Young people' s willingness to pay for environmental protection

Abstract

The cost of the ongoing degradation of natural capital will inevitably be borne by the younger generations. And, as the wave of school strikes for action against climate change have proved, they do not want their voice to be ignored. Discrete Choice Experiments are increasingly used for the valuation of environmental goods, but they have never been conducted with minors. We designed and administered such an experiment to elicit the willingness of children and teenagers, aged 8-19, to pay for environmental projects. The results suggest that their marginal willingness to pay is higher for projects in their own country (Italy) and that the utility of environmental protection is greater for girls and for teenagers. We also find that a pro-environmental attitude reduces the likelihood of the individual's opting for continuation of the status quo. Our results suggest that children and adolescents have definite economic preferences for environmental protection and that they are similar to those of adults. These findings are relevant to policy decisions dealing with environmental conservation.