Lorenzo Lotti

Behavioural interventions promise low-cost ways to reduce residential energy use—but how well do they work outside controlled settings? This study offers one of the first real-world comparisons of standard nudges and Nudge+ reflective prompts, using smart-meter data from ten UK student accommodation buildings. Over six weeks, we implemented personal-norm interventions and evaluated their effects through a difference-in-differences design with climatic and structural controls. Neither treatment produced statistically significant reductions in electricity use. Short exposure, purposive building allocation, limited clusters, missing engagement data, and the absence of financial incentives likely constrained responsiveness. The findings highlight the practical limits of norm-based interventions in low-incentive residential environments and clarify when behavioural tools require stronger reinforcement or complementary policy measures.

This paper investigates the application of nudge theory to reduce utility consumption within student accommodation, specifically focusing on the effectiveness of informational and competition-based nudges. With the pressing challenge of climate change and the significant contribution of the building sector to global energy use, finding innovative, cost-effective strategies to promote sustainable behaviour is critical. This study employs a quasi-experimental design across six buildings divided into four groups: Control, Information-only, Competition Without Prizes and Competition With Prizes. The research aims to explore the differential effects of informational feedback and competition, with and without prizes, on energy consumption. The study utilises a longitudinal approach, examining energy usage across multiple years to control for external factors such as occupancy fluctuations and seasonal effects. Results reveal that the informational nudge, contrary to expectations, increased energy consumption in certain accommodation, possibly due to rebound effects or moral licensing. Meanwhile, the competition without prizes nudge effectively reduced energy usage, highlighting the power of intrinsic motivation and social comparison. However, the competition with prizes nudge showed no significant effect, suggesting that extrinsic rewards might undermine the intrinsic motivation to save energy. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on behavioural change interventions in residential settings, particularly within transient and dense environments such as student accommodation. The findings underscore the need for nuanced, well-designed nudges that account for behavioural dynamics and suggest that low-cost strategies which utilise intrinsic motivators may be more effective than those that provide extrinsic rewards in fostering sustainable habits in student accommodation. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of robust communication strategies to enhance the efficacy of behavioural interventions in reducing energy consumption.

Expanding a high level of openness and attracting high-quality foreign direct investment (FDI) while preventing foreign-invested enterprises from relocating to host countries to reduce costs and circumvent environmental regulation (ER) in their home countries, which can transform host countries into “pollution heaven”, present a significant challenge for emerging markets such as China. Based on a theoretical analysis that integrates various frameworks, this study constructs a panel regression model to empirically investigate the relationship between ER and the quality of FDI. This analysis is conducted from the perspectives of administrative means and market mechanisms, utilizing panel data from 267 prefectural-level cities in China spanning the years 2005 to 2021. This study reveals the following conclusions: (1) The implementation of ER significantly enhances the quality of FDI within cities, a conclusion that remains robust across various tests. (2) ER improves the quality of FDI through two key pathways: enhancing green competitiveness and fostering green technological innovation. (3) In comparison to the isolated effects of administrative and market mechanism policies, the synergistic effect of these two approaches proves to be more pronounced in elevating the quality of FDI. (4) ER exerts a significant impact on the quality of FDI, particularly within sub-samples of cities characterized by higher levels of environmental protection and a focus on non-resource-oriented activities. (5) ER has a negative spatial spillover effect on FDI quality. This study serves as a valuable guide for emerging markets to enhance environmental policy effectiveness and assess the potential for a new open economic system.

This paper provides evidence of the trends in the emotional wellbeing of university staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on differences according to age, gender and ethnicity. From June 2020 to July 2021 a survey was circulated to University College London staff, capturing information on self-described demographic indicators (age, gender, and ethnicity), satisfaction with academic life, and mental and emotional wellbeing. Results show a moderate level of emotional wellbeing overall, with scores increasing after lockdowns were lifted. Some significant heterogeneity within the demographic variables demonstrates the need for disaggregating the categories within Black and Minority Ethnic individuals. Black Caribbean and Black African staff reported higher levels of emotional wellbeing (respectively, 0.60 and 0.81 higher wellbeing scores, on average) while staff who identified as Arab or “other” reported lower levels (on average −1.0 and −0.65) than staff who identified as White. There was a sharp increase in emotional wellbeing for Arab staff and a slight increase in Asian and “other” ethnic staff. Findings from this research provide evidence into the trends in emotional wellbeing of faculty and staff in a United Kingdom university context, contributing to the literature focusing on higher education during the pandemic period. We also flag the importance of disaggregating Black and Minority Ethnic categorization to describe and better understand the diverse impact on emotional wellbeing within different ethnic groups, which has rarely been explored in the literature assessing university staff wellbeing.