Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T08:41:02.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Participation in environmental organizations: an empirical analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 May 2011

BENNO TORGLER ,
MARÍA A. GARCÍA-VALIÑAS  and
ALISON MACINTYRE
BENNO TORGLER
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia; and CREMA – Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts, Basel, Switzerland. Email: [email protected]
MARÍA A. GARCÍA-VALIÑAS
Affiliation:
Oviedo Efficiency Group, Department of Economics, School of Economics and Business, University of Oviedo, Avda. del Cristo s/n, 33006, Oviedo (Asturias), Spain; and LERNA, Laboratoire d'Economie des Ressources Naturelles, Toulouse (Midi-Pyrinees), France. Email: [email protected]
ALISON MACINTYRE
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The literature on volunteering has increased over the last few years. However, despite the importance of active environmental participation for solving public good and externality problems, there is still a lack of substantial empirical evidence regarding several interesting factors that influence this form of volunteering. This empirical study investigates the area by analyzing a cross-section of individuals from 38 countries using micro-data from wave III of the World Values Survey (1995–1997). The results suggest that individuals' active participation in environmental organizations is related not only to socioeconomic factors but also to political interest. We also find that a higher level of corruption is related to participation in environmental organizations. However, the situation is different for transition countries in which there was a collapse of institutional structures. The energy required to negotiate the ensuing chaos may have crowded out other forms of engagement.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 16 , Issue 5 , October 2011 , pp. 591 - 620
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alm, J., Martinez-Vazquez, J., and Torgler, B. (2006), ‘Russian attitudes toward paying taxes – before, during, and after the transition’, International Journal of Social Economics 33: 832–857.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, U. (1996), ‘World risk society as cosmopolitan society? Ecological questions in a framework of manufactured uncertainties’, Theory Culture Society 13: 1–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bekkers, R. (2005), ‘Participation in voluntary associations: relations with resources, personality, and political values’, Political Psychology 26: 439–454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowles, S. (2004), Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions, and Evolution, New York: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Bowles, S. and Gintis, H. (2002), ‘Social capital and community governance’, Economic Journal 112: F419–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cappellari, L. and Turati, G. (2004), ‘Volunteer labour supply: the role of workers’ motivations’, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 75: 619–643.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cappellari, L., Ghinetti, P., and Turati, G. (2007), ‘On time and money donations’, CESifo Working Paper No. 2140, Munich.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, M.A. (2006), ‘Corruption, income and the environment: an empirical analysis’, Ecological Economics 62: 637–647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dekker, P. and Halman, L. (2003), The Values of Volunteering: Cross-Cultural Perspectives, New York: Kluwer Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dekker, P. and Van den Broek, A. (1998), ‘Civil society in comparative perspective: involvement in voluntary associations in North America and Western Europe’, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 9: 11–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durlauf, S.N. (2002), ‘Bowling alone: a review essay’, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 47 (3): 259–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durlauf, S.N. and Fafchamps, M. (2004), ‘Social capital’, NBER Working Paper No. 10485, Cambridge, MA.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fidrmuc, J. and Gërxhani, K. (2005), ‘Formation of social capital in Central and Eastern Europe: understanding the gap vis-à-vis developed countries’, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 5068, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fredriksson, P.G. and Svensson, J. (2003), ‘Political instability, corruption and policy formation: the case of environmental policy’, Journal of Public Economics 87: 1383–1405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fredriksson, P., Vollebergh, H.R.J., and Dijkgraaf, F. (2004), ‘Corruption and energy efficiency in OECD countries: theory and evidence’, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 47: 207–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, R.B. (1997), ‘Working for nothing: the supply of volunteer labor’, Journal of Labor Economics 15: S140–S166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, R.K. and McAllister, I. (2009), ‘Revitalising participatory politics? The internet, social capital and political action’, ASPA 2009 Toronto Meeting Paper, [Available at] http://ssrn.com/abstract=1451462.Google Scholar
