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The Role of Cultural Worldviews in Willingness to Pay for Environmental Policy

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Abstract

Recent research in the social psychology literature suggests that personally held beliefs may play a pivotal role in individuals’ acceptance of environmental policy. Using the contingent valuation method framework, we investigate the role of cultural worldview on individuals’ support for, and valuation of, an environmental policy that differs by its underlying cause. Results suggest that willingness to pay point estimates for management action (1) can be influenced by cultural worldviews; and (2) are dependent on the cause of environmental degradation. We also extend the examination of potential endogeneity in ex-post perceived survey consequentiality and willingness to pay measures. We find some evidence that cultural worldviews influence consequentiality and that the framing of the environmental policy scenario can also influence whether an endogenous relationship exists between the randomly assigned payment instrument and the consequentiality measure.

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Notes

  1. The Florida Keys have long been the main focus for reef diving in the U.S. as its warm waters and coral reefs serve as a major draw. From Key Biscayne, located just south of Miami, stretching comma-like to Key West and beyond to the Dry Tortugas is the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

  2. The state of Florida passed a law to ban outfall pipes by 2025.

  3. While non-users will likely value further artificial reef deployment, the focus of this research is to capture use values from the diving population.

  4. We used a parametric bootstrapping technique (Krinsky-Robb) to simulate 10,000 coefficient estimates and used Poe’s method to compare distributions (Poe et al. 2005).

  5. A table of results showing the chi square tests for a consequentiality knife-edge are available upon request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Studies, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL, 33711, USA

    Paul R. Hindsley

  2. Department of Economics, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, 28607, USA

    O. Ashton Morgan

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  1. Paul R. Hindsley
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  2. O. Ashton Morgan
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Correspondence to O. Ashton Morgan.

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Hindsley, P.R., Ashton Morgan, O. The Role of Cultural Worldviews in Willingness to Pay for Environmental Policy. Environ Resource Econ 81, 243–269 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-021-00622-5

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