovation choices, the output from which is used to assess the extent of free-ridership under a contemporary subsidy program. Aside from its simplicity, a key advantage of the approach is that it bestows policymakers with an estimate of free-ridership prior to program implementation.

Object Details

• ISBN: 978-3-86788-110-4
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Ruhr Economic Papers ; No. 99

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Single Equation Models; Single Variables: Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities ; Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
• Subject: Energy efficiency ; residential sector ; random utility model ; discrete choice simulation ; Energiesparen ; Wirtschaftspolitische Wirkungsanalyse ; Wohneigentum ; Trittbrettfahrerverhalten ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Grösche, Peter ; Schmidt, Christoph M. ; Vance, Colin
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI)
• (where): Essen
• (when): 2009

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/29893
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET