Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-12-30DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108907
Gabriel Santos Carneiro , Guilherme Riccioppo Magacho , Etienne Espagne
Seven of the nine Planetary Boundaries have been breached by now. As a large share of human economic activities is enabled by international trade, this paper aims to analyze the footprints of global trade over the planetary boundaries. Using a multi-regional input-output database, we calculate ecological footprints embodied in trade relations related to the different planetary boundaries for different countries and economic activities through a modified method of consumption-based accounting. Results suggest that the pressure on planetary boundaries attributable to global trade ranges from 19 % to 50 %, depending on the boundary. The heterogeneity in pressure levels reflects the diverse economic structures of countries and regions, highlighting the influence of geographic and productive factors on ecological footprints. In general, Europe, North America and East Asia tend to be major regions impacting boundaries due to their import structure. However, from an export perspective, the picture is more heterogenous, with almost every single region contributing to pressures in a different way. All in all, global trade policies appear to be an important potential leverage to mitigate pressures on planetary boundaries.
{"title":"Leveraging international trade for the ecological transition: Quantifying the drivers of planetary boundaries","authors":"Gabriel Santos Carneiro , Guilherme Riccioppo Magacho , Etienne Espagne","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108907","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108907","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seven of the nine Planetary Boundaries have been breached by now. As a large share of human economic activities is enabled by international trade, this paper aims to analyze the footprints of global trade over the planetary boundaries. Using a multi-regional input-output database, we calculate ecological footprints embodied in trade relations related to the different planetary boundaries for different countries and economic activities through a modified method of consumption-based accounting. Results suggest that the pressure on planetary boundaries attributable to global trade ranges from 19 % to 50 %, depending on the boundary. The heterogeneity in pressure levels reflects the diverse economic structures of countries and regions, highlighting the influence of geographic and productive factors on ecological footprints. In general, Europe, North America and East Asia tend to be major regions impacting boundaries due to their import structure. However, from an export perspective, the picture is more heterogenous, with almost every single region contributing to pressures in a different way. All in all, global trade policies appear to be an important potential leverage to mitigate pressures on planetary boundaries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"242 ","pages":"Article 108907"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145884523","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 : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-12-10DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108878
Anders Boman , Mitesh Kataria , Elina Lampi , Daniel Slunge
We conduct a choice experiment survey to determine Swedish consumers' preferences for T-shirts with different levels of health risks to the consumer, environmental impact of production, and working conditions during production. We estimate the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for improvements in each attribute and explore ethical trade-offs between them. We conduct the same analysis for consumers buying a t-shirt for themselves and parents purchasing a t-shirt for their children. Our findings show that the health attribute was ranked highest, followed by working conditions and the environmental attribute. While the ranking of the attributes is consistent between the two samples, parents exhibited a lower overall MWTP. We also observe a general pattern of higher willingness to pay to avoid the lowest level (‘Very Poor’) of each attribute and achieve the intermediate level (‘Fairly Good’) than for further improvements to the highest level (‘Good’). This pattern, consistent with how the levels were designed, holds across all subsamples and attributes. Thus, we find substantial demand for more sustainable clothing, particularly for avoiding the worst practices. Our results also suggest that producers could pass on a portion of their increases in costs if sustainability improvements are effectively communicated. While most consumers are not willing to pay more to reach the highest level of an attribute, there are groups of consumers who are willing to pay a premium for high sustainability standards.
{"title":"Ethical trade-offs in fast fashion: Exploring social, environmental, and health dimensions in clothing consumption","authors":"Anders Boman , Mitesh Kataria , Elina Lampi , Daniel Slunge","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108878","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108878","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We conduct a choice experiment survey to determine Swedish consumers' preferences for T-shirts with different levels of health risks to the consumer, environmental impact of production, and working conditions during production. We estimate the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for improvements in each attribute and explore ethical trade-offs between them. We conduct the same analysis for consumers buying a t-shirt for themselves and parents purchasing a t-shirt for their children. Our findings show that the health attribute was ranked highest, followed by working conditions and the environmental attribute. While the ranking of the attributes is consistent between the two samples, parents exhibited a lower overall MWTP. We also observe a general pattern of higher willingness to pay to avoid the lowest level (‘Very Poor’) of each attribute and achieve the intermediate level (‘Fairly Good’) than for further improvements to the highest level (‘Good’). This pattern, consistent with how the levels were designed, holds across all subsamples and attributes. Thus, we find substantial demand for more sustainable clothing, particularly for avoiding the worst practices. Our results also suggest that producers could pass on a portion of their increases in costs if sustainability improvements are effectively communicated. While most consumers are not willing to pay more to reach the highest level of an attribute, there are groups of consumers who are willing to pay a premium for high sustainability standards.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"242 ","pages":"Article 108878"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145732635","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}
Cities around the world are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change, but their ability to attract private finance for urban climate change adaptation (UCCA) has been limited. Based on a comprehensive mapping of current finance regimes in Copenhagen, London and Singapore, the article explores how private investors perceive the challenges and opportunities for financing city-level innovations in UCCA. Our research question involves examining the perspectives of investors regarding UCCA opportunities and challenges, specifically focusing on the prospects for transforming the current finance regime. Theoretically, the study draws on the rich literature on sustainability transitions and strategic niche management to develop a new conceptual framework for categorising ‘conforming’ and ‘stretching’ interventions for financing UCCA. The analysis is based on 51 semi-structured interviews as well as secondary information on UCCA policies and finance documents. The interview respondents indicate that market imperfections, including incomplete and asymmetric information, positive and negative externalities and imperfect finance markets, as well as path-dependent practices and views, hinder investment. Overall, the study contributes to an emerging body of scholarship that seeks to understand the conditions under which public and private actors may collaborate in generating enabling conditions for financing UCCA.
{"title":"From grand challenges to bold solutions: Investor perspectives on financing urban climate change adaptation","authors":"Stella Whittaker , Craig Johnson , Nicola Ranger , Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108879","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108879","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cities around the world are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change, but their ability to attract private finance for urban climate change adaptation (UCCA) has been limited. Based on a comprehensive mapping of current finance regimes in Copenhagen, London and Singapore, the article explores how private investors perceive the challenges and opportunities for financing city-level innovations in UCCA. Our research question involves examining the perspectives of investors regarding UCCA opportunities and challenges, specifically focusing on the prospects for transforming the current finance regime. Theoretically, the study draws on the rich literature on sustainability transitions and strategic niche management to develop a new conceptual framework for categorising ‘conforming’ and ‘stretching’ interventions for financing UCCA. The analysis is based on 51 semi-structured interviews as well as secondary information on UCCA policies and finance documents. The interview respondents indicate that market imperfections, including incomplete and asymmetric information, positive and negative externalities and imperfect finance markets, as well as path-dependent practices and views, hinder investment. Overall, the study contributes to an emerging body of scholarship that seeks to understand the conditions under which public and private actors may collaborate in generating enabling conditions for financing UCCA.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"242 ","pages":"Article 108879"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145903191","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}
According to mainstream economic theory, competition is the fundamental force that regulates production and exchange in the global economy. It is presumed that countries compete in international markets with mutually beneficial outcomes for all parties. However, this assumption is challenged by increasing socioeconomic inequalities across and within countries, as well as global environmental degradation. Among other critical theories, Ecologically Unequal Exchange argues that international trade triggers asymmetries in the distribution of benefits and costs between Core and Periphery regions of the global economic system. We combined Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output analysis and Ecological Network analysis to empirically determine which type of ecological relation (competition, control, exploitation or mutualism) characterizes the interaction between countries in international trade. Our research revealed that exploitation and control relations are far more prevalent than competition or mutualism in the global economy. Although the Periphery and Semi-periphery exhibit higher environmental intensities, the responsibility for most environmental degradation can be attributed to a few Core countries that drive resources' extraction and appropriation. Consequently, the Core enhances its economic and environmental performance by exploiting and controlling the Semi-periphery and Periphery. Our findings demonstrate that green growth and dematerialization policies may be unable to achieve socially fair and environmentally sustainable societies at the global level if the structure of the global economy remains unchanged.
