Natural Disasters and Preferences for the Environment: Evidence from the Impressionable Years
26 Pages Posted: 21 Jun 2022
There are 2 versions of this paper
Natural Disasters and Preferences for the Environment: Evidence from the Impressionable Years
Abstract
Do generations affected by natural disasters during adolescence and early adulthood form different preferences towards the environment than generations who are not? In line with the theories of social psychology, we show that an environmental shock experienced when the individual is between 18 and 25 years old (i.e., impressionable years hypothesis) help shape positive environmental preferences. In fact, people tend not to change beliefs in response to natural disasters experienced in other age ranges. Using information from the General Social Survey and the World Values Survey, we exploit yearly natural disasters variation both within the US and across countries to identify these effects.
Keywords: beliefs formation, natural disasters, environmental policy, impressionable years
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation