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No Man is an Island: Social Coordination and the Environment

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  • Karine Nyborg

    (University of Oslo)

Abstract

Humans are fundamentally social. Social activities require coordination, possibly leading to multiple equilibria in the form of self-reinforcing patterns of herd behavior. When alternative equilibria differ substantially with respect to environmental damage, they represent virtuous and vicious cycles from an environmental perspective. Such cycles can be sustained by network effects, social pressure to conform, or other mechanisms directly or indirectly yielding coordination benefits. Breaking the vicious cycles can be an important task for environmental policies. I present a stylized model of social coordination with environmental externalities, using it to discuss how environmental policies may help agents coordinate in more environment-friendly ways.

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  • Karine Nyborg, 2020. "No Man is an Island: Social Coordination and the Environment," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(1), pages 177-193, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:76:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10640-020-00415-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-020-00415-2
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    Cited by:

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    2. Pauline Pedehour & Lionel Richefort, 2022. "Empowerment of Social Norms on Water Consumption," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 82(3), pages 625-655, July.
    3. Juan Yin & Jin Guo, 2022. "Ecological Effect Assessment of Low-Carbon City Construction in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-19, November.
    4. Delfgaauw, Josse & Swank, Otto, 2024. "The political climate trap," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    5. Eder, Christina & Stadelmann-Steffen, Isabelle, 2023. "Bringing the political system (back) into social tipping relevant to sustainability," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    6. Ben Groom & Zachary Turk, 2021. "Reflections on the Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(1), pages 1-23, May.
    7. Josse Delfgaauw & Otto Swank, 2023. "The Gasoline Climate Trap," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 23-025/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    8. Jennifer A. Loughmiller-Cardinal & James Scott Cardinal, 2023. "The Behavior of Information: A Reconsideration of Social Norms," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-27, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental policy; Multiple equilibria; Social interaction; Tipping points;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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