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More information isn’t always better: the case of voluntary provision of environmental quality

Author Info

  • Owen, Ann L.
  • Videras, Julio
  • Wu, Stephen

Abstract

This paper adds to the literature on the voluntary provision of public goods by showing that the warm glow that individuals gain depends on the perceived relative effectiveness of contributions. We use a new survey on pro-environment behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge and find that individuals act in accordance with their beliefs, regardless of whether or not these beliefs are accurate, and engage more frequently in activities that have a higher perceived impact on environmental quality. We find that low provision of the public good is greater among people who believe they cannot do much for the environment and do not consider themselves environmentalists.

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File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/11588/1/MPRA_paper_11588.pdf
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Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 11588.

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Date of creation: Sep 2008
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Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:11588
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Keywords: warm glow; environmental quality; public goods contributions;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General
  • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

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  2. Thogersen, John & Olander, Folke, 2002. "Human values and the emergence of a sustainable consumption pattern: A panel study," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 605-630, October.
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  14. Berrens, Robert P. & Bohara, Alok K. & Jenkins-Smith, Hank C. & Silva, Carol L. & Weimer, David L., 2004. "Information and effort in contingent valuation surveys: application to global climate change using national internet samples," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 331-363, March.
  15. Magali Delmas & Maria Montes-Sancho & Jay P. Shimshack, 2007. "Information Disclosure Policies: Evidence from the Electricity Industry," Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University 0707, Department of Economics, Tufts University.
  16. Andreoni, J., 1993. "Cooperation in Public Goods Experiments: Kindness or Confusion?," Working papers 9309, Wisconsin Madison - Social Systems.
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  18. Matthew J. Kotchen, 2009. "Voluntary Provision of Public Goods for Bads: A Theory of Environmental Offsets," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(537), pages 883-899, 04.
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Cited by:

  1. John Whitehead & Melissa S. Weddell & Pete Groothuis, 2014. "Mitigating Hypothetical Bias in Stated Preference Data: Evidence from Sports Tourism," Working Papers 14-06, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.
  2. Geir Asheim, 2010. "Strategic Use of Environmental Information," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 46(2), pages 207-216, June.
  3. Owen, Ann L. & Videras, Julio & Wu, Stephen, 2008. "Identity and environmentalism: the influence of community characteristics," MPRA Paper 12054, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  4. Prasenjit Sarkhel & Sarmila Banerjee & Somdutta Banerjee, 2016. "Willingness to pay before and after program implementation: the case of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Bally Municipality, India," Environment, Development and Sustainability- A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 481-498, April.

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