Abstract
Mandatory energy performance certification for buildings is increasingly used in many countries. Energy performance certificates (EPCs) are seen as a key instrument to increase awareness of energy efficiency, which may affect real estate prices, investments in energy efficiency and ultimately energy consumption. Despite the widespread use and substantial administrative costs to implement, empirical evidence on whether or not mandatory certification reduces energy consumption is nonexistent. Empirical evidence for real estate prices and investments in energy efficiency is scarce and inconclusive. We exploit the introduction of mandatory EPCs in Flanders in November 2008 in combination with rich micro data in a regression discontinuity design. Therefore, we are able to provide a credible-identified estimate of the causal effect of the introduction of mandatory EPCs on energy consumption, house prices and investments in energy efficiency.
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