The role of curtailment versus efficiency on spillovers among pro-environmental behaviors: Evidence from two towns in Granada, Spain

Abstract

In this paper we explore the existence of behavioral consistency between individuals' pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors in related domains (cross-domain), distinguishing between the following two types of behaviors that the literature has identified as entailing different levels of sacrifice on the part of the individual: curtailment, i.e., implying the adoption of daily habits, and efficiency behaviors, i.e., installation of efficient devices. Using a dataset on bottled water demand from two cities in southern Spain, we find evidence of behavioral consistency between the undertaking of certain pro-environmental habits related to household water consumption and the decision to consume (or not) bottled water. These effects are found only when curtailment behaviors are considered, but not in relation to efficiency behaviors. Moreover, our results suggest that policies fostering pro-environmental habits could prove more successful than the ones promoting pro-environmental attitudes or awareness. These results have important implications for the design of environmental campaigns and rebate programs.Marta Suárez-Varela gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund (project ECO2016-75237-R). Ariel Dinar would like to acknowledge support from the NIFA Multistate Project W3190 “Management and Policy Challenges in a Water-Scarce World”