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Public Attitudes Toward Climate Policies: The Effect of Institutional Contexts and Political Values

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  • Aasen, Marianne
  • Vatn, Arild

Abstract

This study contributes to the literature on public responses to climate policies in two ways. We investigate the effect of institutional contexts on attitudes toward policies, and we examine the relevance of political values for these effects. Institutional theory suggests that the institutional context influences whether “individual rationality” (IR) or “social rationality” (SR) frames choices. To investigate the effects of such contexts and political values on attitudes toward policies aimed at reducing private car use, we conducted a survey experiment involving 1500 car owners in Oslo, Norway. One group of respondents received a text emphasizing the individual health gains from reducing local air pollution (IR context), a second group received a text emphasizing the social responsibility for avoiding climate change (SR context), and a control group received no such text. We found effects of the contexts on attitudes toward emission-reducing policies, and found that the effects vary across individuals with different political values. The SR context yielded higher support for an increase in petrol prices among non-individualists only. The IR context yielded higher support for a decrease in space for cars among both non-individualists and individualists. Ways forward regarding expanding this field of research are discussed.

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  • Aasen, Marianne & Vatn, Arild, 2018. "Public Attitudes Toward Climate Policies: The Effect of Institutional Contexts and Political Values," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 106-114.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:146:y:2018:i:c:p:106-114
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.10.008
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    1. Kruse, Tobias & Atkinson, Giles, 2022. "Understanding public support for international climate adaptation payments: Evidence from a choice experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    2. Donatella Baiardi & Simona Scabrosetti, 2020. "Does the quality of political institutions matter for the effectiveness of environmental taxes? An empirical analysis on CO2 emissions," Working Paper series 20-25, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    3. Dávila-Fernández, Marwil J. & Sordi, Serena, 2020. "Attitudes towards climate policies in a macrodynamic model of the economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    4. Farzana Quoquab & Azila Jaini & Jihad Mohammad, 2020. "Does It Matter Who Exhibits More Green Purchase Behavior of Cosmetic Products in Asian Culture? A Multi-Group Analysis Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-20, July.
    5. Donatella Baiardi & Simona Scabrosetti, 2020. "Does the quality of political institutions matter for the effectiveness of environmental taxes? An empirical analysis on CO2 emissions," Working papers 92, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica.
    6. Sælen, Håkon Grøn & Aasen, Marianne, 2023. "Exploring public opposition and support across different climate policies: Poles apart?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    7. Merethe Dotterud Leiren & Stine Aakre & Kristin Linnerud & Tom Erik Julsrud & Maria-Rosaria Di Nucci & Michael Krug, 2020. "Community Acceptance of Wind Energy Developments: Experience from Wind Energy Scarce Regions in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-22, February.
    8. Kruse, Tobias & Atkinson, Giles, 2022. "Understanding public support for international climate adaptation payments: evidence from a choice experiment," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112963, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Radosław Wolniak & Bożena Skotnicka-Zasadzień, 2023. "Development of Wind Energy in EU Countries as an Alternative Resource to Fossil Fuels in the Years 2016–2022," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-33, August.

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