The influence of collective action on the demand for voluntary climate change mitigation in hypothetical and real situations

In this experiment, we investigate determinants of the individual demand for voluntary climate change mitigation. Subjects decide between a cash prize and an allowance from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme for one ton of CO2 that will be deleted afterwards. We vary the incentives of the decision situation in which we distinguish between real monetary incentives and a hypothetical decision situation with and without a cheap talk script. Furthermore, decisions were implemented either as purely individual or as a collective action using majority voting. We observe a significant hypothetical bias in the demand for voluntary climate change mitigation. In case of the individual decision situation this bias is caused solely by subjects with low income. Collective decision making affects demand positively in the hypothetical decision situation only

Evaluations of agri-environmental schemes based on observational farm data: The importance of covariate selection

Evaluations of agri-environmental schemes (AES) based on observational farm data generally use a matching algorithm for comparing participating and non-participating farms. To mitigate the potential post-matching covariate imbalances between groups resulting from the use of large covariate sets, this paper proposes a method mix that reduces the covariate set and maximises the utilised number of observations. We test the approach on an evaluation of the European Union’s AES in the programming period of 2000–2006, estimating the impacts of AES participation on typical measures of land management, i.e. fertiliser and plant protection expenditures and grassland share. We use Mahalanobis distance matching with exact matching on the entry year of the participating farms and kernel matching with automated bandwidth selection to maximise the utilised sample and increase the estimator’s efficiency. Combining cause-and-effect path analysis with statistical covariate selection algorithms reduces the covariate set and improves balance on the characteristics that describe the production environment, farming intensity, productivity, and farmers’ preferences. We find that AES generate moderate decreases in plant protection expenditure and moderate increases in grassland shares. We conclude that our proposed method mix ensures an efficient use of information and improves the reliability of AES impact evaluation

Data of a willingness to pay survey for national climate change mitigation policies in Germany

The dataset includes responses from a contingent valuation study about the national climate change mitigation policies in Germany. The online survey was carried out in the spring of 2014. It assesses the willingness to pay for an increase of the national CO2 reduction target by 10 percentage points, which closely represents Germany׳s climate change mitigation strategy. Respondents were randomly allocated to one of the following three question formats: The dichotomous choice referendum, the dissonance minimizing referendum and the two-sided payment ladder. The data can be used to investigate the influence of alternative statistical approaches on the willingness to pay measures and their comparison across question formats. Keywords: Willingness to pay, Climate change mitigation, Contingent valuatio

Convergent validity in contingent valuation: an application to the willingness to pay for national climate change mitigation targets in Germany

This stated preferences survey determines the willingness to pay (WTP) for climate change mitigation policies using a representative sample of the German population. WTP is compared across three valuation question formats in a split sample design: the dichotomous choice (DC) referendum, the dissonance minimizing (DM) referendum and the two-way payment ladder (TWPL). The influence of multinational cooperation on WTP is assessed by variation in the hypothetical scenarios. We demonstrate that the DM referendum and the TWPL, two question formats that induce similar response incentives, yield equal mean WTPs. Multinational cooperation did not change WTP in any of the question formats. Implications for current contingent valuation practice are discussed

Agricultural policy evaluation with large-scale observational farm data: Environmental impacts of agri-environmental schemes

Agri-environmental schemes (AES) target at improving environmental status of cultivated land by remunerating farmers willing to commit to higher environmental standards. Thus far, no consensus exists whether AES incentivize adoption of pro-environmental production or simply offer windfall profits for those already operating at lower intensities. Using farm-level data, evaluation typically rests on comparing farms with and without AES. For differencing out unobservables that drive farmers into AES participation and therefore confound impact measurement, DID-matching methods are widespread, yet critical reflection remains sparse. We target at closing this gap by shedding light on the implicit assumptions about cause and effect paths linking participation and treatment outcome. We discuss challenges for identification of causal effects in presence of unobservable confounders over a broad range of methods and illustrate DID methods to estimate AES effects on land-use in West Germany

THE HYPOTHETICAL FREE-RIDER DEFICIT IN THE DEMAND FOR FARM ANIMAL WELFARE LABELED MEAT

This contingent valuation survey examines the stated demand for a farm animal welfare label in Germany. Demand is assessed in an individual and a collective decision framing. The collective decision framing has significant influence on stated demand and the probability to choose labelled meat products, indicating the possibility of free rider behavior by meat consumers. Furthermore, the study reveals that determinants for the choice of labelled meat vary across decision situation. For example, while normative demeanor is important in both frames, expected better taste is important in the individual purchase situation and income is important in the collective decision situation also after controlling for normative attitudes

Revealed preferences for climate protection when the purely individual perspective is relaxed - evidence from a framed field experiment

In this paper, we investigate the real demand for climate protection when the purely individual perspective of existing revealed preference studies is relaxed. This is achieved in two treatments; first, we determine the information subjects receive about the demand revealed by other subjects in a similar decision making situation, second, collective action is implemented whereby all subjects are required to purchase the group’s median quantity at a given price. Participants in the experiment were offered the opportunity to contribute to climate protection by purchasing European Union Allowances. Allowances purchased were withdrawn from the European Emissions Trading Scheme. In our experiment, information about other subjects’ behaviour has no treatment effect on the demand for climate protection. Under collective action however, the probability of purchasing allowances is higher compared to the reference treatment situation, an individual contribution mechanism. Furthermore, we observe a strong correlation between subjects’ demand and their expectations about other participants’ behaviour. When collective action is not available, subjects’ expectations are consistent with free rider behaviour

When Chemistry Meets Biology – Generating Innovative Concepts, Methods and Tools for Scientific Discovery in the Plant Sciences

Triggered by growing societal demand, various labels and program target at improving animal welfare in intense livestock farming. Based on the assumption of a trade-off between farms’ economic performance and animal welfare, these program typically compensate farmers for potential losses from adjusted husbandry conditions such as additional space. Yet the complexity of animal welfare challenges its unique measurement and consequently the evaluation of such measures, casting doubt on the effectiveness of these program. Therefore, we first target at improving the understanding of the relation between animal health, as a core dimension of animal welfare, and farm performance from an empirical perspective, and second to evaluate the German program “Initiative Tierwohl” (ITW). We rely on bookkeeping data for 483 pig fattening farms including detailed animal health indicators collected at the abattoir. To test for the potential trade-off, we use relative farm performance measures identified from non-parametric data envelopment analysis. Our results do not support a trade-off between animal health and farm performance, but rather indicate the possibility for high productivity at comparatively high levels of animal health. Further, we find participants to perform slightly better in both dimensions, supporting the label’s claim of improved animal welfare