Understanding Energy Consumption Behavior in a Landlord-Tenant Context: What do the numbers tell us?

Speaker: Maya Papineau, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Carleton University

Split incentives, lease contract structure and electricity consumption in commercial buildings are closely interconnected. A split incentive arises when, for example, energy costs are included in the lease of a tenant as a flat fee, or else when building occupants pay the energy bills but have limited authority to invest in the building to improve its efficiency. Split incentives can be barriers to energy conservation and are very challenging to overcome. Maya Papineau is carrying out cutting-edge research on the split incentive barrier using sophisticated econometric techniques to gain a deep understanding of the issue. As she presents her research, she will share insights on: How widespread is the landlord-tenant dilemma? How large is the effect on energy consumption? Can we work around it when designing energy policies? How could we establish stronger incentives for energy conservation in the commercial and institutional sector?

Logistics: Tuesday March 31, 2015, Room 2017 Dunton Tower, Carleton University

5:45 - 6:00 pm - Meet the Speaker

6:00 - 6:30 pm – Presentation

6:30 - 7:30 pm - Q & A and Discussion

About the Speaker: Maya Papineau holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics at University of California Berkeley, an M.Sc. with distinction from University College London, and a B.A. in Economics at Carleton University (with Highest Honors). She has research interests in environmental economics, energy economics and applied econometrics. Beside working on the split-incentive barrier to energy efficiency, she also works on energy performance codes, standards and labels, the interplay between business cycles and carbon emissions, and on studying the adoption trajectory of renewable technologies.