Does gender inequality affect household green consumption behaviour in China?

Abstract

In this paper, we examine whether gender inequality affects a household's decision to adopt green consumption behaviour in China. Building upon the literature that claims women tend to be more environmentally friendly than men, we hypothesise that households in which women play a stronger role adopt greener consumption lifestyles. Based on a nationwide survey, our empirical results show that households in counties with greater gender inequality use less energy-efficient electric products and are less willing to save energy. The results are robust to a number of variations in our empirical models. Social and economic factors are included to further explore the mechanisms underlying households' decisions. Our findings provide new insights into green development from a micro-level, bottom-up perspective. They are relevant for policy makers because they indicate that promoting gender equality can have a favourable impact on green development.