Join us on Thursday for the Baker Center Interdisciplinary Forum on Energy and 
Environmental Policy, March 29 at 3:30 pm in the Toyota Auditorium at the 
Baker Center.

Michael Price, from University of Tennessee will give a 45 minute presentation 
and then lead a discussion with participants. His talk is titled:

"Using Social Comparisons to Influence ‘Green’ Behavior: Evidence from a Large 
Scale Field Experiment"

Abstract: Policymakers are increasingly using norm-based messages to 
influence individual decision-making. In this study, Dr. Price partnered with a 
metropolitan water utility to implement a field experiment examining the effect 
of such messages on residential water demand. The data, drawn from more 
than 100,000 households, indicated that social comparison messages had a 
greater influence on behavior than simple pro-social messages or technical 
information alone. Moreover, the data suggested social comparison messages 
are most effective among households identified as the least price sensitive: 
high-users. Yet the effectiveness of such messages wanes over time. The 
results thus highlight important complementarities between pecuniary and non-
pecuniary strategies.

Michael Price is an associate professor of Economics at the University of 
Tennessee, Baker Center Fellow for Energy and Environmental Policy, and a 
research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, 
Massachusetts.  In addition to environmental economics, his research focuses 
on public, experimental and behavioral economics.  He is particularly interested 
in how non-monetary channels affect how individuals contribute toward public 
goods, such as environmental quality or charities, and how firms, utilities and 
policy makers can utilize these channels to more efficiently meet demand and 
improve welfare.    
 
The Baker Center discussion forum is an opportunity to share their research 
findings to a broad set of academics, researchers, and students from outside 
their own discipline, but who have a common interest in environmental and 
energy issues. For more information about the Baker Center 
Interdisciplinary Group on Energy and Environmental Policy visit the forum’s 
website: http://web.utk.edu/~jlarivi1/bcinter.html. 

Please join us for what promises to be a very interesting discussion and 
presentation.

Paul Armsworth, College of Arts and Sciences
Jacob LaRiviere, College of Business Administration 
Becky Jacobs, College of Law
Chris Clark, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources