Marketing and Economics of Harm Reduction: Evidence from Conservation Field Experiments.

This article focuses on extending the harm reduction framework—traditionally applied in public health and substance use contexts—to environmental conservation, specifically water conservation during California’s drought. The authors develop an economic model illustrating trade-offs in harm reduction, emphasizing reducing consumption among heavy users without encouraging increased use by marginal or abstinent consumers. They empirically test this framework through two field experiments marketing a smart irrigation controller in Redwood City, California, demonstrating that adoption is concentrated among heavy irrigators, leads to significant and persistent water savings, and does not cannibalize abstinence solutions like turf removal or reduce landscape greenness. The study provides a conceptual and measurement framework for applying harm reduction beyond drug use, highlighting the importance of engaging less prosocial consumers to achieve broader conservation goals.