The Role of Cultural Worldviews in Willingness to Pay for Environmental Policy

Abstract

Recent research in the social psychology literature suggests that personally held beliefs may play a pivotal role in individuals’ acceptance of environmental policy. Using the contingent valuation method framework, we investigate the role of cultural worldview on individuals’ support for, and valuation of, an environmental policy that differs by its underlying cause. Results suggest that willingness to pay point estimates for management action (1) can be influenced by cultural worldviews; and (2) are dependent on the cause of environmental degradation. We also extend the examination of potential endogeneity in ex-post perceived survey consequentiality and willingness to pay measures. We find some evidence that cultural worldviews influence consequentiality and that the framing of the environmental policy scenario can also influence whether an endogenous relationship exists between the randomly assigned payment instrument and the consequentiality measure.