The effect of gain-loss framing on climate policy preferences
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The effect of gain-loss framing on climate policy preferences. / Svenningsen, Lea S.; Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark.
In: Ecological Economics, Vol. 185, 107009, 2021.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of gain-loss framing on climate policy preferences
AU - Svenningsen, Lea S.
AU - Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - We designed a discrete choice experiment testing valence-based framing of climate policy outcomes for future generations, a moral good involving altruistic trade-offs. Specifically, we explore how a gain and loss framing influence social preferences for the distributional outcomes of climate policy. Respondents are asked to consider climate policy alternatives with two main outcomes affecting three regions of the world: Income effects for future generations caused by climate change, which the respondents may not be affected by, and a present generation co-benefit from mitigation efforts, which could benefit the respondents directly. Using a sample of the Danish population, we find a significant difference in the estimated preference structure for climate policies when future income effects are framed as losses in income for future generations relative to when framed as regained income. However, the welfare measures reveal that the framing did not generate significantly higher value estimates for the framed income effect attribute. Instead, the framing resulted in increased willingness to pay for additional climate policy initiatives per se, and higher value estimates for the unframed, present generation co-benefit. We interpret these results drawing on the behavioural science and economic literature on framing and reference point dependent preferences.
AB - We designed a discrete choice experiment testing valence-based framing of climate policy outcomes for future generations, a moral good involving altruistic trade-offs. Specifically, we explore how a gain and loss framing influence social preferences for the distributional outcomes of climate policy. Respondents are asked to consider climate policy alternatives with two main outcomes affecting three regions of the world: Income effects for future generations caused by climate change, which the respondents may not be affected by, and a present generation co-benefit from mitigation efforts, which could benefit the respondents directly. Using a sample of the Danish population, we find a significant difference in the estimated preference structure for climate policies when future income effects are framed as losses in income for future generations relative to when framed as regained income. However, the welfare measures reveal that the framing did not generate significantly higher value estimates for the framed income effect attribute. Instead, the framing resulted in increased willingness to pay for additional climate policy initiatives per se, and higher value estimates for the unframed, present generation co-benefit. We interpret these results drawing on the behavioural science and economic literature on framing and reference point dependent preferences.
KW - Attribute level framing
KW - Choice experiment
KW - Climate policy
KW - Social preferences
KW - Valence-based framing
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107009
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107009
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85105249419
VL - 185
JO - Ecological Economics
JF - Ecological Economics
SN - 0921-8009
M1 - 107009
ER -
ID: 269598849