IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/sajeco/v80y2012i1p123-133.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Behavioural Response To Plastic Bag Legislation In Botswana

Author

Listed:
  • JOHANE DIKGANG
  • MARTINE VISSER

Abstract

This paper investigates the use of charges and standards in dealing with a common externality, plastic litter from shopping bags in Botswana. The country passed a plastic bag tax (effective 2007) to curb the plastic bag demand. Interestingly, the legislation did not force retailers to charge for plastic bags, which they did voluntarily at different prices. We assessed the environmental effectiveness and efficiency of the plastic bag legislation by analyzing consumers’ sensitivity to the improvement of the plastic bag and related price charges. The introduction of the plastic bag levy led to a significant decline in the consumption of plastic bags per 1,000 Botswana pulas of shopping. The partial success of the Botswana levy was due to the constantly high prices of the bags.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Johane Dikgang & Martine Visser, 2012. "Behavioural Response To Plastic Bag Legislation In Botswana," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 80(1), pages 123-133, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:sajeco:v:80:y:2012:i:1:p:123-133
    DOI: j.1813-6982.2011.01289.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2011.01289.x
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/j.1813-6982.2011.01289.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    2. Dikgang, Johane & Leiman, Anthony & Visser, Martine, 2012. "Analysis of the plastic-bag levy in South Africa," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 59-65.
    3. Reviva Hasson & Anthony Leiman & Martine Visser, 2007. "The Economics Of Plastic Bag Legislation In South Africa1," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 75(1), pages 66-83, March.
    4. Baumol,William J. & Oates,Wallace E., 1988. "The Theory of Environmental Policy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521322249.
    5. Chongwoo Choe & Iain Fraser, 2001. "On the Flexibility of Optimal Policies for Green Design," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 18(4), pages 367-371, April.
    6. Frank Convery & Simon McDonnell & Susana Ferreira, 2007. "The most popular tax in Europe? Lessons from the Irish plastic bags levy," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 38(1), pages 1-11, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. The impact of taxing plastic bags
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2010-07-16 19:46:00

