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Economic Development and Determinants of Environmental Concern

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  • Michael T. Dorsch

Abstract

type="main"> This article examines the extent to which individual-level determinants of environmental concern in underdeveloped economies differ from those in advanced economies. To measure environmental concern, I use survey responses to environmental questions asked in 40 countries from the 2005–2008 wave of the World Values Survey. My econometric analysis tests the extent to which individual-level determinants of environmental concern are conditional upon the level of national economic development. I find that proxies for objective environmental problems do not explain environmental concern at any level of development. Furthermore, in both advanced and underdeveloped economies, environmental concern is determined by subjective value orientations, but the effect is stronger in the advanced economies. The findings reinforce the notion that environmentalism is value driven and support a generalized interpretation of postmaterialism in which the relevance of subjective values for explaining environmental concern increases as countries develop.

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  • Michael T. Dorsch, 2014. "Economic Development and Determinants of Environmental Concern," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 95(4), pages 960-977, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:95:y:2014:i:4:p:960-977
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ssqu.12071
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    1. Sandra T. Marquart‐Pyatt, 2008. "Are There Similar Sources of Environmental Concern? Comparing Industrialized Countries," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1312-1335, December.
    2. Ai, Chunrong & Norton, Edward C., 2003. "Interaction terms in logit and probit models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 123-129, July.
    3. Inglehart, Ronald, 1971. "The Silent Revolution in Europe: Intergenerational Change in Post-Industrial Societies," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(4), pages 991-1017, December.
    4. McCONNELL, KENNETH E., 1997. "Income and the demand for environmental quality," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 383-399, July.
    5. Baumol,William J. & Oates,Wallace E., 1988. "The Theory of Environmental Policy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521322249, January.
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    1. Artjoms Ivlevs, 2019. "Adverse Welfare Shocks and Pro‐Environmental Behavior: Evidence from the Global Economic Crisis," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(2), pages 293-311, June.
    2. Heinz Welsch & Jan Kühling, 2017. "Pan-European patterns of environmental concern: the role of proximity and international integration," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 7(4), pages 473-489, December.
    3. Halkos, George & Matsiori, Steriani, 2017. "Estimating recreational values of coastal zones," MPRA Paper 80911, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Dienes, Christian, 2015. "Actions and intentions to pay for climate change mitigation: Environmental concern and the role of economic factors," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 122-129.
    5. Blankenberg, Ann-Kathrin & Alhusen, Harm, 2019. "On the determinants of pro-environmental behavior: A literature review and guide for the empirical economist," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 350, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics, revised 2019.

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