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Inflation concerns and green product consumption: Evidence from a nationwide survey and a framed field experiment

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  • Jeworrek, Sabrina
  • Tonzer, Lena

Abstract

Promoting green product consumption is one important element in building a sustainable society. Yet green products are usually more costly. In times of high inflation, not only budget constraints but also the fear that prices will continue to rise might dampen green product consumption and, hence, limit the effectiveness of exerted efforts to promote sustainable behaviors. To test this suggestion, we conducted a Germany-wide survey with almost 1,200 respondents, followed by a framed field experiment (N=500) to confirm causality. In the survey, respondents' stated "green" purchasing behavior is, as to be expected, positively correlated with concerns about climate change. It is also negatively correlated with concerns about future inflation and energy costs, but after controlling for observable characteristics such as income and educational level only the correlation with concerns about future prices remains significant. This result is driven by individuals with below-median environmental attitude. In the framed field experiment, we use the priming method to manipulate the saliency of inflation concerns. Whereas sizably relaxing the budget constraint (i.e., by 50 percent) has no impact on the share of organic products in participants' baskets, the priming significantly decreases the share of organic products for individuals with below-median environmental attitude, similar to the survey data.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeworrek, Sabrina & Tonzer, Lena, 2024. "Inflation concerns and green product consumption: Evidence from a nationwide survey and a framed field experiment," IWH Discussion Papers 10/2024, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:287754
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Olivier Coibion & Dimitris Georgarakos & Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Maarten van Rooij, 2023. "How Does Consumption Respond to News about Inflation? Field Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 109-152, July.
    2. Jessica Aschemann-Witzel & Stephan Zielke, 2017. "Can't Buy Me Green? A Review of Consumer Perceptions of and Behavior Toward the Price of Organic Food," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 211-251, March.
    3. Olivier Coibion & Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Michael Weber, 2022. "Monetary Policy Communications and Their Effects on Household Inflation Expectations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(6), pages 1537-1584.
    4. Acharya, Viral & Crosignani, Matteo & Eisert, Tim & Eufinger, Christian, 2023. "How do supply shocks to inflation generalize? Evidence from the pandemic era in Europe," CEPR Discussion Papers 18530, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Peter Andre & Teodora Boneva & Felix Chopra & Armin Falk, 2024. "Globally representative evidence on the actual and perceived support for climate action," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 14(3), pages 253-259, March.
    6. Muhammad Awais & Tanzila Samin & Muhammad Awais Gulzar & Jinsoo Hwang & Muhammad Zubair, 2020. "Unfolding the Association between the Big Five, Frugality, E-Mavenism, and Sustainable Consumption Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-25, January.
    7. Alain Cohn & Michel André Maréchal, 2016. "Priming in economics," ECON - Working Papers 226, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    consumption behavior; inflation concerns; online shopping experiment; organic food; sustainability;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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