How Green are Economists?

Stefano Carattini and Alessandro Tavoni ()

No 2016.43, Working Papers from Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Abstract: The market for voluntary carbon offsets has grown steadily in the last decade, yet it remains a very small niche. Most emissions from business travel are still not offset. This paper exploits a unique dataset examining the decision to purchase carbon offsets at two academic conferences in environmental and ecological economics. We find that having the conference expenses covered by one's institution increases the likelihood of offsetting, but practical and ethical reservations as well as personal characteristics and preferences also play an important role. We draw lessons from the effect of objections on the use of offsets and discuss the implications for practitioners and policy-makers. Based on our findings, we conclude that ecological and environmental economists should be more involved in the design and use of carbon offsets.

Keywords: Voluntary Carbon Offsetting; Public Goods; Ecological Economics; Environmental Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D6 H8 Q4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env and nep-res
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Related works:
Working Paper: How Green are Economists? (2016)
Working Paper: How green are economists? (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fem:femwpa:2016.43

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