Abstract
The Korean government has promoted a variety of environmental policies to revitalize pro-environmental consumption, and the government’s budget for this purpose has increased. However, there is a lack of quantitative data and analysis regarding the effects upon the pro-environmental consumption of education and changing public awareness of the environment. In addition, to improve pro-environmental consumption, the determinant and hindrance factors of pro-environmental consumption should be analyzed in advance. Accordingly, herein we suggest a pro-environmental consumption index that represents the condition of pro-environmental consumption based on big data queries and use the index to analyze determinants of and hindrances to pro-environmental consumption. To verify the reliability of the proposed indicator, we examine the correlation between the proposed indicator and Greendex, an existing survey-based indicator. In addition, we conduct an analysis of the determinants of pro-environmental consumption across 13 countries based upon the proposed indicator. The index is highest for Argentina and average for Korea. An analysis of the determinants shows that the levels of health expenditure, the ratio of the population aged over 65 years, and past orientation are significantly negatively related to the pro-environmental consumption index, but the level of preprimary education is significantly positively related with it. We also find that high-GDP countries have a significantly positive relationship between economy growth and pro-environmental consumption, but low-GDP countries do not have this relationship.
Highlights
Environmental pollution has become a serious problem in our society
The Green Card Point Scheme (Since 2011, green card holders have received some points for purchasing certified green products and for leading a low-carbon environment-friendly life) that was adopted as part of the environmental policy for consumers to promote eco-friendly consumption was far from successful, with Green Card application rates of no greater than 10.7% to 24.4% [2]
The proposed pro-environmental consumption index based on big data seems to represent pro-environmental consumption well
Summary
Environmental pollution has become a serious problem in our society. Many countries seek to prevent environmental pollution, since issues such as global warming and air and water pollution have become evident. According to the Third Green Product Purchase Promotion Plan, the government’s budget allocation to promote environmentally friendly consumption has increased [3] This increased budget includes allocations for incentive policies, educational programs, and public relations activities to boost pro-environmental consumption. Previous indexes relevant to environmental policy are included in the Green Competitiveness Index [6], but this index is insufficient for diagnosing the status of pro-environmental consumption in Korea Looking more closely, this index focuses on green growth through a regional green strategy. Based on the characteristics of big data queries, recent studies measured pro-environmental attitude and used it to analyze the impact of the introduction of pro-environmental policies [9]. We present our conclusions and discuss the policy implications and limitations of the present work
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