Green Attitude and Economic Growth

Ingrid Ott () and Susanne Soretz
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Ingrid Ott: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Environmental & Resource Economics, 2018, vol. 70, issue 4, No 3, 757-779

Abstract: Abstract We analyze the interdependence between green attitude and equilibrium development of environmental quality in an endogenous growth model. Individuals take only part of their impact on pollution into account, hence there is a negative externality of capital accumulation on environmental quality. Increasing wealth or increasing pollution enhance green attitude and reduce the externality, because individuals care more about the environment if their income is higher or if pollution is more obvious. The time path of pollution as well as the evolution of equilibrium growth are shown to depend crucially on the determinants of green attitude. Ongoing growth may lead to complete internalization of the environmental externality if green attitude improves with increasing wealth, e.g. as a consequence of an increase in environmental education. In contrast, if green attitude is determined exclusively by the level of environmental quality, pollution remains at a suboptimally high level. The interdependence of wealth and pollution in the determination of environmental awareness implies more complex dynamics. Capital growth enhances green attitude and thereby decreases pollution. Improved environmental quality in turn may increase capital growth due to less green attitude and therefore slow down convergence to the sustainable balanced growth path.

Keywords: Pollution; Endogenous growth; Green attitude (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O1 O4 Q2 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Green attitude and economic growth (2016)
Working Paper: Green Attitude and Economic Growth (2016)
Working Paper: Green attitude and economic growth (2015)
Working Paper: Green attitude and economic growth (2015)
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DOI: 10.1007/s10640-016-0061-z

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