Can payments-for-ecosystem-services change social norms?

IF 6.6 2区经济学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Ecological Economics Pub Date : 2024-11-26 DOI:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108468

Tobias Bähr, Adriana Bernal-Escobar, Meike Wollni

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Exposure to economic incentives such as payments for ecosystem services (PES) can change intrinsic motivations to act pro-environmentally. These so-called crowding effects in PES have been shown to affect pro-environmental behavior of PES-receivers. It is, however, unclear if social norms toward pro-environmental behavior are also susceptible to crowding effects in PES and how these changes could influence pro-environmental behavior in the larger population. We design and implement a modified dictator game with Costa Rican oil palm smallholders to test if crowding effects can change social norms by affecting injunctive normative beliefs of PES-receivers and subsequently the pro-environmental behavior of non-PES-receivers through peer influence. Our results indicate that next to crowding-in pro-environmental behavior of PES-receivers, PES also improve PES-receivers' injunctive normative beliefs toward the behavior. Although we cannot link this improvement to an increase in pro-environmental behavior in non-PES-receivers, peer-to-peer communication of injunctive normative beliefs against pro-environmental behavior does reduce non-PES-receivers' pro-environmental behavior. Jointly, these effects highlight the potential of crowding effects in PES to change social norms.

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为生态系统服务付费能否改变社会规范？

接触生态系统服务补偿（PES）等经济激励措施会改变亲环境行为的内在动机。生态系统服务补偿中所谓的挤出效应已被证明会影响生态系统服务补偿接受者的亲环境行为。然而，目前还不清楚在生态系统服务补偿中，亲环境行为的社会规范是否也会受到挤出效应的影响，以及这些变化会如何影响更多人群的亲环境行为。我们设计并实施了一个以哥斯达黎加油棕小农为对象的改良独裁者博弈，以检验挤出效应是否会通过影响生态系统服务补偿接受者的强制规范信念来改变社会规范，进而通过同伴影响来改变非生态系统服务补偿接受者的亲环境行为。我们的研究结果表明，除了挤入公共环境服务补偿接受者的亲环境行为外，公共环境服务补偿还能改善公共环境服务补偿接受者对该行为的强制规范信念。尽管我们无法将这种改善与非生态系统服务补偿接受者的亲环境行为的增加联系起来，但针对亲环境行为的强制性规范信念的点对点传播确实减少了非生态系统服务补偿接受者的亲环境行为。这些效应共同凸显了生态系统服务补偿中的挤出效应在改变社会规范方面的潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Ecological Economics 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

12.00

自引率

5.70%

发文量

313

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： Ecological Economics is concerned with extending and integrating the understanding of the interfaces and interplay between "nature''s household" (ecosystems) and "humanity''s household" (the economy). Ecological economics is an interdisciplinary field defined by a set of concrete problems or challenges related to governing economic activity in a way that promotes human well-being, sustainability, and justice. The journal thus emphasizes critical work that draws on and integrates elements of ecological science, economics, and the analysis of values, behaviors, cultural practices, institutional structures, and societal dynamics. The journal is transdisciplinary in spirit and methodologically open, drawing on the insights offered by a variety of intellectual traditions, and appealing to a diverse readership. Specific research areas covered include: valuation of natural resources, sustainable agriculture and development, ecologically integrated technology, integrated ecologic-economic modelling at scales from local to regional to global, implications of thermodynamics for economics and ecology, renewable resource management and conservation, critical assessments of the basic assumptions underlying current economic and ecological paradigms and the implications of alternative assumptions, economic and ecological consequences of genetically engineered organisms, and gene pool inventory and management, alternative principles for valuing natural wealth, integrating natural resources and environmental services into national income and wealth accounts, methods of implementing efficient environmental policies, case studies of economic-ecologic conflict or harmony, etc. New issues in this area are rapidly emerging and will find a ready forum in Ecological Economics.