{"title":"Debunking competition - Global ecologically unequal exchange explained by exploitation and control relations","authors":"Raffaele Guarino , Giulio Corsi , Enrique Muñoz-Ulecia","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108909","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108909","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>According to mainstream economic theory, competition is the fundamental force that regulates production and exchange in the global economy. It is presumed that countries compete in international markets with mutually beneficial outcomes for all parties. However, this assumption is challenged by increasing socioeconomic inequalities across and within countries, as well as global environmental degradation. Among other critical theories, Ecologically Unequal Exchange argues that international trade triggers asymmetries in the distribution of benefits and costs between Core and Periphery regions of the global economic system. We combined Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output analysis and Ecological Network analysis to empirically determine which type of ecological relation (competition, control, exploitation or mutualism) characterizes the interaction between countries in international trade. Our research revealed that exploitation and control relations are far more prevalent than competition or mutualism in the global economy. Although the Periphery and Semi-periphery exhibit higher environmental intensities, the responsibility for most environmental degradation can be attributed to a few Core countries that drive resources' extraction and appropriation. Consequently, the Core enhances its economic and environmental performance by exploiting and controlling the Semi-periphery and Periphery. Our findings demonstrate that green growth and dematerialization policies may be unable to achieve socially fair and environmentally sustainable societies at the global level if the structure of the global economy remains unchanged.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"242 ","pages":"Article 108909"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145823284","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 : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-12-20DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108905
Cheng-Hsiang Shei , John Chung-En Liu , I-Yun Lisa Hsieh
As carbon pricing mechanisms become more widespread globally, household carbon burdens have emerged as an important equity concern. Disparities between households can undermine policy fairness and effectiveness. This study examines the distribution of household carbon burdens not only across income groups but also in relation to various sociodemographic factors. Using an input-output model and Taiwan's Survey of Family Income and Expenditure, we analyze attributes such as financial status, household head characteristics, family size, appliance ownership, and workplace location. The findings show that while carbon pricing has a slightly greater effect on low-income groups, variations within groups are larger than between groups. Households headed by females, older individuals, smaller in size, or with higher education tend to have lower carbon burdens. In contrast, households with more vehicles, living in low-rise, large-area homes, or with workplaces in southern and eastern regions face higher burdens. These patterns highlight household gasoline use as a decisive factor: more cars and weaker access to public transportation—particularly outside northern municipalities—raise carbon burdens and underscore the need for regionally tailored, transport-sensitive policy design. A scenario-based sensitivity analysis reveals that imposing charges on industrial emissions and gasoline use can reduce the regressivity of carbon pricing. However, applying higher rates specifically on gasoline may increase disparities within income groups, suggesting the need for integrated policy packages to maintain fairness. This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of household carbon burdens and identifies vulnerable groups, offering evidence to support equitable implementation of carbon pricing policies.
{"title":"Equity in carbon pricing: Impacts on household carbon burdens across different demographics","authors":"Cheng-Hsiang Shei , John Chung-En Liu , I-Yun Lisa Hsieh","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108905","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108905","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As carbon pricing mechanisms become more widespread globally, household carbon burdens have emerged as an important equity concern. Disparities between households can undermine policy fairness and effectiveness. This study examines the distribution of household carbon burdens not only across income groups but also in relation to various sociodemographic factors. Using an input-output model and Taiwan's Survey of Family Income and Expenditure, we analyze attributes such as financial status, household head characteristics, family size, appliance ownership, and workplace location. The findings show that while carbon pricing has a slightly greater effect on low-income groups, variations within groups are larger than between groups. Households headed by females, older individuals, smaller in size, or with higher education tend to have lower carbon burdens. In contrast, households with more vehicles, living in low-rise, large-area homes, or with workplaces in southern and eastern regions face higher burdens. These patterns highlight household gasoline use as a decisive factor: more cars and weaker access to public transportation—particularly outside northern municipalities—raise carbon burdens and underscore the need for regionally tailored, transport-sensitive policy design. A scenario-based sensitivity analysis reveals that imposing charges on industrial emissions and gasoline use can reduce the regressivity of carbon pricing. However, applying higher rates specifically on gasoline may increase disparities within income groups, suggesting the need for integrated policy packages to maintain fairness. This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of household carbon burdens and identifies vulnerable groups, offering evidence to support equitable implementation of carbon pricing policies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"242 ","pages":"Article 108905"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145785899","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 : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-12-02DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108880
Paul Stainier
The extent to which climate change will exacerbate already growing inequality between workers is an open question. Little is known about how occupational mobility might mediate climate change’s effects on inequality. High mobility rates between high exposure and low exposure occupations would mitigate inequality between the two, though increased labor supply to certain low exposure occupations could depress their wages. Well-documented frictions to occupational mobility, especially between occupations with different task requirements, suggest that this adaptation strategy may be highly costly to many workers. Using 9.2 million observations from individual-level panel data from France, I find that historically, inter-exposure mobility rates are low. Despite high exposure jobs making up only 9% of the labor market, a worker leaving a high exposure occupation moves to a different high exposure occupation 49% of the time. The task composition of high exposure jobs provides a partial, but incomplete, explanation for this labor market segmentation.
