Pub Date : 2024-12-13DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108486
Jaweriah Hazrana, Pratap S. Birthal, Ashok K. Mishra
In low- and middle-income countries, disparities in nutrition between men and women represent a significant source of gender inequality, a challenge that is exacerbated by climate shocks. This study examines the impact of droughts on food consumption and nutrition across age and gender cohorts in rural Bangladesh. We utilize georeferenced climate data and panel data from surveys in rural Bangladesh. Findings reveal that droughts lead to an 8.4 % reduction in food expenditure and a decrease in calories, protein, and fat intake by 5.7 %, 5.5 %, and 8.2 %, respectively. The effects are disproportionate across age groups in the household. Women experience a greater decline in food consumption and nutritional intake compared to men, with elderly women being the most severely affected group. Additionally, droughts lead to a less balanced diet, marked by decreased consumption of nutrient-rich animal-source and plant-based foods and an increased reliance on cereals. While safety nets help mitigate the adverse effects of droughts, they do not fully restore consumption to pre-drought levels. Findings from this study highlight the need for targeted interventions that address the specific vulnerabilities of different demographic groups and enhance the effectiveness of safety nets.
{"title":"Equal exposure, unequal effects of climate change: Gendered impacts on food consumption and nutrition in rural Bangladesh","authors":"Jaweriah Hazrana, Pratap S. Birthal, Ashok K. Mishra","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108486","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108486","url":null,"abstract":"In low- and middle-income countries, disparities in nutrition between men and women represent a significant source of gender inequality, a challenge that is exacerbated by climate shocks. This study examines the impact of droughts on food consumption and nutrition across age and gender cohorts in rural Bangladesh. We utilize georeferenced climate data and panel data from surveys in rural Bangladesh. Findings reveal that droughts lead to an 8.4 % reduction in food expenditure and a decrease in calories, protein, and fat intake by 5.7 %, 5.5 %, and 8.2 %, respectively. The effects are disproportionate across age groups in the household. Women experience a greater decline in food consumption and nutritional intake compared to men, with elderly women being the most severely affected group. Additionally, droughts lead to a less balanced diet, marked by decreased consumption of nutrient-rich animal-source and plant-based foods and an increased reliance on cereals. While safety nets help mitigate the adverse effects of droughts, they do not fully restore consumption to pre-drought levels. Findings from this study highlight the need for targeted interventions that address the specific vulnerabilities of different demographic groups and enhance the effectiveness of safety nets.","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142821083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-09DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108487
Lisi Krall, John M. Gowdy
Ecological economics is concerned with understanding the relationship of humanity's household to earth's household. Its orientation has been to nurture methodological pluralism. This expansive project has yet to include in its toolbox what we label–dialectics and evolutionary materialism. This approach and methodology for understanding complex economic systems (the foundation of humanity's household); their emergence, structure, dynamic, and the complex relationship they establish between humans and earth can expand the breadth of methodological pluralism. Ecological economics has embraced a more limited ontological and epistemological approach stressing obvious material connections and the centrality of human agency. A more expansive view of social metabolism in relation to earth and the processes of change have been thwarted by the theoretical choice to avoid confronting determinism and to elevate the role of human agency in altering the massive economic system.
