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Community social capital and status: The social dilemma of food waste

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  • Piras, Simone
  • Pancotto, Francesca
  • Righi, Simone
  • Vittuari, Matteo
  • Setti, Marco

Abstract

In developed countries, the largest share of food is wasted at the household level. Household food waste results from a complex interaction between economic factors, well-established routines, and social norms. To explain this interaction, we propose a simple model of waste behavior where the individual and social economic costs generated by wasting are counterbalanced by the security and status generated through acquiring excess food, thus causing a social dilemma. This trade-off is mediated by social capital, which measures the intensity with which each individual within a community evaluates the negative effects of waste. We test this model's hypotheses using a 2016 dataset of food behaviors and opinions of Italian households, which we merge with variables known to elicit the local level of social capital. We find individual food waste levels to be negatively related with social capital. Contrastingly, status concerns with respect to food and the lack of organizational abilities are both more prevalent in low social capital areas, and are related to increased food waste. This relationship is mediated by income.

Suggested Citation

  • Piras, Simone & Pancotto, Francesca & Righi, Simone & Vittuari, Matteo & Setti, Marco, 2021. "Community social capital and status: The social dilemma of food waste," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:183:y:2021:i:c:s0921800921000124
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.106954
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    1. Paroissien, Emmanuel & Beatty, Timothy K.M. & Nebout, Antoine, 2024. "Household food waste and the opportunity cost of time," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    2. Fabio Minervini & Francesca Comitini & Annalisa De Boni & Giuseppina Maria Fiorino & Francisca Rodrigues & Ali Zein Alabiden Tlais & Ilaria Carafa & Maria De Angelis, 2022. "Sustainable and Health-Protecting Food Ingredients from Bioprocessed Food by-Products and Wastes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-28, November.
    3. Annalisa De Boni & Giovanni Ottomano Palmisano & Maria De Angelis & Fabio Minervini, 2022. "Challenges for a Sustainable Food Supply Chain: A Review on Food Losses and Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Piras, Simone & Righi, Simone & Setti, Marco & Koseoglu, Nazli & Grainger, Matthew & stewart, Gavin & Vittuari, Matteo, 2021. "From social interactions to private environmental behaviours: The case of consumer food waste," SocArXiv 7k4vy, Center for Open Science.
    5. Danzer, Alexander M. & Zeidler, Helen, 2025. "Food Waste and Dynamic Inconsistency: A Behavioral Economics Perspective," IZA Discussion Papers 17802, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Giaime Berti & Claudia Giordano & Mariavaleria Mininni, 2021. "Assessing the Transformative Potential of Food Banks: The Case Study of Magazzini Sociali (Italy)," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-20, March.
    7. Vasilii Erokhin & Li Diao & Tianming Gao & Jean-Vasile Andrei & Anna Ivolga & Yuhang Zong, 2021. "The Supply of Calories, Proteins, and Fats in Low-Income Countries: A Four-Decade Retrospective Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-30, July.
    8. repec:osf:socarx:7k4vy_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Ishimura, Yuichi & Shinkuma, Takayoshi & Takeuchi, Kenji & Hosoda, Eiji, 2024. "The effects of regional goal setting on household waste," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    10. Claudia Giordano & Gianluca Di Fiore & Fabrizio Alboni & Elisa Carloni & Sergio Rivaroli & Luca Falasconi, 2023. "Household Food Waste Awareness in Relation to Motivations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-14, July.

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