Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322144 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
CEBI Working Paper Series No. 06/25
Publisher: 
University of Copenhagen, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI), Copenhagen
Abstract: 
Standard economic theory assumes that consumers ignore the externalities they create, such as emissions from burning fossil fuels and generating waste. In an incentivized study (N = 3, 718), we find that most people forgo substantial gains to avoid imposing negative externalities on others. Using administrative data on household waste, we show a clear link between such prosociality and waste behavior: prosociality predicts lower residual waste generation and higher waste sorting. Prosociality also predicts survey-reported pro-environmental behaviors such as lowering indoor temperature, limiting air travel, and consuming eco-friendly products. These findings highlight the importance of considering social preferences in environmental policy.
Subjects: 
social preferences
prosociality
environmental behaviors
externalities
JEL: 
D01
D62
Q53
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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