{"title":"Occupational mobility and climate adaptation: Evidence from France","authors":"Paul Stainier","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108880","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108880","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The extent to which climate change will exacerbate already growing inequality between workers is an open question. Little is known about how occupational mobility might mediate climate change’s effects on inequality. High mobility rates between high exposure and low exposure occupations would mitigate inequality between the two, though increased labor supply to certain low exposure occupations could depress their wages. Well-documented frictions to occupational mobility, especially between occupations with different task requirements, suggest that this adaptation strategy may be highly costly to many workers. Using 9.2 million observations from individual-level panel data from France, I find that historically, inter-exposure mobility rates are low. Despite high exposure jobs making up only 9% of the labor market, a worker leaving a high exposure occupation moves to a different high exposure occupation 49% of the time. The task composition of high exposure jobs provides a partial, but incomplete, explanation for this labor market segmentation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"242 ","pages":"Article 108880"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145652080","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 : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-12-17DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108895
Oussama Chaabouni , Richard Bärnthaler
Transformative adaptation (TA) is increasingly promoted as a way to drive systemic change beyond incremental adjustments. Yet many TA initiatives fall short of their transformative aims. This paper argues that this is not only due to implementation challenges, but also because of conceptual blind spots. We review TA litertaure and problematise three of its core assumptions regarding onto-epistemic and political shifts, root causes of vulnerability, and multi-level stakeholder engagement. Drawing on post-growth economics, we contend that TA tends to overlook some key dimensions of transformation. First, its focus on onto-epistemic and political shifts rarely challenges privatised property relations and sometimes reinforces scarcity narratives that justify exclusive control and management. Second, vulnerability is linked to a preoccupation with growth, efficiency, and commercialisation, yet these are not systematically tied to the structural dynamics of capital accumulation. Third, stakeholder engagement tends to foreground liberal notions of participation and governance, with little attention to democratic control over the economy. To address these gaps, we propose a set of reflective refinements based on post-growth principles: reorient development toward collective, decommodified ownership; link vulnerability to the structural tendencies of capital accumulation; and broaden participation and governance toward economic democratisation and planning. These dimensions are interdependent, with property relations and capital accumulation forming both structural arenas of transformation within, and obstacles to, democratic planning of the economy. We conclude by outlining key directions for future TA research.
