Private Environmental Preference (PEP) in Pollution Reduction: Structural Equation Modeling and Cross-Cultural Approaches
How much would you pay for the environment? Private Environmental Preference (PEP), is defined as one's willingness to sacrifice personal finance for the reduction of environmental pollution. A quick analysis of the World Value Survey (WVS) shows that people differ in their willingness to spend private income on pollution reduction. These differences are not random; there are meaningful patterns behind these variations.
Why are some people more willing to spend towards pollution reduction when compared to others? What are some incentive programs and policies that could help increase the public engagement in pollution reduction? Before these questions can be answered, it is necessary to understand the factors that influence PEP. The current project employs a highly quantitative approach (i.e., econometric modelling methods) and large sample sizes (n=8000+) to provide empirical identification to these influential factors. The three goals of the current thesis are:
How much would you pay for the environment? Private Environmental Preference (PEP), is defined as one's willingness to sacrifice personal finance for the reduction of environmental pollution. A quick analysis of the World Value Survey (WVS) shows that people differ in their willingness to spend private income on pollution reduction. These differences are not random; there are meaningful patterns behind these variations.
Why are some people more willing to spend towards pollution reduction when compared to others? What are some incentive programs and policies that could help increase the public engagement in pollution reduction? Before these questions can be answered, it is necessary to understand the factors that influence PEP. The current project employs a highly quantitative approach (i.e., econometric modelling methods) and large sample sizes (n=8000+) to provide empirical identification to these influential factors. The three goals of the current thesis are:
- To develop and estimate a structural model on the relationship between the various attitudinal, belief, socio-economical factors and PEP.
- To study how the influence of the proposed factors differ across cultures – Canada, China, India, and USA.
- To propose policy recommendations based on these cross-cultural research findings.
