What Information Do We Have on People's Willingness to Pay on Reducing Plastic Shopping Bags?

Abstract

The Chinese government implemented the payment system for plastic shopping bags in 2008 and 2020. This study aims to analyze consumers' perceptions and purchase willingness of plastic shopping bags. Using information technology, a random survey was carried out in Chinese first-tier cities. After collecting the rich first-hand data, the ordered Logit model is applied to conduct the empirical investigation. The results show that the average willingness to pay is roughly equal to what supermarkets charge. For socio-demographic characteristics, male, younger, and higher-income consumers are likely to pay more money. Consumers with more positive perceptions of policy support, environmental threat, personal ability, and charging benefits tend to pay higher fees. Moreover, the marginal influence of different variables on purchase willingness is heterogeneous. This study finally puts forward targeted suggestions for reducing plastic shopping bag consumption based on findings.