{"title":"Integrating post-growth economics into transformative adaptation: Property relations, capital, and democratic planning","authors":"Oussama Chaabouni , Richard Bärnthaler","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108895","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108895","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Transformative adaptation (TA) is increasingly promoted as a way to drive systemic change beyond incremental adjustments. Yet many TA initiatives fall short of their transformative aims. This paper argues that this is not only due to implementation challenges, but also because of conceptual blind spots. We review TA litertaure and problematise three of its core assumptions regarding onto-epistemic and political shifts, root causes of vulnerability, and multi-level stakeholder engagement. Drawing on post-growth economics, we contend that TA tends to overlook some key dimensions of transformation. First, its focus on onto-epistemic and political shifts rarely challenges privatised property relations and sometimes reinforces scarcity narratives that justify exclusive control and management. Second, vulnerability is linked to a preoccupation with growth, efficiency, and commercialisation, yet these are not systematically tied to the structural dynamics of capital accumulation. Third, stakeholder engagement tends to foreground liberal notions of participation and governance, with little attention to democratic control over the economy. To address these gaps, we propose a set of reflective refinements based on post-growth principles: reorient development toward collective, decommodified ownership; link vulnerability to the structural tendencies of capital accumulation; and broaden participation and governance toward economic democratisation and planning. These dimensions are interdependent, with property relations and capital accumulation forming both structural arenas of transformation within, and obstacles to, democratic planning of the economy. We conclude by outlining key directions for future TA research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"242 ","pages":"Article 108895"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145785182","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 : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-12-16DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108804
Kristopher L. Nichols , Johanna M. Matt-Navarro , Maxim K. Doiron , Giovanna d'Adda , Elke U. Weber , Sara M. Constantino
Despite the urgency of addressing environmental challenges, from the overuse of natural resources to climate change, action is grossly lacking. Environmental challenges often unfold over long time horizons, involve risk and uncertainty, and pit self-interest against collective outcomes. This has led some scholars to explain inaction and the persistence of environmental challenges by appealing to social and psychological factors such as temporal discounting, risk aversion, and self-interest—preferences commonly assumed in microeconomic models of decision-making. If this is the case, it has implications for the design of interventions, policies, and institutions to promote sustainable actions. Yet, empirical evidence relating these preferences to sustainable behavior is mixed. We conduct a systematic literature review (75 papers; 426 effect sizes) and meta-analysis (39 papers; 299 effect sizes) of studies from 29 countries that elicit time, risk, and social preferences and correlate these with real-world environmentally-relevant behaviors. Overall, we find limited evidence that economic preferences assessed in the lab are strong predictors of sustainable behaviors—the relationship is only significant when preferences are elicited in the field setting (“lab-in-field”). In subgroup analyses, we find that prosocial preferences are a significant predictor of environmental behaviors, and the effect is stronger for studies where preferences are elicited using protocols that are framed in terms of real world impacts or conducted in the field. We also find that time, risk and social preferences predict monetary donations to environmental causes. These findings suggest a nuanced and modest relationship between economic preferences assessed in the lab and sustainable behaviors.
{"title":"Do risk, time, and social preferences predict sustainable behavior? Evidence from a qualitative synthesis and meta-analysis","authors":"Kristopher L. Nichols , Johanna M. Matt-Navarro , Maxim K. Doiron , Giovanna d'Adda , Elke U. Weber , Sara M. Constantino","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108804","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108804","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite the urgency of addressing environmental challenges, from the overuse of natural resources to climate change, action is grossly lacking. Environmental challenges often unfold over long time horizons, involve risk and uncertainty, and pit self-interest against collective outcomes. This has led some scholars to explain inaction and the persistence of environmental challenges by appealing to social and psychological factors such as temporal discounting, risk aversion, and self-interest—preferences commonly assumed in microeconomic models of decision-making. If this is the case, it has implications for the design of interventions, policies, and institutions to promote sustainable actions. Yet, empirical evidence relating these preferences to sustainable behavior is mixed. We conduct a systematic literature review (75 papers; 426 effect sizes) and meta-analysis (39 papers; 299 effect sizes) of studies from 29 countries that elicit time, risk, and social preferences and correlate these with real-world environmentally-relevant behaviors. Overall, we find limited evidence that economic preferences assessed in the lab are strong predictors of sustainable behaviors—the relationship is only significant when preferences are elicited in the field setting (“lab-in-field”). In subgroup analyses, we find that prosocial preferences are a significant predictor of environmental behaviors, and the effect is stronger for studies where preferences are elicited using protocols that are framed in terms of real world impacts or conducted in the field. We also find that time, risk and social preferences predict monetary donations to environmental causes. These findings suggest a nuanced and modest relationship between economic preferences assessed in the lab and sustainable behaviors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"242 ","pages":"Article 108804"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145785903","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 : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-12-22DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108900
Jiaqi Li , Ja Ryong Kim , Emmanuel Adegbite
In line with global trends, China introduced the Green Credit Guidelines (GCGs) in 2012 to promote green lending and advance environmental protection. This study shifts the analytical focus from borrowing firms, the primary subject of prior research, to lending institutions and examines how banks have responded to the GCGs. Using panel data from 34 A-share listed Chinese banks between 2008 and 2020, we find a general increase in green lending following the implementation of the GCGs. However, this growth is predominantly driven by state-controlled banks, suggesting that institutional constraints limit broader industry uptake. Further analysis reveals that state-controlled banks benefit financially from green lending post-GCGs and the regions with better GCG implementation experience a decrease in pollution emission levels. Our findings support both institutional theory and relationship banking theory, highlighting the perspectives of the lending institutions and the shortcomings of the current GCGs. To enhance the effectiveness of GCGs, we recommend that the GCGs be supplemented with mechanisms that promote practices across the banking sector.