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tobias D. Nielsen & Jacob Hasselbalch & Karl Holmberg & Johannes Stripple, 2020. "Politics and the plastic crisis: A review throughout the plastic life cycle," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), January.
    2. Isaac Omondi & Misuzu Asari, 2023. "Impact of Policy Design on Plastic Waste Reduction in Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, December.
    3. Okto Irianto & Kosuke Mizuno & Safri Burhanuddin & Ninasapti Triaswati, 2022. "Formulating an Excise Duty on Plastic: A Strategy to Manage Marine Plastic Waste in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-16, December.
    4. Dikgang, Johane & Leiman, Anthony & Visser, Martine, 2012. "Analysis of the plastic-bag levy in South Africa," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 59-65.
    5. Thornton Matheson, 2022. "Disposal is not free: fiscal instruments to internalize the environmental costs of solid waste," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(4), pages 1047-1073, August.
    6. Rajendra Kumar Foolmaun & Dinkar Sharma Chamilall & Girish Munhurrun & Anand Sookun, 2021. "Was Mauritius really successful in banning plastic carry bags, after promulgation of the regulation prohibiting plastic bags usage?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 11660-11676, August.
    7. Kornhauser, Lewis & Lu, Yijia & Tontrup, Stephan, 2020. "Testing a fine is a price in the lab," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    8. Doris Knoblauch & Linda Mederake & Ulf Stein, 2018. "Developing Countries in the Lead—What Drives the Diffusion of Plastic Bag Policies?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-24, June.
    9. Jingze Jiang, 2016. "Peer Pressure in Voluntary Environmental Programs: a Case of the Bag Rewards Program," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 155-190, June.
    10. Irina Zen & Rahmalan Ahamad & Wahid Omar, 2013. "No plastic bag campaign day in Malaysia and the policy implication," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(5), pages 1259-1269, October.
    11. Yong Li & Bairong Wang & Yunyu Li, 2023. "The Influence of the Big Five Personality Traits on Residents’ Plastic Reduction Attitudes in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-12, May.
    12. Ms. Thornton Matheson, 2019. "Disposal is Not Free: Fiscal Instruments to Internalize the Environmental Costs of Solid Waste," IMF Working Papers 2019/283, International Monetary Fund.
    13. Richard J. Kish, 2018. "Using Legislation To Reduce One†Time Plastic Bag Usage," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 224-239, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Doris Knoblauch & Linda Mederake & Ulf Stein, 2018. "Developing Countries in the Lead—What Drives the Diffusion of Plastic Bag Policies?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-24, June.
    2. Dikgang, Johane & Leiman, Anthony & Visser, Martine, 2012. "Analysis of the plastic-bag levy in South Africa," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 59-65.
    3. Jingze Jiang, 2016. "Peer Pressure in Voluntary Environmental Programs: a Case of the Bag Rewards Program," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 155-190, June.
    4. Okto Irianto & Kosuke Mizuno & Safri Burhanuddin & Ninasapti Triaswati, 2022. "Formulating an Excise Duty on Plastic: A Strategy to Manage Marine Plastic Waste in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Karshenas M., 1993. "Environment, employment and sustainable development," ILO Working Papers 992920663402676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Eskeland, Gunnar*Chingying Kong, 1998. "Protecting the environment and the poor - a public goods framework applied to Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1961, The World Bank.
    7. Xiufeng Xing & Hongyu Liu, 2018. "Is Plastic Bag Ordinance Effective? Evidence from Carbon Emissions in China," Journal of Sustainable Development, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(3), pages 158-158, May.
    8. Gupta, Sanjeev & Miranda, Kenneth & Parry, Ian, 1995. "Public expenditure policy and the environment: A review and synthesis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 515-528, March.
    9. Richardson, Robert B., 2011. "Ecosystem Services and Food Security: Economic Perspectives on Environmental Sustainability," Food Security International Development Working Papers 98782, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    10. Aalbers, R.F.T., 1994. "Extinction of the human race : Doom-mongering or reality?," Discussion Paper 1994-102, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    11. Carl Koopmans & Piet Rietveld, 2013. "Long-term impacts of mega-projects: the discount rate," Chapters, in: Hugo Priemus & Bert van Wee (ed.), International Handbook on Mega-Projects, chapter 14, pages 313-332, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Brian Chi-ang Lin & Siqi Zheng & Ankinée Kirakozian, 2016. "One Without The Other? Behavioural And Incentive Policies For Household Waste Management," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 526-551, July.
    13. Fox, Glenn, 1990. "The Economics Of The Sustainable Agriculture Movement," 1990 Annual meeting, August 5-8, Vancouver, Canada 270725, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    14. Yong Li & Bairong Wang, 2021. "Go Green and Recycle: Analyzing the Usage of Plastic Bags for Shopping in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-10, November.
    15. Frank Convery & Simon McDonnell & Susana Ferreira, 2007. "The most popular tax in Europe? Lessons from the Irish plastic bags levy," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 38(1), pages 1-11, September.
    16. Miller, Sebastián J. & Vela, Mauricio A., 2013. "Are Environmentally Related Taxes Effective?," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4685, Inter-American Development Bank.
    17. Cabrera, José María & Caffera, Marcelo & Cid, Alejandro, 2020. "Small Incentives May Have Large Effects: The Impact of Prices on the Demand for Plastic Bags," MPRA Paper 100178, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Blackman, Allen & Mathis, Mitchell & Nelson, Peter, 2001. "The Greening of Development Economics: A Survey," Discussion Papers 10662, Resources for the Future.
    19. Chiara D’Alpaos & Michele Moretto & Paolo Rosato, 2023. "Common-Property Resource Exploitation: A Real Options Approach," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-22, June.
    20. Massoud Karshenas, 1994. "Environment, Technology and Employment: Towards a New Definition of Sustainable Development," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 25(4), pages 723-756, October.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:sajeco:v:80:y:2012:i:1:p:123-133. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/essaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.