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Intergenerational altruism and climate policy preferences

Agneman, Gustav LU orcid ; Henriks, Sofia ; Bäck, Hanna LU orcid and Renström, Emma (2024) In PNAS Nexus 3(4).
Abstract
Climate mitigation constitutes an intergenerational moral dilemma; the decisions we make today will inevitably shape the prospects for generations to come. Yet, we still know little about the relationship between intergenerational altruism (IGA)—our concerns for the well-being of future generations—and support for costly climate mitigation policies. In this study, we present an approach to measuring IGA through an intergenerational dilemma, where participants allocate resources across generations. First, we describe how IGA depends on the temporal (social) distance between generations and demonstrate robust correlations between IGA and support for several climate policies. Then, we leverage randomized participation in the intergenerational... (More)
Climate mitigation constitutes an intergenerational moral dilemma; the decisions we make today will inevitably shape the prospects for generations to come. Yet, we still know little about the relationship between intergenerational altruism (IGA)—our concerns for the well-being of future generations—and support for costly climate mitigation policies. In this study, we present an approach to measuring IGA through an intergenerational dilemma, where participants allocate resources across generations. First, we describe how IGA depends on the temporal (social) distance between generations and demonstrate robust correlations between IGA and support for several climate policies. Then, we leverage randomized participation in the intergenerational dilemma to show that it causally increases climate policy support, an effect we attribute to higher worries about human-induced climate change among treated subjects. An exploratory heterogeneity analysis suggests that the impact of the intergenerational dilemma is primarily driven by female and nonbinary participants. In sum, this study presents both a novel measurement strategy and robust evidence of a malleable moral basis of climate policy preferences.
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PNAS Nexus
volume
3
issue
4
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85190271257
  • pmid:38566757
ISSN
2752-6542
DOI
10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae105
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b68f5d13-34ae-4085-8a24-b744927a8576
date added to LUP
2024-09-29 08:50:04
date last changed
2025-04-04 13:57:36
@article{b68f5d13-34ae-4085-8a24-b744927a8576,
  abstract     = {{Climate mitigation constitutes an intergenerational moral dilemma; the decisions we make today will inevitably shape the prospects for generations to come. Yet, we still know little about the relationship between intergenerational altruism (IGA)—our concerns for the well-being of future generations—and support for costly climate mitigation policies. In this study, we present an approach to measuring IGA through an intergenerational dilemma, where participants allocate resources across generations. First, we describe how IGA depends on the temporal (social) distance between generations and demonstrate robust correlations between IGA and support for several climate policies. Then, we leverage randomized participation in the intergenerational dilemma to show that it causally increases climate policy support, an effect we attribute to higher worries about human-induced climate change among treated subjects. An exploratory heterogeneity analysis suggests that the impact of the intergenerational dilemma is primarily driven by female and nonbinary participants. In sum, this study presents both a novel measurement strategy and robust evidence of a malleable moral basis of climate policy preferences.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Agneman, Gustav and Henriks, Sofia and Bäck, Hanna and Renström, Emma}},
  issn         = {{2752-6542}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{PNAS Nexus}},
  title        = {{Intergenerational altruism and climate policy preferences}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae105}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae105}},
  volume       = {{3}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}