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Personal Norms of Sustainability and Farm Management Behavior

Author

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  • Roland Olbrich

    (Department of Sustainability Science and Department of Economics, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, P.O. Box 2440, Lüneburg 21314, Germany)

  • Martin F. Quaas

    (Institute of Economics, University of Kiel, Olshausenstraße 40, Kiel 24118, Germany)

  • Stefan Baumgärtner

    (Department of Sustainability Science and Department of Economics, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, P.O. Box 2440, Lüneburg 21314, Germany)

Abstract

We empirically study personal norms of sustainability, conceptualized according to the norm-activation theory and operationalized under the notion of strong ecological-economic sustainability. Our case study is commercial cattle farming in semi-arid rangelands of Namibia, a system that is subject to extensive degradation. Using survey data, we characterize farmers’ personal ecosystems and income norms, study their determinants, and analyze their impact on actual management based on the dual-preferences model. We find that ecosystem and income norms are heterogeneous across farmers and independent from each other. Furthermore, farmers with better environmental and financial farm conditions have more demanding norms. We find no evidence for a significant impact of norms on actual management, which provides an explanation for the observed degradation of the system.

Suggested Citation

  • Roland Olbrich & Martin F. Quaas & Stefan Baumgärtner, 2014. "Personal Norms of Sustainability and Farm Management Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(8), pages 1-28, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:8:p:4990-5017:d:38902
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Riccardo Testa & Anna Maria di Trapani & Filippo Sgroi & Salvatore Tudisca, 2014. "Economic Sustainability of Italian Greenhouse Cherry Tomato," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-15, November.
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    3. Jessica Ingenillem & Joachim Merz & Stefan Baumgärtner, 2014. "Determinants and interactions of sustainability and risk management of commercial cattle farmers in Namibia," Working Paper Series in Economics 304, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    4. Engler, John-Oliver & von Wehrden, Henrik, 2018. "Global assessment of the non-equilibrium theory of rangelands: Revisited and refined," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 479-484.

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