{"title":"Dialectics and evolutionary materialism: Expanding methodological pluralism in ecological economics","authors":"Lisi Krall, John M. Gowdy","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108487","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108487","url":null,"abstract":"Ecological economics is concerned with understanding the relationship of humanity's household to earth's household. Its orientation has been to nurture methodological pluralism. This expansive project has yet to include in its toolbox what we label–dialectics and evolutionary materialism. This approach and methodology for understanding complex economic systems (the foundation of humanity's household); their emergence, structure, dynamic, and the complex relationship they establish between humans and earth can expand the breadth of methodological pluralism. Ecological economics has embraced a more limited ontological and epistemological approach stressing obvious material connections and the centrality of human agency. A more expansive view of social metabolism in relation to earth and the processes of change have been thwarted by the theoretical choice to avoid confronting determinism and to elevate the role of human agency in altering the massive economic system.","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142821084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-04DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108476
Ben Purvis, Tommaso Calzolari, Andrea Genovese
We explore an attempt to derive a set of indicators reflecting a just transition to a circular economy (CE) at a supply chain level. Here we build upon the theoretical work presented in Purvis and Genovese (2023) with an account of an empirical exercise following the standard methodological steps outlined for the creation of a measurement dashboard. A literature review of existing CE indicators for supply chains was therefore followed by a Delphi approach which sought to understand and incorporate the expertise of CE scholars and practitioners. The 3 round Delphi incorporated a survey, and an individual, and group Analytical Hierarchy Process, as a standard technique to derive consensus from experts in terms of suitable indicator categories. Yet contestations observed during the consensus building exercises cast doubt on the suitability of our nominally consensus-driven approach, as well as the use of indicators themselves for our critical purposes. We describe the dilemmas precipitated by this failure of consensus, with reference to the inherent challenges to indicator frameworks and a series of questions for better research design. The paper also reflects on the fundamental contradictions related to the use of indicators for inducing transformational dynamics, and problematises the desire for consensus, thereby paving the way for further research avenues.
{"title":"Consensus and contestation: Reflections on the development of an indicator framework for a just transition to a circular economy","authors":"Ben Purvis, Tommaso Calzolari, Andrea Genovese","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108476","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108476","url":null,"abstract":"We explore an attempt to derive a set of indicators reflecting a just transition to a circular economy (CE) at a supply chain level. Here we build upon the theoretical work presented in Purvis and Genovese (2023) with an account of an empirical exercise following the standard methodological steps outlined for the creation of a measurement dashboard. A literature review of existing CE indicators for supply chains was therefore followed by a Delphi approach which sought to understand and incorporate the expertise of CE scholars and practitioners. The 3 round Delphi incorporated a survey, and an individual, and group Analytical Hierarchy Process, as a standard technique to derive consensus from experts in terms of suitable indicator categories. Yet contestations observed during the consensus building exercises cast doubt on the suitability of our nominally consensus-driven approach, as well as the use of indicators themselves for our critical purposes. We describe the dilemmas precipitated by this failure of consensus, with reference to the inherent challenges to indicator frameworks and a series of questions for better research design. The paper also reflects on the fundamental contradictions related to the use of indicators for inducing transformational dynamics, and problematises the desire for consensus, thereby paving the way for further research avenues.","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142789872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Voluntary sustainability standards offer potential for sustainable development by improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers while conserving biodiversity. However, their overall implications remain poorly understood, as studies have mostly focused on assessing their effects on single sustainability dimensions. Here, we use an interdisciplinary approach to understand the simultaneous effects of sustainability standards (e.g. Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Cocoa Life) on socioeconomic and ecological outcomes in Ghana's cocoa sector. Our study is based on a rich dataset comprising household data from 814 smallholder cocoa-producing households from five major cocoa regions and ecological data from 119 cocoa plots. Results from the endogenous switching regression approach suggest that sustainability standards have positive effects on socioeconomic outcomes such as cocoa yield, net cocoa income and returns to land. However, using generalized linear mixed effects models, we do not find any significant associations with ecological outcomes related to vegetation structure and animal diversity. Our results indicate that sustainability standards in Ghana's cocoa sector lead to socioeconomic benefits but not to ecological benefits for the plot environment. Nevertheless, yield increases do not come at the expense of biodiversity. We conclude that sustainability standards have the potential to improve socioeconomic outcomes, without significantly creating trade-offs with ecological outcomes.
