Talking in the present, caring for the future: Language and environment

Astghik Mavisakalyan (), Yashar Tarverdi and Clas Weber

Journal of Comparative Economics, 2018, vol. 46, issue 4, 1370-1387

Abstract: This paper identifies a new source that explains environmental behaviour: the presence of future tense marking in language. We predict that languages that grammatically mark the future affect speakers’ intertemporal preferences and thereby reduce their willingness to address environmental problems. We first show that speakers of languages with future tense marking are less likely to adopt environmentally responsible behaviours and to support policies to prevent environmental damage. We then document that this effect holds across countries: future tense marking is an important determinant of climate change policies and global environmental cooperation. The results suggest that there may be deep and surprising obstacles for attempts to address climate change.

Keywords: Language; Linguistic relativity; Intertemporal preference; Climate change; Environmental policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 Q54 Q58 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (31)

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Working Paper: Talking in the Present, caring for the Future: Language and Environment (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:46:y:2018:i:4:p:1370-1387

DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2018.01.003

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