Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/284397 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
SAFE Working Paper No. 414
Publisher: 
Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, Frankfurt a. M.
Abstract: 
We document the individual willingness to act against climate change and study the role of social norms in a large sample of US adults. Individual beliefs about social norms positively predict pro-climate donations, comparable in strength to universal moral values and economic preferences such as patience and reciprocity. However, we document systematic misperceptions of social norms. Respondents vastly underestimate the prevalence of climate-friendly behaviors and norms. Correcting these misperceptions in an experiment causally raises individual willingness to act against climate change as well as individual support for climate policies. The effects are strongest for individuals who are skeptical about the existence and threat of global warming.
Subjects: 
Climate change
climate behavior
climate policies
social norms
misperception
beliefs
economic preferences
moral values
survey experiments
JEL: 
D64
D83
D91
Q51
Q54
Z13
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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