The effects of income inequality on the willingness to contribute to environmental sustainability

ABSTRACT Over the last years, the impact of social inequality in various fields was analysed and researched. Surprisingly, preceding research on the correlation between income inequality and environmental pollution revealed no evidence for such a connection. In this paper, we break down the effect of income inequality on the individuals’ willingness to contribute to environmental sustainability into two indirect effects: the growing privatization of public costs and the expansion of social conflicts. Analysing data from an ISSP survey from 2010, we conclude that the lack of statistical correlation between income inequality and the willingness to contribute to environmental protection results from the simultaneous occurrence of two opposite forces of equal strength: With higher inequality, a person perceives the costs of environmental damage as a private problem, thereby his/her willingness to contribute to the protection of the environment rises. On the other hand, with higher inequality, the willingness to contribute is less enhanced by a norm of contributing to environmental sustainability.