{"title":"Do voluntary sustainability standards improve socioeconomic and ecological outcomes? Evidence from Ghana's cocoa sector","authors":"Marlene Yu Lilin Wätzold, Issaka Abdulai, Amanda Cooke, Katharina Krumbiegel, Carolina Ocampo-Ariza, Arne Wenzel, Meike Wollni","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108474","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108474","url":null,"abstract":"Voluntary sustainability standards offer potential for sustainable development by improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers while conserving biodiversity. However, their overall implications remain poorly understood, as studies have mostly focused on assessing their effects on single sustainability dimensions. Here, we use an interdisciplinary approach to understand the simultaneous effects of sustainability standards (e.g. Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Cocoa Life) on socioeconomic and ecological outcomes in Ghana's cocoa sector. Our study is based on a rich dataset comprising household data from 814 smallholder cocoa-producing households from five major cocoa regions and ecological data from 119 cocoa plots. Results from the endogenous switching regression approach suggest that sustainability standards have positive effects on socioeconomic outcomes such as cocoa yield, net cocoa income and returns to land. However, using generalized linear mixed effects models, we do not find any significant associations with ecological outcomes related to vegetation structure and animal diversity. Our results indicate that sustainability standards in Ghana's cocoa sector lead to socioeconomic benefits but not to ecological benefits for the plot environment. Nevertheless, yield increases do not come at the expense of biodiversity. We conclude that sustainability standards have the potential to improve socioeconomic outcomes, without significantly creating trade-offs with ecological outcomes.","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142789867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-03DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108477
Juliana Figueira Haugen, Jon Olaf Olaussen
Aquaculture has emerged as the fastest growing sector in global food production, with salmon farming in the lead. Norway is responsible for over half of the world salmon production, but its industry faces significant challenges which must be addressed to achieve sustainability. One key issue is the lack of a unified understanding among stakeholders of how production affects the environment and intersects with the interests of other users. Given this context, this present study aims to understand the diverse perspectives of different groups of stakeholders regarding the expansion challenges faced by the Norwegian salmon farming industry. We assessed environmental, socio-economic, operational, and regulatory aspects, highlighting areas of agreement and disagreement among stakeholders using Q-methodology. Our results reveal four distinct stakeholder groups, two of which reveal polarized views, while the other two present more balanced opinions. We believe that our findings facilitate enriched dialogues among stakeholders and provide insights into the management of the industry, while addressing the dilemma of ensuring sustainability amid pressures for production growth.
{"title":"Stakeholder perceptions of the Norwegian salmon farming industry and its future challenges","authors":"Juliana Figueira Haugen, Jon Olaf Olaussen","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108477","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108477","url":null,"abstract":"Aquaculture has emerged as the fastest growing sector in global food production, with salmon farming in the lead. Norway is responsible for over half of the world salmon production, but its industry faces significant challenges which must be addressed to achieve sustainability. One key issue is the lack of a unified understanding among stakeholders of how production affects the environment and intersects with the interests of other users. Given this context, this present study aims to understand the diverse perspectives of different groups of stakeholders regarding the expansion challenges faced by the Norwegian salmon farming industry. We assessed environmental, socio-economic, operational, and regulatory aspects, highlighting areas of agreement and disagreement among stakeholders using Q-methodology. Our results reveal four distinct stakeholder groups, two of which reveal polarized views, while the other two present more balanced opinions. We believe that our findings facilitate enriched dialogues among stakeholders and provide insights into the management of the industry, while addressing the dilemma of ensuring sustainability amid pressures for production growth.","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142789871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-03DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108473
Catherine Chambers, Paul Chambers, David Johnson
Conservation organizations employ charismatic species to appeal to potential donors and increase contributions. However, evidence that this strategy increases donations is mixed. In an experimental setting, we investigate the effects of species charisma and the characteristics of potential donors on donations to conservation organizations. We conducted a modified dictator game through MTurk with 330 subjects, exploring subjects’ responses to one of sixteen treatments that differ across three dimensions. The first dimension involves exposure to an image that varies among subjects in terms of charisma. In the second dimension, we use differing donation matching rates to examine the effectiveness of matching gifts. With the final dimension, we consider real versus hypothetical scenarios. Our key findings are that the effects of charismatic species on donations are limited after controlling for the characteristics of the subjects and that those faced with a hypothetical scenario donate significantly more than those with real stakes. These results suggest conservation organizations, particularly those with a national or international focus, should consider the characteristics of potential donors targeted by their fundraising campaigns rather than relying on images of charismatic species.
