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Inducing pro-environmental behaviour: moral suasion, reciprocal altruism and the Man-in-the-Middle

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  • Sunderasan Srinivasan

Abstract

Individuals make consumption choices relating to living styles, travelling or in preferring products or services over others. The median individual's willingness to align with a cooperative group and to bear the costs that would accrue distant benefits, and having a sizable number of such willing individuals representing the median, would determine eventual environmental outcomes. This paper draws on the resources of Environmental Economics, Game Theory, Behaviouristic Psychology and Oriental Philosophy to present an informal social network approach to achieving pro-environmental outcomes. The model begins with a morally committed, altruistic opinion-leader, 'the Man-in-the-Middle', inducing anonymous altruism among a group of marginal consumers, who in-turn induce reciprocal altruism through moral suasion among a larger group of price-conscious and reticent consumers. Cumulatively these agents encourage conformity and pro-social behaviour in society, whose members otherwise fear being ostracised.

Suggested Citation

  • Sunderasan Srinivasan, 2012. "Inducing pro-environmental behaviour: moral suasion, reciprocal altruism and the Man-in-the-Middle," International Journal of Green Economics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 6(1), pages 37-54.
    • Handle: RePEc:ids:ijgrec:v:6:y:2012:i:1:p:37-54
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    Cited by:

    1. Gonzalo Palomo-Vélez & Jacek Buczny & Mark Van Vugt, 2020. "Encouraging Pro-Environmental Behaviors Through Children-Based Appeals: A Kin Selection Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-25, January.
    2. Fabio Zagonari, 2019. "(Moral) philosophy and (moral) theology can function as (behavioural) science: a methodological framework for interdisciplinary research," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(6), pages 3131-3158, November.

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