Informativeness and Welfare Effects of Labels: Evidence from the EU Energy Label Re-scaling
The School of Economics and Finance invites you to a seminar presented by Dr Suchita Srinivasan from University of Otago
Authors: Massimo Filippini, Kenneth Gillingham, Suchita Srinivasan
Abstract:
Information framing can influence economic choices. We investigate the impact of a re-scaling of the EU energy label for appliances on the choices of Swiss consumers. We show that consumers bought more efficient washing machines after the re-scaling and less efficient dishwashers, with ambiguous results for fridges. Applying a theoretical framework, we demonstrate that the re-scaling may have improved the value of information, and thus welfare, of Swiss washing machine buyers, with weaker results for fridges and dishwashers. Differences across appliance types are driven by label informativeness, availability of energy-efficient choices, and by consumer preferences between efficiency and other attributes.
About Speaker
Suchita Srinivasan is a Lecturer at the University of Otago and a Research Associate at the Chair for Energy and Public Economics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. She is an energy and environmental economist whose research examines technology adoption decisions, energy and climate policies, barriers to pro-environmental behaviour, and climate change adaptation. She is interested in studying empirical questions related to the environment, climate change, and the energy landscape that are relevant to both households and firms.