Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/266028 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
MAGKS Joint Discussion Paper Series in Economics No. 30-2022
Publisher: 
Philipps-University Marburg, School of Business and Economics, Marburg
Abstract: 
Based on the well-known observation that social norms can guide individual behavior, this paper empirically examines the causal effect of related information interventions on revealed climate protection activities, measured through incentivized donations. In our field-experi-mental setting, we differentiate between descriptive social norms by providing information about individual climate protection activities in Germany, injunctive social norms by provid-ing information about what people in Germany think about the need for climate protection activities, and a combination of both social norms. Based on representative survey data for more than 1,600 individuals in Germany, our econometric analysis shows some weak evi-dence that information about both descriptive and injunctive social norms increases donations for climate protection. The decomposition of this estimated average treatment effects reveals that the corresponding treatment particularly has a significantly positive effect at the extensive margin, i.e. on the probability to donate for climate protection. These results suggest that a combined information intervention referring to both descriptive and injunctive social norms is at least able to stimulate the general willingness for climate protection. In addition, our analysis of heterogeneous treatment effects reveals that strong social preferences (in terms of altruism and trust) and high environmental attitudes (in terms of environmental awareness and ecological policy identification) induce significantly positive information treatment effects on donations for climate protection. This result suggests that individuals in Germany with a strong environmental and social orientation do not only behave directly more climate-friendly, but can also be better stimulated by information about descriptive and/or injunctive social norms.
Subjects: 
Climate protection activities
descriptive and injunctive social norms
information interventions
heterogeneous treatment effects
framed field experiment
JEL: 
Q54
D64
D83
D91
C93
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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