000			01241nam a22001457a 4500
999			_c522418 _d522418
008			230411b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aDressler, Luisa and Weiergraeber, Stefan _939716
245			_aAlert the inert: Switching costs and limited awareness in retail electricity markets
260			_aAmerican Economic Journal: Microeconomics
300			_a15(1), Feb, 2023: p.74-116
520			_aWe quantify how switching costs and limited awareness affect consumer inertia in liberalized retail electricity markets by developing and estimating a structural demand model using a novel dataset on electricity contract choices in Belgium. Our data allow us to disentangle different sources of inertia by using a rich combination of macromoments and micromoments. We find that consumers perceive contracts as differentiated and both limited awareness and switching costs hinder efficient choices. Our counterfactuals reveal substantial welfare gains from alleviating both frictions, in particular switching costs, and that a well-regulated monopoly can generate similar consumer surplus as the current deregulated market. – Reproduced
773			_aAmerican Economic Journal: Microeconomics
906			_aELECTRICITY
942			_cAR