{"title":"The impact of green credit guidelines on green lending and environmental outcomes: Evidence from Chinese banks","authors":"Jiaqi Li , Ja Ryong Kim , Emmanuel Adegbite","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108900","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108900","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In line with global trends, China introduced the Green Credit Guidelines (GCGs) in 2012 to promote green lending and advance environmental protection. This study shifts the analytical focus from borrowing firms, the primary subject of prior research, to lending institutions and examines how banks have responded to the GCGs. Using panel data from 34 A-share listed Chinese banks between 2008 and 2020, we find a general increase in green lending following the implementation of the GCGs. However, this growth is predominantly driven by state-controlled banks, suggesting that institutional constraints limit broader industry uptake. Further analysis reveals that state-controlled banks benefit financially from green lending post-GCGs and the regions with better GCG implementation experience a decrease in pollution emission levels. Our findings support both institutional theory and relationship banking theory, highlighting the perspectives of the lending institutions and the shortcomings of the current GCGs. To enhance the effectiveness of GCGs, we recommend that the GCGs be supplemented with mechanisms that promote practices across the banking sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"242 ","pages":"Article 108900"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145840446","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 : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-03DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108902
Antonio Abatemarco , Roberto Dell’Anno , Elena Lagomarsino
Environmental policies generate benefits that are unevenly distributed across individuals, raising concerns about the equity of environmental policy effort. This paper proposes a normative and methodological framework to assess equity in environmental care, defined as the benefits individuals receive from policy interventions intended to improve environmental quality. Building on a Rawlsian fairness principle, we adapt direct and indirect standardization techniques from the health economics literature to evaluate whether environmental care is allocated proportionally to environmental needs. We apply the framework to traffic-related air pollution policies implemented by Italian municipalities between 2012 and 2021. Our results show that overall disparities in environmental care have declined over time, largely due to a reduction in horizontal inequity. Nonetheless, significant socioeconomic disparities persist: individuals residing in lower-income municipalities receive disproportionately less environmental care relative to their environmental needs.
{"title":"Measuring equity in environmental care: Methodology and an application to traffic-related air pollution","authors":"Antonio Abatemarco , Roberto Dell’Anno , Elena Lagomarsino","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108902","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108902","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Environmental policies generate benefits that are unevenly distributed across individuals, raising concerns about the equity of environmental policy effort. This paper proposes a normative and methodological framework to assess equity in environmental care, defined as the benefits individuals receive from policy interventions intended to improve environmental quality. Building on a Rawlsian fairness principle, we adapt direct and indirect standardization techniques from the health economics literature to evaluate whether environmental care is allocated proportionally to environmental needs. We apply the framework to traffic-related air pollution policies implemented by Italian municipalities between 2012 and 2021. Our results show that overall disparities in environmental care have declined over time, largely due to a reduction in horizontal inequity. Nonetheless, significant socioeconomic disparities persist: individuals residing in lower-income municipalities receive disproportionately less environmental care relative to their environmental needs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51021,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Economics","volume":"242 ","pages":"Article 108902"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145884526","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}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号