{"title":"Charismatic species, matching, and demographics in conservation donations: An experimental investigation","authors":"Catherine Chambers, Paul Chambers, David Johnson","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108473","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108473","url":null,"abstract":"Conservation organizations employ charismatic species to appeal to potential donors and increase contributions. However, evidence that this strategy increases donations is mixed. In an experimental setting, we investigate the effects of species charisma and the characteristics of potential donors on donations to conservation organizations. We conducted a modified dictator game through MTurk with 330 subjects, exploring subjects’ responses to one of sixteen treatments that differ across three dimensions. The first dimension involves exposure to an image that varies among subjects in terms of charisma. In the second dimension, we use differing donation matching rates to examine the effectiveness of matching gifts. With the final dimension, we consider real versus hypothetical scenarios. Our key findings are that the effects of charismatic species on donations are limited after controlling for the characteristics of the subjects and that those faced with a hypothetical scenario donate significantly more than those with real stakes. These results suggest conservation organizations, particularly those with a national or international focus, should consider the characteristics of potential donors targeted by their fundraising campaigns rather than relying on images of charismatic species.","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142789868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-29DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108467
Dianna R. Amasino , Suzanne Oosterwijk , Nicolette J. Sullivan , Joël van der Weele
Consumers often encounter, and claim to care about, ethical information concerning the products they purchase. Across three studies, we investigate how the accessibility of this information impacts choice. When consumers must seek out product attribute information, the impact of ethical certifications (Fairtrade and Organic) is diminished relative to other attributes. Both positive and negative framing of certifications increase their impact on choice relative to neutral frames, with negative frames having the strongest effect. However, in contrast to theories of information demand that would predict more willful ignorance of negatively framed content, negative framing has the same impact regardless of information accessibility. Together, our findings suggest that having to seek ethical certification information leads to a small reduction in the use of certifications to guide choice, but that affective framing has a larger impact on the weight placed on certifications in consumer choices regardless of the accessibility of information.
{"title":"Seeking or ignoring ethical certifications in consumer choice","authors":"Dianna R. Amasino , Suzanne Oosterwijk , Nicolette J. Sullivan , Joël van der Weele","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108467","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108467","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Consumers often encounter, and claim to care about, ethical information concerning the products they purchase. Across three studies, we investigate how the accessibility of this information impacts choice. When consumers must seek out product attribute information, the impact of ethical certifications (Fairtrade and Organic) is diminished relative to other attributes. Both positive and negative framing of certifications increase their impact on choice relative to neutral frames, with negative frames having the strongest effect. However, in contrast to theories of information demand that would predict more willful ignorance of negatively framed content, negative framing has the same impact regardless of information accessibility. Together, our findings suggest that having to seek ethical certification information leads to a small reduction in the use of certifications to guide choice, but that affective framing has a larger impact on the weight placed on certifications in consumer choices regardless of the accessibility of information.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 108467"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142747321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Water markets aim to achieve water conservation and efficient allocation through market transactions. However, the presence of water rebounds may counteract this effect. Water markets and water rebounds have a complex interaction that has not been adequately explored in current studies. This study fills this research gap by developing an analytical framework connecting water markets and water rebounds and scrutinizing the causal linkage between them and the potential mechanisms involved within the context of China's water rights trading (WRT) policy. The findings have the potential to significantly impact water management strategies. We argue that water markets and water rebound mitigation—which is frequently linked with the capacity of water markets to improve water quality—are causally related. Furthermore, deploying water markets may also slow technological progress, resulting in reduced water efficiency and hence, an indirect mitigation of water rebounds. Lastly, the impact of water markets on water rebounds varies according to water availability and socioeconomic levels.
{"title":"Water markets and water rebounds: China's water rights trading policy","authors":"Jichuan Sheng , Ruzhu Zhang , Hongqiang Yang , Cheng Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108471","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108471","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water markets aim to achieve water conservation and efficient allocation through market transactions. However, the presence of water rebounds may counteract this effect. Water markets and water rebounds have a complex interaction that has not been adequately explored in current studies. This study fills this research gap by developing an analytical framework connecting water markets and water rebounds and scrutinizing the causal linkage between them and the potential mechanisms involved within the context of China's water rights trading (WRT) policy. The findings have the potential to significantly impact water management strategies. We argue that water markets and water rebound mitigation—which is frequently linked with the capacity of water markets to improve water quality—are causally related. Furthermore, deploying water markets may also slow technological progress, resulting in reduced water efficiency and hence, an indirect mitigation of water rebounds. Lastly, the impact of water markets on water rebounds varies according to water availability and socioeconomic levels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 108471"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142747319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rational decision theory assumes that individuals have perfect knowledge of the consequences of their choices and actions. However, this assumption often fails to align with reality, particularly in the context of environmental degradation, where the impacts of actions can be distant in both time and space. Will an enhanced perception of those impacts encourage pro-environmental choices?
