Learning from COVID-19: Infectious Disease Vulnerability Promotes Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Da Jiang, Mingxuan Li, Hanyang Wu and Shuang Liu
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Da Jiang: Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
Mingxuan Li: Department of Business Administration, School of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Hanyang Wu: Department of Finance, School of Economics and Management, Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology, Jilin 132000, China
Shuang Liu: Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: Environmental problems, such as climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation, are important contributors to the spread of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19 and SARS. For instance, a greater concentration of ambient NO 2 was associated with faster transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. However, it remains unclear whether outbreaks of infectious diseases arouse individuals’ concern on the need to protect the environment and therefore promote more pro-environmental behaviors. To this end, we examined the relationship between infectious disease vulnerability and pro-environmental behaviors using data from a cross-societal survey ( N = 53 societies) and an experiment ( N = 214 individuals). At both the societal and the individual levels, infectious disease vulnerability increased pro-environmental behaviors. At the societal level, this relationship was mediated by citizens’ level of environmental concern. At the individual level, the relationship was mediated by empathy. The findings show that infectious disease vulnerability is conducive to pro-environmental behaviors.

Keywords: pro-environmental behavior; infectious disease vulnerability; empathy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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