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Behavioral innovations: The missing capital in sustainable development?

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  • Beretti, Antoine
  • Figuières, Charles
  • Grolleau, Gilles

Abstract

Many scholars argue that environmental issues can be addressed through technological innovation, a proposal which echoes a lasting debate between environmental and ecological economics about the substitution rate between natural and manufactured capital. In addition to these two established types of capital, this paper introduces the idea of ‘behavioral capital’. We define behavioral capital as the latent potential of behavioral change to affect improvement in environmental quality. Our contribution argues that technological and traditional regulatory innovations serve as insufficient tools for addressing modern environmental issues and ensuring sustainable development. Without discarding these solutions, we contend that because human behavior is a significant contributor to environmental problems, it should be regarded as a key component of continued solutions. We suggest that the dual interest theory can serve as an integrative framework for behavioral innovations related to environmental issues. In suggesting this, we assume that behavioral innovations can both overcome some of the limitations of technological innovations and offer new solutions. Our main insight is to suggest that some depletion of natural capital – but not all – can be offset by behavioral changes without decreasing, or even increasing, subjective well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Beretti, Antoine & Figuières, Charles & Grolleau, Gilles, 2013. "Behavioral innovations: The missing capital in sustainable development?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 187-195.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:89:y:2013:i:c:p:187-195
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.03.004
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    3. Fernando Dias Simões, 2016. "Consumer Behavior and Sustainable Development in China: The Role of Behavioral Sciences in Environmental Policymaking," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-18, September.
    4. Frederiks, Elisha R. & Stenner, Karen & Hobman, Elizabeth V., 2015. "Household energy use: Applying behavioural economics to understand consumer decision-making and behaviour," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1385-1394.
    5. Cem Keskin & M. Pınar Mengüç, 2018. "On Occupant Behavior and Innovation Studies Towards High Performance Buildings: A Transdisciplinary Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-33, October.
    6. GROLLEAU, Gilles & MZOUGHI, Naoufel & THOYER, Sophie, 2015. "Les incitations monétaires dans la politique agro-environnementale : peut-on faire mieux avec moins ?," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement (RAEStud), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 96(2), June.
    7. Drupp, Moritz A. & Baumgärtner, Stefan & Meyer, Moritz & Quaas, Martin F. & von Wehrden, Henrik, 2020. "Between Ostrom and Nordhaus: The research landscape of sustainability economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    8. Gabriela Michalek & Georg Meran & Reimund Schwarze & Özgür Yildiz, 2015. "Nudging as a new 'soft' tool in environmental policy. An analysis based on insights from cognitive and social psychology," Discussion Paper Series RECAP15 21, RECAP15, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder).
    9. Mzoughi, Naoufel, 2014. "Do organic farmers feel happier than conventional ones? An exploratory analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 38-43.
    10. Zhou, Sophie Lian, 2015. "Going Green for Esteem: An Extended Uzawa-Lucas Model with Status Driven Environmentalism," Discussion Papers 206560, University of Bonn, Institute for Food and Resource Economics.
    11. Farrow, Katherine & Grolleau, Gilles & Mzoughi, Naoufel, 2018. "Less is more in energy conservation and efficiency messaging," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 1-6.
    12. François J Dessart & Jesús Barreiro-Hurlé & René van Bavel, 2019. "Behavioural factors affecting the adoption of sustainable farming practices: a policy-oriented review," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 46(3), pages 417-471.
    13. Farrow, Katherine & Grolleau, Gilles & Ibanez, Lisette, 2017. "Social Norms and Pro-environmental Behavior: A Review of the Evidence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 1-13.
    14. G. Grolleau & Naoufel Mzoughi & Sophie Thoyer, 2015. "Using monetary incentives in agri-environmental policies: Can we do more with less? [Les incitations monétaires dans la politique agro-environnementale : peut-on faire mieux avec moins ?]," Post-Print hal-01884947, HAL.
    15. von Hippel, Christiana D. & Cann, Andrew B., 2021. "Behavioral innovation: Pilot study and new big data analysis approach in household sector user innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(8).
    16. Michalek, Gabriela & Meran, Georg & Schwarze, Reimund & Yildiz, Özgür, 2016. "Nudging as a new "soft" policy tool: An assessment of the definitional scope of nudges, practical implementation possibilities and their effectiveness," Economics Discussion Papers 2016-18, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    17. Theo Notteboom & Jasmine Siu Lee Lam, 2018. "The Greening of Terminal Concessions in Seaports," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Behavioral capital; Behavioral economics; Dual interest theory; Innovations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

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