Politics and Ecology: Maybe the Twain do Meet. A Hybrid Model of WTP for Local Environmental Projects
John Janmaat
Department of Economics, Philosophy and Political Science, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC
john.janmaat@ubc.ca
Zabid Iqbal
Department of Economics, Philosophy and Political Science, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC
john.janmaat@ubc.ca
Abstract
Many environmental enhancements are small projects funded from local sources. These projects are often on or near agricultural and and/or have impacts on nearby agricultural land. Several jurisdictions in British Columbia have adopted or are considering local conservation funds. We use the concept of such a fund as a payment vehicle in a choice experiment examining three environmental attributes: extreme weather impacts, pressures on rare and endangered species, and the local distribution of natural habitat. We pivot our choice experiment relative to a personal forecast of future conditions. We estimate a hybrid model, including two latent variables representing political leaning and environmental leaning. Results show that the latent variables are important predictors of choice behavior. That there are two dimensions highlights the fact that individuals can be left leaning and view the environment as existing purely to serve human instrumental purposes, and can be right leaning while seeing the environment having intrinsic value independent of human use. Consequently, efforts to encourage pro-environmental choices should not assume that environmental and political attitudes are tightly correlated. Results also suggest that the benefits from small environmental projects are greatest when they are located near residential areas.