Grantee Research Project Results
2006 Progress Report: Information, Altruism, and Regulation: Evidence from ‘Spare the Air’ Using a Regression Discontinuity Approach
EPA Grant Number: R832848Title: Information, Altruism, and Regulation: Evidence from ‘Spare the Air’ Using a Regression Discontinuity Approach
Investigators: Neidell, Matthew , Cutter, W. Bowman
Institution: Columbia University in the City of New York , University of California - Riverside
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: May 15, 2006 through May 14, 2008
Project Period Covered by this Report: May 15, 2006 through May 14, 2007
Project Amount: $143,396
RFA: Environmental Behavior and Decisionmaking: Determining the Effectiveness of Environmental Information Disclosure and Provision (2005) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Justice
Objective:
The focus of this project is to assess whether an information advisory program that relies primarily on voluntary behavior can be effectively incorporated into a regulation policy for ground-level ozone. We will test if people respond to “Spare the Air” (STA) advisories offered in the San Francisco Bay Area by altering their commuting behavior to reduce tailpipe emissions that lead to ozone formation. If we find evidence of changes in commuting behavior, we will assess if these responses impact environmental performance by reducing ozone concentrations.
Progress Summary:
Our preliminary results indicate evidence of a response to STAs, but one that is only uncovered by examining hourly responses within the day rather than aggregate daily responses. STAs have no statistically significant effect on total daily traffic (as measured by highway traffic volumes) or total daily public transit volumes (as measured by ridership on the Bay Area Rapid Transit [BART], the major commuting rail system in the region), but we find much larger and statistically significant responses to STAs during peak commuting periods in our regression discontinuity models.
Given that we find evidence of a reduction in ozone-producing activities, we also assess whether these programs are having an impact on ozone levels. Although the ozone formation process is far more complicated than the reduced form model we estimate, the model we estimate directly addresses the policy relationship of interest: do STAs lower ozone levels? Our results indicate that STAs do not have a statistically significant effect on ozone levels, and we are equally likely to find negative and positive effects on ozone levels.
The preliminary empirical evidence that individuals voluntarily respond to information programs suggests such programs have a potential role in regulatory policy, but greater responsiveness may be necessary to render the program a success. Although further outreach efforts to encourage more drivers to change their behavior appear necessary for the STA program to be effective, the counteracting free-rider problem from lower traffic volumes may limit the ultimate effectiveness of this program. That is, if STAs result in a reduction in trips by some individuals, then other individuals may respond to the reduction in expected traffic (and hence reduced travel time) by undertaking more trips. Therefore, our analysis casts doubt on whether this particular voluntary program, as it currently operates, can improve environmental quality and also casts doubt on whether the recent decision to offer free fares to BART passengers on STA alert days is a cost-effective way to increase the impact of STAs.
Future Activities:
As we work towards publishing the aforementioned paper, we will continue to present results to disseminate our findings. We also have begun exploring several related projects including a follow-up empirical paper examining whether responses to STAs vary according to characteristics of drivers, such as distance to public transportation options, and the development of a theoretical model describing the effect of alternative traffic programs on transportation choices.
Supplemental Keywords:
media, ozone, mobile sources, public policy, transportation, analytical, California, social science, pollution prevention,, RFA, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Scientific Discipline, Air, air toxics, Economics, mobile sources, decision-making, Economics & Decision Making, Social Science, air quality standards, commuting, policy making, motor vehicle emissions, vehicle emissions, decision making, environmental decision making, ozone, ozone formation, environmental attitudes, community participation, environmental law, environmental policy, ambient ozone reduction, behavior change, outreach and education, regulations, regulatory impact, choice experimentProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.