Social norms, economic incentives and environmental policies

Abstract

Human activities are the major causes of the biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Despite the considerable budget invested to conserve ecosystems, these are far from their conservation objectives (Chen et al. 2009). Therefore, it seems clear that an understanding of human behavior is crucial in order to improve general environmental policies. Pretty and Smith (2004) state that economic incentives are important but sometimes they are not powerful enough to achieve certain objectives. Sethi and Somanathan (1996) indicate that social norms can be largely influential in a social setting. Thus, the objective of this thesis is to focus on the analysis of these factors on the fulfillment of certain environmental objectives. Different case studies will be analyzed from both, a global and more local perspective. At a global level, it is analyze a current serious problem such as the climate change. At a more local level, three case studies are presented in order to understand: a) the degree of acceptance of agri-environmental schemes by farmers in Aragon; b) the role of poaching in conservation objectives in shellfish extraction; and c) the impact of common management in conservation outcomes in forest lands of Galicia. This thesis concludes with a summary of conclusions and future orientations.