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What drives compliance? An application of the theory of planned behaviour to urban water restrictions using structural equation modelling

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  • Bethany Cooper

Abstract

This article presents analysis of households’ intentions to comply with government constraints on the use of urban water, or so-called water restrictions. The data are drawn from Australian cities and was collected during a severe drought. Structural equation modelling is employed to operationalize constructs taken from the theory of planned behaviour and to answer important policy questions related to compliance. The modelled data support the view that attitudes, social norms and perceived behavioural control (PBC) have a positive and significant influence on intentions to comply. PBC has the strongest influence on intentions, suggesting policy directed at assisting households to meet regulatory criteria might be at least as effective as advertising expenditures aimed at shaping attitudes and norms. Importantly, intentions to comply are also shown to have a positive and significant influence on reported compliance behaviour.

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  • Bethany Cooper, 2017. "What drives compliance? An application of the theory of planned behaviour to urban water restrictions using structural equation modelling," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(14), pages 1426-1439, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:49:y:2017:i:14:p:1426-1439
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2016.1218430
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