Towards Greener Futures: Investigating the Nexus of Social, Human, and Institutional Capital in Sustainable Waste Management

Piera Cascioli, Dario D’Ingiullo, Donatella Furia, Iacopo Odoardi () and Davide Quaglione
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Piera Cascioli: Department of Socio-Economic, Managerial and Statistical Studies, University of Chieti-Pescara, 65127 Pescara, Italy
Dario D’Ingiullo: Department of Socio-Economic, Managerial and Statistical Studies, University of Chieti-Pescara, 65127 Pescara, Italy
Donatella Furia: Department of Socio-Economic, Managerial and Statistical Studies, University of Chieti-Pescara, 65127 Pescara, Italy
Iacopo Odoardi: Department of Socio-Economic, Managerial and Statistical Studies, University of Chieti-Pescara, 65127 Pescara, Italy
Davide Quaglione: Department of Socio-Economic, Managerial and Statistical Studies, University of Chieti-Pescara, 65127 Pescara, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-15

Abstract: Sustainable development is increasingly recognized for its reliance on grassroots, bottom-up practices embedded in local communities. The economic literature has tested various influencing factors on household behaviors, such as culture or social cohesion, often considering proxies of so-called “intangible capitals” separately. This article aims to jointly consider the pivotal role of three of these potential capitals that could have a trigger effect on pro-environmental behaviors, specifically, social capital ( sc ), human capital ( hc ), and institutional quality ( iq ). In particular, our study, by adopting a PVAR approach, analyzes if and to what extent sc , hc , and iq influence the priority goal of increasing waste-sorting practices in the 20 Italian regions. Additionally, rooted in a robust theoretical framework, we present an in-depth analysis, with the trend of impulses from statistically significant variables—having observed the important roles played by hc , sc , and particularly iq , as well as the control variables GDP per capita and population density—in increasing the percentage of waste sorting. This impulse analysis suggests for policy interventions that there would be immediate effects (1–2 years) due to the improvement of our intangible capitals, but also a short duration. This suggests the need for lasting and structural interventions.

Keywords: waste sorting; social capital; human capital; institutional quality; sustainable development; PVAR (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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