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Does the identifiable victim effect matter for plants? Results from a quasi-experimental survey of French farmers

Author

Listed:
  • Claire Pellegrin

    (ECODEVELOPPEMENT - Unité de recherche d'Écodéveloppement - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique)

  • Gilles Grolleau

    (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010 - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier, BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Dijon Bourgogne (ESC))

  • Naoufel Mzoughi

    (ECODEVELOPPEMENT - Unité de recherche d'Écodéveloppement - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique)

  • Claude Napoleone

    (ECODEVELOPPEMENT - Unité de recherche d'Écodéveloppement - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique)

Abstract

Numerous studies showed that people respond more generously to individual identified victims than to equivalent statistical victims, which is referred to as the "identifiable victim effect" (IVE). While the previous literature examined the IVE for human and animal victims, we focus on vegetal entities that can be threatened. Thanks to a between design allowing to increase the degree of plants' identifiability, we test whether IVE is likely to enhance farmers' participation in a conservation program, using mail survey data among a sample of French farmers located in the Vaucluse area. Unlike humans and animals, we found that IVE does not matter regarding plants, as farmer willingness to participate in the compensation measures was found to decrease as the (plant) victim(s) become more identifiable. Moreover, this figure is even stronger with respect to organic farmers compared to their conventional counterparts.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire Pellegrin & Gilles Grolleau & Naoufel Mzoughi & Claude Napoleone, 2018. "Does the identifiable victim effect matter for plants? Results from a quasi-experimental survey of French farmers," Post-Print hal-01992418, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01992418
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.05.001
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://institut-agro-montpellier.hal.science/hal-01992418v1
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    Cited by:

    1. Yin, Zhaoyun & Ma, Jing & Wang, Canyou & Cao, Jiajia & Li, Haimei, 2025. "How policies impact household waste-source separation: an exploratory study of China," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    2. Douadia Bougherara & Lea Gosset & Raphaële Préget & Sophie Thoyer, 2023. "Innovativeness, innovation adoption and priming: Nudging farmers in a large-scale randomized experiment in France," Post-Print hal-04971561, HAL.
    3. Raineau, Yann & Giraud-Héraud, Éric & Lecocq, Sébastien, 2025. "Social comparison nudges: What actually happens when we are told what others do?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    4. Grolleau, Gilles & Ibanez, Lisette & Mzoughi, Naoufel, 2020. "Moral judgment of environmental harm caused by a single versus multiple wrongdoers: A survey experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    5. Wenye Mao & Yuko Nishide, 2025. "Crafting the messages for environmental NGOs: how narrative medium and mode shape different engagement levels," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Sergei Schaub & Jaboury Ghazoul & Robert Huber & Wei Zhang & Adelaide Sander & Charles Rees & Simanti Banerjee & Robert Finger, 2023. "The role of behavioural factors and opportunity costs in farmers' participation in voluntary agri‐environmental schemes: A systematic review," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(3), pages 617-660, September.
    7. Khatun Mst Asma & Moinul Islam & Tatsuyoshi Saijo & Koji Kotani, 2025. "A future design social experiment for sustainable agricultural production," Working Papers SDES-2025-3, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Jan 2025.

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    JEL classification:

    • Q19 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Other
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q38 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy (includes OPEC Policy)
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

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