How can we improve air pollution? Try increasing trust first

Autor: Bridget Lynn Hoffmann, Carlos Scartascini, Fernando G. Cafferata
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Environment and Development Economics. 27:393-413
ISSN: 1469-4395
1355-770X
DOI: 10.1017/s1355770x2100036x
Popis: Environmental policies are characterized by salient short-term costs and long-term benefits that are difficult to observe and to attribute to the government's efforts. These characteristics imply that citizens’ support for environmental policies is highly dependent on their trust in the government's capability to implement solutions and commitment to investments in those policies. Using novel survey data from Mexico City, we show that trust in the government is positively correlated with citizens’ willingness to support an additional tax approximately equal to a day's minimum wage to improve air quality and greater preference for government retention of revenues from fees collected from polluting firms. We find similar correlations using the perceived quality of public goods as a measure of government competence. These results provide evidence that mistrust can be an obstacle to better environmental outcomes.
Databáze: OpenAIRE