The effects of social norm and threat of enforcement on willingness to pay for septic system maintenance
Date
2023
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Failing septic systems are a major contributor to nonpoint source pollution that causes significant environmental and public health damage. While 60 million people in the US are serviced by septic systems there is relatively little research on how septic system owners make decisions regarding the maintenance of their systems. Septic system failure rates in the US have been measured at over 25%(Mohamed 2009; James et al. 2016). Because of these relatively high failure rates, it is particularly important to determine what can be done to encourage homeowners to comply with the needs of their septic systems. This research involves a field experiment to be conducted in 2023 with adult homeowners in Delaware making decisions related to their septic systems. Message treatments will be tested to determine which are most effective at improving homeowners’ willingness to improve the maintenance of the septic systems. Specifically, homeowners submit cost-share bids into an auction for a voucher for a local septic system company to come to their house to pump out their system and conduct an inspection to make sure that it is functioning correctly. This service is valued at approximately $300. Using a between-subject design, the bid behavior in the control group (no message) will be compared to participants who either receive a social norm treatment (75% of homeowners successfully maintain their septic systems) or a threat message (reminding homeowners that a failing septic system can lead to significant fines imposed by the state government). In addition to the experimental design, we will also gather information about homeowners’ baseline knowledge about their septic systems. Based on the results, we will discuss policy options for influencing homeowner behavior and reducing environmental externalities from failing septic systems.
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Keywords
Behavioral economics, Experimental design, Nudge, Failing septic systems, Social norm