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Understanding environmental policy preferences: New evidence from Brazil

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  • Aklin, Michaël
  • Bayer, Patrick
  • Harish, S.P.
  • Urpelainen, Johannes

Abstract

We examine the relationship between socio-economic factors and public opinion on environmental policies in Brazil, drawing on a survey conducted in June 2012. There are few systematic studies of the determinants of environmental preferences in emerging economies, and Brazil is a particularly interesting case because of its democratic political system, rapid economic growth, and importance for the global environment. In general, we find that the Brazilian public is highly supportive of environmental protection. To explain variation in environmental preferences, we focus on the effects of income and education. Many previous studies suggest that both should have positive effects, but the empirical evidence is mixed. Indeed, we find that income has no effect on environmental preferences. However, education is a strong predictor of environmental preferences. While college education is not necessary for environmental awareness, there is a large difference between Brazilians with primary and secondary education. For policy, the findings imply that investment in secondary education can raise environmental awareness, regardless of income levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Aklin, Michaël & Bayer, Patrick & Harish, S.P. & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2013. "Understanding environmental policy preferences: New evidence from Brazil," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 28-36.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:94:y:2013:i:c:p:28-36
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.05.012
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    4. Turaga, Rama Mohana, 2015. "Does Economy Matter for Public Support for Environmental Protection? Evidence from India," IIMA Working Papers WP2015-03-40, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
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    9. Michallet, Benjamin & Gaeta, Giuseppe Lucio & Facchini, François, 2015. "Greening Up or Not? The Determinants Political Parties’ Environmental Concern: An Empirical Analysis Based on European Data (1970-2008)," Climate Change and Sustainable Development 202113, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    10. Jan Goebel & Christian Krekel & Tim Tiefenbach & Nicolas Ziebarth, 2015. "How natural disasters can affect environmental concerns, risk aversion, and even politics: evidence from Fukushima and three European countries," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(4), pages 1137-1180, October.
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    12. Benjamin Michallet & Giuseppe Gaeta & François Facchini, 2015. "Greening up or not? The determinants of political parties' environmental concern: an empirical analysis based on European data (1970-2008)," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01154006, HAL.
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    14. Robbennolt, Dale & Haddad, Angela J. & Mondal, Aupal & Bhat, Chandra R., 2024. "Housing choice in an evolving remote work landscape," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    15. Ponce, Pablo & Alvarado, Rafael & Ponce, Katerine & Alvarado, Raquel & Granda, Danny & Yaguana, Karen, 2019. "Green returns of labor income and human capital: Empirical evidence of the environmental behavior of households in developing countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 105-113.
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    17. Jan Goebel & Christian Krekel & Tim Tiefenbach & Nicholas R. Ziebarth, 2014. "Natural Disaster, Environmental Concerns, Well-Being and Policy Action," CINCH Working Paper Series 1405, Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Competent in Competition and Health.
    18. Ravi Vora & Guglielmo Zappala, 2025. "Endogenous Green Preferences," CESifo Working Paper Series 11857, CESifo.
    19. Sarah Feron, 2016. "Sustainability of Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-26, December.
    20. Yujie Li, Xiaoyi Mu,Anita Schiller, and Baowei Zheng, 2016. "Willingness to Pay for Climate Change Mitigation: Evidence from China," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(China Spe).
    21. Meinard, Yves & Remy, Alice & Schmid, Bernhard, 2017. "Measuring Impartial Preference for Biodiversity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 45-54.
    22. Kayla Stan & Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa & Mário Espírito-Santo & Carlos Portillo-Quintero, 2015. "Simulating Deforestation in Minas Gerais, Brazil, under Changing Government Policies and Socioeconomic Conditions," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(9), pages 1-19, September.
    23. Adriano Ferreira Souza & Alan Cavalcanti Cunha & Helenilza Ferreira Albuquerque Cunha, 2021. "The environmental attitude of the urban population living in Macapá City, Brazilian Amazon region," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(10), pages 15100-15117, October.
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    25. Michaël Aklin & Patrick Bayer & S. Harish & Johannes Urpelainen, 2014. "Information and energy policy preferences: a survey experiment on public opinion about electricity pricing reform in rural India," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 305-327, November.

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