Environmental fiscal reform and willingness to pay for the environment: an empirical analysis on European micro data

Abstract

This paper empirically investigates the determinants of willingness to pay (WTP) for the environment, employing micro data from the European Value Survey (EVS) over 2008-2010 in 27 European countries. Using ordered logit, logit and partially constrained generalized ordered logit models, we explore a wide set of individual and country level determinants. Our particular focus is on whether WTP is influenced by the Environmental Fiscal Reforms (EFR), carried out only in some countries of our sample. Our results show that WTP for the environment is lower in countries where an Environmental Fiscal Reform has been introduced. Moreover, analyses conducted on the role of information highlight that being presumably aware of the environmental fiscal reform does not affect positively the marginal willingness to pay for the environment