Payment vs. compensation for ecosystem services: do words have a voice in the design of environmental conservation programs?

Sophie Clot, Gilles Grolleau () and Philippe Méral ()
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Sophie Clot: Department of Economics - UOR - University of Reading
Philippe Méral: GRED - Gouvernance, Risque, Environnement, Développement - UPVM - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 - IRD [Occitanie] - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier

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Abstract: We examine whether and how word choice can affect individual perceptions about a proposed Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) program when objective outcomes are similar. From a traditional economic perspective, this type of manipulation would be considered unlikely to affect perceptions and behaviour, especially in the presence of pecuniary incentives and repeated decisions among sophisticated agents. From a behaviourally informed perspective, however, psychological and political theories of wording argue that word choice can have a significant impact on economic behaviour. To substantiate this discussion, we conduct a survey experiment that tests the impact of the words ‘payment' and ‘compensation' on favorability ratings of a proposed PES program. These preliminary findings suggest that the words used to describe public policies can be influential non-pecuniary interventions.

Keywords: PES; wording effect; conservation; survey experiment; choice behavior; behavioral economics; value theory; public policy; service écosystémique; paiement service environnemental; compensation financiere; comportement de choix; évaluation de l'impact; perception mentale; économie comportementale; économie expérimentale; théorie économique; politique publique; intervention publique (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01484844v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Published in Ecological Economics, 2017, 135 (May 2017), pp.299-303. ⟨10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.12.028⟩

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Journal Article: Payment Vs. Compensation For Ecosystem Services: Do Words Have A Voice In The Design of Environmental Conservation Programs? (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01484844

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.12.028

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