Intergenerational Spillovers of Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors

Shubhro Bhattacharya, Sara M. Constantino, Nirajana Mishra, Nishith Prakash, Shwetlena Sabarwal, Dighbijoy Samaddar and Raisa Sherif

No 12499, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: This paper evaluates whether environmental education can shift household behavior through intergenerational transmission of knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes. We implement an activity-based program in Patna, India, and conduct a randomized experiment with 1,545 child–parent pairs assigned to child-only, parent-only, joint, or control groups. Direct participation increases pro-environmental behaviors. Spillovers occur but are asymmetric: while children and parents influence each other’s behaviors, only children significantly shift parents’ climate beliefs and attitudes. Joint participation yields no additional gains beyond individual participation, suggesting that targeting children alone may be a scalable and cost-effective strategy for promoting sustainable household practices.

Keywords: environmental education; Intra-household spillovers; Intergenerational transmission; pro-environmental behavior; climate risk perceptions; factorial randomized design; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D10 I20 O10 Q01 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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