Determinants of willingness to make economic sacrifices for the environment: A focus on comparative responsibility and effort attributions in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands

シルヴィア・ミラノヴァ

    Past research shows that individuals concerned about environmental problems often do not act in line with their pro-environmental attitudes. The present paper argues that one factor responsible for this discrepancy stems from people’s tendency to compare their own obligations and actions to those of others when faced with the social dilemma of whether to behave pro-environmentally. Using data from the Environment II 2000 ISSP survey in three European countries - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands - the effect of comparative responsibility and effort attributions on individuals’ willingness to make economic sacrifices for the sake of the environment was tested. The predictive power of ideological and postmaterialist values and environmental concern was also assessed. Multiple regression analyses revealed that in all three countries delegating responsibility for enforcing environmental protection to the government increased individuals’ willingness to make sacrifices. At the international level, perceptions of equal responsibility among world countries predicted higher willingness to sacrifice only in the Netherlands. In the Czech Republic and in the Netherlands, when citizens thought that their own country was doing too little for the environment, they were more inclined to make economic sacrifices for its protection. Overall, individuals’ willingness to sacrifice was positively influenced both by current and expected cooperation by others, in the domestic and in the international contexts. The implications of these findings for devising strategies to encourage environmental behaviour are discussed.