TY - JOUR

T1 - Policies as information carriers

T2 - How environmental policies may change beliefs and consequent behavior

AU - Koessler, Ann Kathrin

AU - Engel, Stefanie

N1 - Funding Information: ∗We gratefully acknowledge funding for this research by the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation in the framework of the Alexander von Humboldt-Professorship endowed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. We also thank Elisabeth Gsottbauer, Nicolai Heinz, Susana Mourato, Bent Arne Saether, Caroline van Bers, Tobias Vorlaufer and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback on earlier versions of this paper.

PY - 2021/7/28

Y1 - 2021/7/28

N2 - This paper discusses how policy interventions not only alter the legal and financial frameworks in which an individual is operating, but can also lead to changes in relevant beliefs. We argue that such belief changes in how an individual perceives herself, relevant others, the regulator and/or the activity in question can lead to behavioral changes that were neither intended nor expected when the policy was designed. In the environmental economics literature, these secondary impacts of conventional policy interventions have not been systematically reviewed. Hence, we intend to raise awareness of these effects. In this paper, we review relevant research from behavioral economics and psychology, and identify and discuss the domains for which beliefs can change. Lastly, we discuss design options with which an undesired change in beliefs can be avoided when a new policy is put into practice.

AB - This paper discusses how policy interventions not only alter the legal and financial frameworks in which an individual is operating, but can also lead to changes in relevant beliefs. We argue that such belief changes in how an individual perceives herself, relevant others, the regulator and/or the activity in question can lead to behavioral changes that were neither intended nor expected when the policy was designed. In the environmental economics literature, these secondary impacts of conventional policy interventions have not been systematically reviewed. Hence, we intend to raise awareness of these effects. In this paper, we review relevant research from behavioral economics and psychology, and identify and discuss the domains for which beliefs can change. Lastly, we discuss design options with which an undesired change in beliefs can be avoided when a new policy is put into practice.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111722850&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1561/101.00000123

DO - 10.1561/101.00000123

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85111722850

VL - 15

SP - 1

EP - 31

JO - International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics

JF - International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics

SN - 1932-1465

IS - 1-2

ER -