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Moving Toward Greener Societies: Moral Motivation and Green Behaviour

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  • Lorenzo Cerda Planas

    (University of Paris 1 Panthéon - Sorbonne)

Abstract

I provide an alternative explanation for why societies exhibit varied environmental behaviours. I use a Kantian moral approach at a microeconomic level. I show that two identical societies (in terms of income level and political system) might follow different paths with respect to their “green” behaviour. Additionally, I identify tipping points that could nudge a society from a polluting behaviour to a green one. I find that the perception of environment within the society can be an important factor in this shift.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorenzo Cerda Planas, 2018. "Moving Toward Greener Societies: Moral Motivation and Green Behaviour," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 70(4), pages 835-860, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:70:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s10640-017-0167-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-017-0167-y
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    Cited by:

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    3. Siyu Gao & Bilin Shao, 2022. "Why Do Consumers Switch to Biodegradable Plastic Consumption? The Effect of Push, Pull and Mooring on the Plastic Consumption Intention of Young Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-23, November.
    4. Bart Defloor & Brent Bleys & Elsy Verhofstadt & Luc Van Ootegem, 2022. "How to Reduce Individuals’ Ecological Footprint without Harming Their Well-Being: An Application to Belgium," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-30, April.
    5. Bezin, Emeline & Ponthière, Gregory, 2019. "The tragedy of the commons and socialization: Theory and policy," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    6. Boqiang Lin & Huanyu Jia, 2023. "The role of peers in promoting energy conservation among Chinese university students," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Lucas Bretschger & Karen Pittel, 2019. "Twenty Key Questions in Environmental and Resource Economics," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 19/328, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Green behaviour; Kantian morale; Moral motivation; Tipping points;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C62 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Existence and Stability Conditions of Equilibrium
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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