Moving to Greener Societies: Moral Motivation and Green Behaviour

Lorenzo Cerda Planas (1, 2)

1 CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne
2 PSE - Paris School of Economics

This paper intends to provide an alternative explanation of why societies behave differently from an environmental point of view. To do so, I use a Kantian moral approach at a microeconomic level. Under this premise, I show that two identical societies (according to income and political system) might follow different paths with respect to their "green" behaviour. Additionally, I identify tipping points that could nudge a society from a polluting behaviour to a green one. I find that environmental perception as well as how governments are elected can be important factors in this shift.

Mots clés: Environmental motivation; Kantian morale; green behaviour; tipping points

Domaines: Economies et finances

Lorenzo Cerda Planas. Moving to Greener Societies: Moral Motivation and Green Behaviour. 2014. ⟨halshs-01018651⟩