Grootaert, C. and van Bastelear, T. (2002), ‘Social capital: from definition to measurement’, in Grootaert, C. and van Bastelear, T. (eds), Understanding and Measuring Social Capital: A Multidisciplinary Tool for Practitioners, Washington, DC: The World Bank.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haddad, M.A. (2007), Politics and Volunteering in Japan: A Global Perspective, New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harper, K.M. and Brown, C.P. (2003), ‘Perceptions of environment among African American residents in selected neighborhoods in Hillsborough Country, Florida’, Applied Environmental Education and Communication 2: 221–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, R. et al. (2000), Codebook for World Values Survey, Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research.Google Scholar
Kasper, W. and Streit, M.E. (1998), Institutional Economics: Social Order and Public Policy, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Kaufmann, D., Kraay, A.M., and Mastruzzi, A. (2003), Governance Matters III: Governance Indicators for 1996–2002, World Bank, 30 June.Google Scholar
Kollmuss, A. and Agyeman, J. (2002), ‘Mind the gap: why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behaviour?’, Environmental Educational Research 8: 239–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowndes, V. (2004), ‘Getting on or getting by? Women, social capital and political participation’, The British Journal of Politics & International Relations 6 (1): 45–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lubell, M. (2002), ‘Environmental activism as collective action’, Environment and Behaviour 34: 431–454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinez, T.A. and McMullin, S.L. (2004), ‘Factors affecting decisions to volunteer in nongovernmental organizations’, Environment and Behaviour 36: 112–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menchik, P.L. and Weisbrod, B.A. (1987), ‘Volunteer labour supply’, Journal of Public Economics 32: 159–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mohai, P. (1985), ‘Public concern, and elite involvement in environmental conservation issues’, Social Science Quarterly 66: 820–838.Google Scholar
Olli, E., Grendstad, G., and Wollebaek, D. (2001), ‘Correlates of environmental behaviours. Bringing back social context’, Environment and Behaviour 33: 181–208.Google Scholar
Paldam, M. (2000), ‘Social capital: one or many? Definition and measurement’, Journal of Economic Surveys 14: 629–653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pato, C. and Tamayo, A. (2006), ‘Valores, creencias ambientales y comportamiento ecológico de activismo’, Medio Ambiente y Comportamiento Humano 7: 51–66 [in Spanish].Google Scholar
Pellegrini, L. and Gerlagh, R. (2006), ‘Corruption, democracy, and environmental policy: an empirical contribution to the debate’, Journal of Environment and Development 15 (3): 332–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pretty, J. and Smith, D.J. (2004), ‘Social capital in biodiversity conservation and management’, Conservation Biology 18: 631–638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pretty, J. and Ward, H. (2001), ‘Social capital and the environment’, World Development 29: 209–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putnam, R.D. (1993), Making Democracy Work. Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Putnam, R.D. (2001), Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, New York: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Randle, M. and Dolnicar, S. (2006), ‘Environmental volunteers: are they driven by altruism and a strong feeling of regional identity?’, Working Paper No. 88, Wollongong, Australia: Faculty of Commerce, University of Wollongong.Google Scholar
Rose, R. (1998), ‘Getting things done in an anti-modern society: social capital networks in Russia’, Social Capital Initiative Working Paper No. 6, Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Salamon, L.M. and Sokolowski, W. (2001), Volunteering in Cross-National Perspective: Evidence from 24 Countries, Working Papers of the John Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, No. 40, Baltimore: The John Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies.Google Scholar
Stiglitz, J. (2000), Economics of the Public Sector, New York: W.W. Norton.Google Scholar
Stone, W. (2001), ‘Measuring social capital: towards a theoretically informed measurement framework for researching social capital in family and community life’, Research Paper No. 24, Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.Google Scholar
Torgler, B. and Garcia-Valiñas, M.A. (2007), ‘The determinants of individuals’ attitudes towards preventing environmental damage’, Ecological Economics 63: 536–552.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uslaner, E.M. (2002), The Moral Foundation of Trust, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woolcock, M. (1998), ‘Social capital and economic development: toward a theoretical synthesis and policy framework’, Theory and Society 27: 151–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zelezny, L.C., Chua, P.P., and Aldrich, C. (2000), ‘Elaborating on gender differences in environmentalism’, Journal of Social Issues 56: 443–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Torgler Supplementary Appendix

Torgler Supplementary Appendix

Download Torgler Supplementary Appendix(PDF)
PDF 47.9 KB