Studies of attitudes to and accept of environmental policies

This seminar will be held by Steffen Kallbekken, in cooperation with the experiments group. It will be held in the 9th floor of the Social Science building.

No policy can be introduced or sustained over time without sufficient public support. A number of failed attempts to introduce new environmental taxes bear testimony to this. But why is it so difficult to garner sufficient support for policies that can increase welfare?

We have explored this question using focus group studies, surveys and lab experiments. I will explain why these methods are well suited for addressing the question, and how the methods were used in combination. I will dedicate most attention to lab experiments. After a methodological discussion I will focus on the results from the project: what have we learned about how decisions makers can design climate policy instruments that are both feasible and effective? Key words include communication, experience and earmarking.