Personality and economic choices

Christopher Boyce, Mikolaj Czajkowski and Nick Hanley

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2019, vol. 94, issue C, 82-100

Abstract: There is substantial variation in individual preferences for public goods, yet much of that variation remains poorly understood. However, simple measures of personality can help to explain economic values and choices in a systematic way. In this paper, we examine the effects of personality on individual economic choices over public environmental goods. Based on three datasets from three separate stated preference studies, we use a hybrid choice econometric framework to examine the effects of personality on preferences for the status quo, changes in environmental quality, and costs of investing in environmental improvements. We find effects that are consistent across all datasets. Personality, a stable feature of an individual's character that is simple to measure, enriches explanations of why the demand for environmental goods varies across people, provides an indication of how different people are likely to react to the introduction of environmental policies, and explains substantial differences in Willingness to Pay.

Keywords: Personality; Preference heterogeneity; Hybrid choice models; Stated preferences; Choice models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C35 D03 D12 D61 Q25 Q51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Personality and Economic Choices (2017)
Working Paper: Personality and Economic Choices (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:94:y:2019:i:c:p:82-100

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2018.12.004

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