Behavioral economic theory describes a relation between response requirement and magnitude of reinforcement, and combines these variables into one independent variable (unit price) affecting operant behavior. This study investigated the relative effects of cumulative feedback on consumption for money as a commodity. Subjects were exposed to ranges of unit prices with or without a cumulative feedback bar on the computer screen indicating monetary earnings. For all participants in this study, consumption of money was a decreasing function of unit prices and the results from the present study are consistent with the behavioral economic prediction that increasing the unit price of a commodity will decrease consumption of that commodity. Analyses of demand curves, elasticity coefficients and response rates suggested differences between Feedback and No Feedback groups, although these were small and not statistically significant. The small differences observed were consistent with a behavior strengthening effect of feedback.

This Doctoral thesis studies how nudges can help protect the environment. Three empirical and one theoretical studies investigate applications of green nudges and identify situations where they should, or should not, be used to promote environmental conservation. In Chapter 1, we explore the interplay between nudges and financial policy instruments using an incentivized online experiment that reproduces daily energy behaviors. We find that these two tools do not perform better when implemented together than individually. Our results suggest that in some situations, displacements between behavioral and financial policy tools are more likely to arise than synergies. Chapter 2 presents a field study in which a behavioral intervention is used to promote energy conservation in the workplace. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we find a significant reduction in branches’ monthly consumption outside the work schedule only, but not on overall consumption. Our findings suggest that nudges that are effective in the household context do not necessarily prompt behavioral change in the working environment. In Chapter 3, we develop a behavioral model for the usage of in-home displays that provide real-time feedback on energy consumption, focusing on social housing. On top of the cost-benefit analysis between financial and moral utility, on the one hand, and the effort from using them, on the other hand, we add the role of cognitive biases. This study seeks to improve the design of behavioral policies aimed at tackling energy poverty. Chapter 4 presents an incentivized online experiment that studies moral cleansing in the interpersonal and environmental domains. We find that bad behaviors that impact others trigger costly moral cleansing, whereas those that impact the environment do not even trigger costless cleansing. This empirically shows that people perceive environmental issues differently from other moral issues.

People interact with each other rationally and irrationally. Standard economic theories assume that people act rationally, yet, behavioral economic theories indicate that sometimes people act irrationally because of the specific situation, their character, and many other factors. Culture plays a role in shaping people’s preferences, values, personalities, norms, and beliefs. That being the case, it is important to shed some light on the effect of different types of cultures on people’s decision-making behavior, in order to better understand human nature with regard to economic decisions. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to define how people from various cultures behave differently while making economic decisions, and to provide a better understanding for the motives behind people’s preferences towards decision-making. The first and second chapters of this thesis consider studies in experimental economics about the effect of introducing effort to the ultimatum game. The first chapter provides evidence that people’s decisions are driven by either hierarchy or property rights by comparing the results of three different cultures. The second chapter shows the impact of proposers’ effort in the ultimatum game, in which, culturally driven phenomenon impact on the proposers’ behavior. The third chapter investigates the impact of the Islam religion on experimental studies with regard to decision making and it shows that religious beliefs play an important role in shaping people’s preferences.