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Climate change mitigation policies and personal cost: Are young people more willing to bear the cost for a greener tomorrow?

Henriks, Sofia LU (2022) STVM25 20212
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Even as the public awareness and concern about climate change are increasing,
and the younger generations are urging for political action, support for more
costly and ambitious mitigation policies is not given. The low-cost hypothesis
theory provides an explanation for why our concern about climate change fails to translate into supporting policies when the personal cost is high. However,
research addressing if younger people are less cost sensitive is missing in the
literature. In this thesis, I conduct an online experimental vignette survey to
capture the effect between cost and support, together with a potential interaction of age. The research relies on data gathered from 165 participants living in Malmö and nearby areas and was... (More)
Even as the public awareness and concern about climate change are increasing,
and the younger generations are urging for political action, support for more
costly and ambitious mitigation policies is not given. The low-cost hypothesis
theory provides an explanation for why our concern about climate change fails to translate into supporting policies when the personal cost is high. However,
research addressing if younger people are less cost sensitive is missing in the
literature. In this thesis, I conduct an online experimental vignette survey to
capture the effect between cost and support, together with a potential interaction of age. The research relies on data gathered from 165 participants living in Malmö and nearby areas and was analyzed using simple linear regression- and interaction models. My results indicate that higher cost has an effect on support. I also find mixed evidence of personal costs and habits as moderating the relationship, and concern as mediating. However, support was not moderated by age. The findings contribute to the understanding of voter support for climate change mitigation policies and provide both an empirical, theoretical and methodological contribution. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Henriks, Sofia LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVM25 20212
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Climate change mitigation policies, Low-cost hypothesis theory, Experimental vignette survey, Climate generation gap, Cost-sensitivity
language
English
id
9070317
date added to LUP
2022-03-14 12:54:56
date last changed
2022-03-14 12:54:56
@misc{9070317,
  abstract     = {{Even as the public awareness and concern about climate change are increasing,
and the younger generations are urging for political action, support for more
costly and ambitious mitigation policies is not given. The low-cost hypothesis
theory provides an explanation for why our concern about climate change fails to translate into supporting policies when the personal cost is high. However,
research addressing if younger people are less cost sensitive is missing in the
literature. In this thesis, I conduct an online experimental vignette survey to
capture the effect between cost and support, together with a potential interaction of age. The research relies on data gathered from 165 participants living in Malmö and nearby areas and was analyzed using simple linear regression- and interaction models. My results indicate that higher cost has an effect on support. I also find mixed evidence of personal costs and habits as moderating the relationship, and concern as mediating. However, support was not moderated by age. The findings contribute to the understanding of voter support for climate change mitigation policies and provide both an empirical, theoretical and methodological contribution.}},
  author       = {{Henriks, Sofia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Climate change mitigation policies and personal cost: Are young people more willing to bear the cost for a greener tomorrow?}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}