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Talking in the Present, caring for the Future: Language and Environment

Astghik Mavisakalyan (astghik.mavisakalyan@curtin.edu.au), Yashar Tarverdi and Clas Weber (clas.weber@uwa.edu.au)
Additional contact information
Clas Weber: University of Western Australia, Australia

No WP1703, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series from Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School

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 climate change. We first document that countries with a language that requires future tense marking adopt less stringent climate change policies. We then show that individuals within countries behave consistently: speakers of languages with future tense marking are less likely to adopt environmentally responsible behaviours. 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: Q54 Q58 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35 pages
Date: 2017-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-env
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Journal Article: Talking in the present, caring for the future: Language and environment (2018) Downloads
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