Burning in Moral, Drowning in Rationality? Ethical Considerations in Forming Environmental Policy

Abstract

We have experienced an increasing use of both economic and political instruments in attempts to induce households to contribute to sustainable development. However, there is a lack of understanding of how these tools interplay with the motives held by households and the daily constraints they face. The purpose of this paper is to give some anecdotal evidence on how moral motives may affect different policies in force, and to give some insights on how to proceed in designing policy instruments compatible with sustainable household behaviour. I conclude that some households have learned to appreciate the reward of economic incentives, but that we also need to acknowledge that environmental morale may affect the support of such economic instruments.

Keywords:

• Ethics
• moral behaviour
• households
• recycling
• waste handling
• policy implications

Notes

Ackerman, F. (1997) and Hornik, et al. (1995).

For similar evidence on the relatively low opportunity cost of recycling time, see also Sterner and Bartelings (1999); and Bruvoll and Nyborg (2002). The latter point refers to the motivation crowding‐out hypothesis suggested by Bruno Frey, which I will explore later. See, e.g., Frey, B.S. (1999b) and Frey, B.S., and Jegen, R. (2001).

SFS 1998:808 and SFS 1998:811 require households in Sweden to sort waste at source, and to clean and transport their waste to recycling centres.

There is nothing that says that the level set by authorities is the right level of recycling from society's point of view. However, that is another story and for simplicity we assume that we know the optimal level of recycling.