To explore this question, we designed and conducted an experiment in an immersive virtual reality environment (IVE). After an initial training phase, participants were asked to choose between using a tumble dryer or a clothesline to dry their laundry. Participants in the treatment group received exaggerated feedback during the training phase, experiencing a simulated sudden outbreak of a thunderstorm when they used the dryer. In contrast, participants in the control group did not receive any feedback. The experiment was conducted at two Italian universities, Siena and Pisa, with a total of 270 subjects.
The methodological finding is that even less elaborated IVEs can still be effective as experimental tools. The substantive finding is that exposure to exaggerated feedback in an IVE significantly increased the likelihood of choosing a more environmentally friendly action, such as using a clothesline, which involves lower energy consumption.
{"title":"Can improving climate change perception lead to more environmentally friendly choices? Evidence from an immersive virtual environment experiment","authors":"Tommaso Luzzati , Stefano Baraldi , Sara Ermini , Claudia Faita , Valeria Faralla , Pietro Guarnieri , Luca Lusuardi , Vincenzo Santalucia , Sara Scipioni , Matteo Sirizzotti , Alessandro Innocenti","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108475","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108475","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rational decision theory assumes that individuals have perfect knowledge of the consequences of their choices and actions. However, this assumption often fails to align with reality, particularly in the context of environmental degradation, where the impacts of actions can be distant in both time and space. Will an enhanced perception of those impacts encourage pro-environmental choices?</div><div>To explore this question, we designed and conducted an experiment in an immersive virtual reality environment (IVE). After an initial training phase, participants were asked to choose between using a tumble dryer or a clothesline to dry their laundry. Participants in the treatment group received exaggerated feedback during the training phase, experiencing a simulated sudden outbreak of a thunderstorm when they used the dryer. In contrast, participants in the control group did not receive any feedback. The experiment was conducted at two Italian universities, Siena and Pisa, with a total of 270 subjects.</div><div>The methodological finding is that even less elaborated IVEs can still be effective as experimental tools. The substantive finding is that exposure to exaggerated feedback in an IVE significantly increased the likelihood of choosing a more environmentally friendly action, such as using a clothesline, which involves lower energy consumption.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 108475"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142747322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-29DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108470
Stephane Lhuillery , Nicolas Befort , Samih Atmane
Different views and definitions pertain to the concept of bioeconomy. Few propose a workable definition enabling scholars and decision makers to identify analyze and manage the bioeconomy. Two technological delineations based on patent IPC codes delimitate a bioeconomy based on biotechnology inventions or based on a broader set of technologies. The two definitions are applied to two samples of firms, one with biotech firms and one with biorefineries that are considered by scholars as core to the bioeconomy. The relevance of these definitions for identifying the innovation practices of bioeconomy companies and reporting on their development of sustainable activities is assessed.
{"title":"Biotechnology or bioeconomy: Six of one and half a dozen of the other?","authors":"Stephane Lhuillery , Nicolas Befort , Samih Atmane","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108470","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108470","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Different views and definitions pertain to the concept of bioeconomy. Few propose a workable definition enabling scholars and decision makers to identify analyze and manage the bioeconomy. Two technological delineations based on patent IPC codes delimitate a bioeconomy based on biotechnology inventions or based on a broader set of technologies. The two definitions are applied to two samples of firms, one with biotech firms and one with biorefineries that are considered by scholars as core to the bioeconomy. The relevance of these definitions for identifying the innovation practices of bioeconomy companies and reporting on their development of sustainable activities is assessed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 108470"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142747320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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