Exploring citizens' support for policy tools at the food, energy, water nexus

Abstract

The food, energy, and water (FEW) nexus is attracting the attention of scholars throughout the fields of engineering, biological sciences, and public policy, among others. However, one important piece missing from the research is an understanding of the types of FEW‐related policies citizens support and the factors that drive public support for those policies. As reported in this article, data from a nationally representative survey of the adult U.S. population show that the public's support for different policy tools varies. To understand more about the public's preferences, we use a series of analytic techniques including factor analysis and factor score regressions to test possible explanations for these preferences. We find that citizens’ knowledge about FEW nexus issues increases their support of policies for managing food, energy, water resources; broad concern for the environment also increases support. The public's preferences are also influenced by political ideology, political party identification, and education. These results contribute to an understanding of the public's potential willingness to embrace the role government can play in addressing FEW nexus issues. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 37: 148–154, 2018