Addressing Consumerism and the Planetary Health Crisis: Behavioral Economics Approach in Public Policy

Abstract

A pervasive sense of dissatisfaction is driving an unstoppable longing for materialistic things, resulting in anthropogenic disruptions of the earth’s natural systems. Behavioral economics integrates insights from psychological research into economic science. This policy brief explores how behavioral economics can be a practical approach citizens can use to adopt pro-environmental behavior without significant economic interference. It is worth examining why some people maintain the status quo by not embracing green options despite knowing their positive environmental impacts and even after financial incentives are offered for such options. Human decision anomalies are often driven by simple intuition, with decisions made by mental shortcuts known as heuristics. Nudging people and setting up a choice architecture may be a better way to alter people’s behavior to adopt a pro-environment lifestyle.