Green consumers and public policy: On socially contingent moral motivation [An article from: Resource and Energy Economics]

This digital document is a journal article from Resource and Energy Economics, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
''Green'' consumers appear to accept individual responsibility for the provision of public goods. The propensity to take such responsibility may depend on beliefs about others' behavior, even for consumers motivated by internalized moral norms, not by social sanctions. This effect can produce multiple equilibria with either high or low demand for ''green'' products. Permanent increases in green consumption may be achieved by imposing temporary taxes or subsidies, or through advertising that influences beliefs about others' behavior or about external effects. If a tax is interpreted as taking responsibility away from the individual, however, taxes can reduce the influence of moral motivation.