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The effect of environmental policies on environmental behaviors and intrinsic motivation: evidence from the European Union

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  • Bonev, Petyo
  • Gorkun-Voevoda, Liudmila
  • Knaus, Michael

Abstract

This is the first paper to study simultaneously the effect of environmental policies on individual pro-environmental behaviors and on pro-environmental preferences. Using a novel dataset that matches data on waste policies with data on behaviors and preferences, we find that environmental policies (1) decrease the amount of waste produced and (2) impact positively the pro-environmental attitudes of individuals.

Suggested Citation

  • Bonev, Petyo & Gorkun-Voevoda, Liudmila & Knaus, Michael, 2022. "The effect of environmental policies on environmental behaviors and intrinsic motivation: evidence from the European Union," Economics Working Paper Series 2207, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science, revised Sep 2022.
    • Handle: RePEc:usg:econwp:2022:07
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    File URL: http://ux-tauri.unisg.ch/RePEc/usg/econwp/EWP-2207.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental policy; waste policy; crowding intrinsic motivation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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