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Can payments-for-ecosystem-services change social norms?

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  • Bähr, Tobias
  • Bernal-Escobar, Adriana
  • Wollni, Meike

Abstract

Exposure to economic incentives such as payments for ecosystem services (PES) can change intrinsic motivations to act pro-environmentally. These so-called crowding effects in PES have been shown to affect pro-environmental behavior of PES-receivers. It is, however, unclear if social norms toward pro-environmental behavior are also susceptible to crowding effects in PES and how these changes could influence pro-environmental behavior in the larger population. We design and implement a modified dictator game with Costa Rican oil palm smallholders to test if crowding effects can change social norms by affecting injunctive normative beliefs of PES-receivers and subsequently the pro-environmental behavior of non-PES-receivers through peer influence. Our results indicate that next to crowding-in pro-environmental behavior of PES-receivers, PES also improve PES-receivers' injunctive normative beliefs toward the behavior. Although we cannot link this improvement to an increase in pro-environmental behavior in non-PES-receivers, peer-to-peer communication of injunctive normative beliefs against pro-environmental behavior does reduce non-PES-receivers' pro-environmental behavior. Jointly, these effects highlight the potential of crowding effects in PES to change social norms.

Suggested Citation

  • Bähr, Tobias & Bernal-Escobar, Adriana & Wollni, Meike, 2025. "Can payments-for-ecosystem-services change social norms?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:228:y:2025:i:c:s0921800924003653
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108468
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