Discounting Future Green: Money Versus the Environment

In 3 studies, participants made choices between hypothetical financial, environmental, and health gains and losses that took effect either immediately or with a delay of 1 or 10 years. In all 3 domains, choices indicated that gains were discounted more than losses. There were no significant differen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. General 2009-08, Vol.138 (3), p.329-340
Main Authors: Hardisty, David J, Weber, Elke U
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Air Pollution - prevention & control
Arizona
Attitude to Health
Attitudes
Biological and medical sciences
California
Choice Behavior
Cognition. Intelligence
Correlation
Correlation analysis
Culture
Decision Making
Decision making. Choice
Environment
Environmental aspects
Environmental Health
Experimental psychology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Health
Health Behavior
Human
Humans
Investments
Male
Models, Economic
Money
Money Management
Motivation
Pollution
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Public Policy
Refuse Disposal
Statistical Analysis
Studies
Transportation
Uncertainty
Young Adult
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Summary:In 3 studies, participants made choices between hypothetical financial, environmental, and health gains and losses that took effect either immediately or with a delay of 1 or 10 years. In all 3 domains, choices indicated that gains were discounted more than losses. There were no significant differences in the discounting of monetary and environmental outcomes, but health gains were discounted more and health losses were discounted less than gains or losses in the other 2 domains. Correlations between implicit discount rates for these different choices suggest that discount rates are influenced more by the valence of outcomes (gains vs. losses) than by domain (money, environment, or health). Overall, results indicate that when controlling as many factors as possible, at short to medium delays, environmental outcomes are discounted in a similar way to financial outcomes, which is good news for researchers and policy makers alike.
ISSN:0096-3445
1939-2222
DOI:10.1037/a0016433