Does gender inequality affect household green consumption behaviour in China?

Jiajia Li, Jian Zhang, Dayong Zhang and Qiang Ji

Energy Policy, 2019, vol. 135, issue C

Abstract: In this paper, we examine whether gender inequality affects a household's decision to adopt green consumption behaviour in China. Building upon the literature that claims women tend to be more environmentally friendly than men, we hypothesise that households in which women play a stronger role adopt greener consumption lifestyles. Based on a nationwide survey, our empirical results show that households in counties with greater gender inequality use less energy-efficient electric products and are less willing to save energy. The results are robust to a number of variations in our empirical models. Social and economic factors are included to further explore the mechanisms underlying households' decisions. Our findings provide new insights into green development from a micro-level, bottom-up perspective. They are relevant for policy makers because they indicate that promoting gender equality can have a favourable impact on green development.

Keywords: Gender inequality; Green consumption; Households; CGSS; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (41)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:135:y:2019:i:c:s0301421519306585

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111071

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