Incentives for Conservation

Middle-income households in emerging economies are key drivers of global electricity demand, particularly in tropical regions where rising incomes and increasing temperatures amplify energy consumption. In many of these contexts, energy price policies are politically or financially unfeasible. This study examines the effectiveness of social comparison nudges in reducing residential electricity consumption in two rapidly growing cities in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula: Merida and Cancun. We implemented a field experiment in which households received feedback on their electricity usage relative to their neighbors, delivered through personalized flyers.

Using a Diff-n-Diff approach, we find that treated households reduced electric consumption by 7.9% on average –comparable to reductions in India and Lithuania. The effect was particularly pronounced in middle-to-upper households.

Our findings contribute to the literature on behavioral interventions for energy conservation
in emerging economies, underscoring the potential of low-cost, non-price mechanisms to
complement existing policy efforts in high-subsidy, high-growth settings.

The transition of artisanal fishing communities to alternative livelihoods is a pressing issue around the world. Learning the factors that increase the probability of a successful transition is useful for policy design purposes. This paper studies

This article analyzes the differential impact of economic globalization, the size and composition of the economy, and the nature of the political regime over national CO2 emission levels. We found that emissions are positively correlated with the

Vaquita marina, a small species of porpoise endemic to the Northern Gulf of California in Mexico, is the world’s most endangered cetacean species. With the purpose of preserving vaquita, the Mexican government launched PACE-Vaquita in 2008. PACE-

An optimal pesticide tax would discriminate among the substances marketed according to their toxicity levels. Adopting such a tax in Mexico is the most efficient way to prepare for compliance with the future extension of the list of pesticides

This is a booklet in Spanish that describes the main lessons derived from the use of environmental taxes in several countries, but mainly in Mexico. The two main results are that taxes generate revenue that can be invested back in the communities or

This booklet summarizes several case studies where trade and the environment can find synergies and foster development and conservation simultaneously. Decades before ESG was a thing, communities, stakeholders, and public servants were interested in

This is a presentation in English of the main findings and the article in Spanish. Groundwater pumping subsidies are a way to support farming practices in Mexico. The result is aquifer degradation and an even more unequal distribution of benefits.