As the actions of individuals contribute substantially to climate change, identifying factors that underpin environmentally-relevant behaviors represents an important step towards modifying behavior and mitigating climate change impacts. This paper introduces a sequential model in which antecedent psychological and sociodemographic variables predict climate change risk perceptions, which lead to enhanced levels of response efficacy and psychological adaptation in relation to climate change, and ultimately to environmentally-relevant behaviors. The model is tested and refined using data from large national surveys of Australian and French residents. As hypothesized, in both samples, risk perception (indirectly), response efficacy (both indirectly and directly), and psychological adaptation (directly) predicted behavior. However, these effects were stronger in the Australian than in the French sample, and other unexpectedly strong direct effects were also observed. In particular, subscribing to a "green" self-identity directly predicted all endogenous variables, especially in the French sample. The study provides valuable insights into the processes underlying environmentally-relevant behaviors, while serving as a reminder that effects on behavior may be nation-specific. Strategies are recommended for promoting pro-environmental behavior through the enhancement of a green identity, response efficacy, and psychological adaptation.

Abstract:We investigate the role discretionary (non-working) time plays in sustaining the gap between individuals' concern about climate change and their propensity to act on this concern by adopting sustainable consumption practices. Using recent Australian survey data on climate change adaptation, we find that while discretionary time is unrelated to concern about climate change, it is positively correlated with the propensity to adopt mitigating behavior. Moreover, we find that increasing discretionary time is associated with significant reductions in the gap between the concern that individuals express about climate change and their reporting of engagement in sustainable consumption practices. JEL Codes: D12, D83, Q50

Engel curves describe how household expenditure on particular goods or services depends on household income. German statistician Ernst Engel (1821-1896) was the first to investigate this relationship systematically in an article published about 150 years ago. The best-known single result from the article is "Engel's law," which states that the poorer a family is, the larger the budget share it spends on nourishment. We revisit Engel's article, including its context and the mechanics of the argument. Because the article was completed a few decades before linear regression techniques were established and income effects were incorporated into standard consumer theory, Engel was forced to develop his own approach to analyzing household expenditure patterns. We find his work contains some interesting features in juxtaposition to both the modern and classical literature. For example, Engel's way of estimating the expenditure-income relationship resembles a data-fitting technique called the "regressogram" that is nonparametric -- in that no functional form is specified before the estimation. Moreover, Engel introduced a way of categorizing household expenditures in which expenditures on commodities that served the same purpose by satisfying the same underlying "want" were grouped together. This procedure enabled Engel to discuss the welfare implications of his results in terms of the Smithian notion that individual welfare is related to the satisfaction of wants. At the same time, he avoided making a priori assumptions about which specific goods were necessities, assumptions which were made by many classical economists like Adam Smith. Finally, we offer a few thoughts about some modern literature that builds on Engel's research.

Examining the regional distribution of 15 different Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Practices (MPs) across Australia, we study the tendency for consumers to imitate visible proenvironmental behaviour in their local region. While there is a great deal of variation in the specific type of MPs adopted by consumers located in the same region, ANOVA results suggest that they tend to adopt a similar number of MPs as their neighbours. Using discrete choice modelling, our results suggest that this is due to the peer adoption of certain visible MPs, such as using public transport or car-pooling, encouraging agents to adopt other types of visible MPs. However, the character of this spillover is limited in that visible proenvironmental behaviour does not appear to influence the adoption of non-visible MPs. We also find that social imitation patterns help individuals overcome the observed gap between their stated concern about climate change and their propensity to act on this concern, known as the climate 'value-action' gap. Policy implications are discussed.

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Households tend to diversify their spending across a wide range of goods and services as they become more affluent. Recently, there has been growing interest in understanding the precise manner in which this spending diversification process takes place. We review what facts are known about this process and the underlying behavioural tendencies that are thought to drive it. In addition, we clarify the relationship between different approaches to measuring the level of spending diversity. A number of indices are employed, including measures based on joint probabilities, distances and the concept of entropy. Using UK household spending data, we show the extent to which these measures deliver different results and shed light on the nature of behavioural heterogeneity.

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractUsing data spanning over four decades , this paper employs Engel's needsbased approach to analyzing household expenditure patterns to find evidence for the existence of a stable hierarchy of expenditure patterns at low levels of household income. Second, we investigate how rising household income influences the manner in which total expenditure is distributed across Engel's expenditure categories. Our results suggest that i) total household expenditure is distributed across Engel's expenditure categories in an increasingly even manner as household income increases and ii) over time, there has been an acceleration in the rate at which household expenditure patterns become diversified as household income rises. Finally, we consider how the shape of Engel Curves may help shed light on the relationship between goods and the underlying needs they serve.

The tendency for Engel curves to flatten out at high income levels is frequently cited as evidence that major shifts in household consumption patterns occur as household income rises. Empirically, little has been done to examine (i) whether saturation is indeed a general property of Engel curves, (ii) whether the rate at which Engel curves flatten out may significantly change over time, and (iii) how robust Engel curves are in the face of changes in the income distribution of households. Using data from the UK Family Expenditure Survey, we find evidence that saturation is indeed widespread among Engel curves across a wide range of goods and services. However, a tendency for their shape to shift over time, and for these shifts to co-move with changes in the income distribution of households, casts some doubt on whether the declining slope of Engel curves can be used to predict slowdowns in the growth rate of demand for particular goods and services. We also uncover evidence supporting the notion that industries tend to innovate goods and services in order to escape saturation pressure.