The John M. Olin Center

Paper Abstract

503. Joni Hersch & W. Kip Viscusi, Paying for Climate Change Policies in Europe, 02/2005; subsequently published as "The Generational Divide in Support for Environmental Policies: European Evidence" in Climatic Change, Vol. 76, July 2006, 1-27.

Abstract: Global climate change is of official concern at the national level throughout Europe and is mirrored in individual data. Examination of 1999 Eurobarometer survey data with respondents from 15 European countries indicates that respondents who are very worried about global warming risks are willing to increase the price of petrol by a higher percentage, if higher prices would cause less harm to the environment. Support for higher petrol prices increases with income and education, and declines steadily with age, reflecting the diminished private benefit that older respondents derive from environmental policies with deferred impacts.


503: PDF