NANCY Seminar – Julien PICARD (PSAE)
The 2026/09/22
From 11:00am to 12:30pm
Event details :
Title: Green Nudges and Information Avoidance, An Experimental Investigation with European Farmers
Abstract: Why do information campaigns fail? We study information avoidance as a potential explanation. We recruited two samples of farmers across five European countries. The first sample participated in an information provision experiment: treated respondents received information on the economic benefits of sustainable farming. In the second sample, all respondents had access to the same information but could ignore it: 38% did so. We find evidence suggesting distrust in the information source is the primary mechanism of avoidance. Using machine learning algorithms trained on the second sample, we predict who is likely to seek or avoid the information in the first sample. We find the information treatment to positively affect beliefs for predicted information avoiders. Predicted seekers — already more engaged in sustainable farming — do not react to the information. Our findings suggest that those whose beliefs are most responsive to information may be the least likely to seek it out.
