Social Capital and Growth-Environment Trade-Off: Micro and Macro Effects

Year 2024, Volume: 19 Issue: 1, 245 - 266, 01.04.2024

Özge Erdölek Kozal Erol Türker Tümer Elif Korkmaz Tümer

https://doi.org/10.17153/oguiibf.1357508

Abstract

This paper analyzes how social capital affects individuals' attitudes towards the growth-environment trade-off, considering socio-economic/demographic and macroeconomic variables. Logistic regression model estimations based on World Values Survey (Wave-7, N: 53.155) data for 47 countries show that being a member of environmental organizations and voluntary organizations increases the likelihood of prioritizing the environment. Moreover, the results suggest that women, young people, those with higher levels of education, and left-wing individuals are more likely to prioritize the environment. Conversely, having children and residing in urban areas are found to increase the likelihood of prioritizing economic growth. Finally, it is found that individuals in countries with low unemployment rates, high-income levels, and low emission rates prefer the environment over economic growth.

Keywords

Economic Growth, Environmental Protection, Membership of Voluntary Organizations, Logistic Models

Sosyal Sermaye ve Büyüme-Çevre Ödünleşimi: Mikro ve Makro Etkiler

Abstract

Bu çalışma, sosyal sermayenin, bireylerin büyüme-çevre ödünleşimi konusundaki tutumlarını nasıl etkilediğini sosyo-ekonomik/demografik ve makroekonomik değişkenleri dikkate alarak analiz etmektedir. 47 ülke için Dünya Değerler Araştırması (Etap-7, N: 53,155) verilerinin lojistik regresyon modelleri kullanılarak analiz edildiği çalışmada, çevre örgütlerine ve gönüllü kuruluşlara üye olmanın bireylerin çevreyi önceliklendirme olasılığını artırdığı bulunmuştur. Ayrıca sonuçlar kadınların, gençlerin, yüksek eğitimlilerin ve sol görüşlü bireylerin çevreyi önceliklendirme olasılıklarının daha yüksek olduğunu; çocuk sahibi olmanın ve kentte yaşamanın ise büyümeyi önceliklendirme olasılığını arttırdığını göstermektedir. Son olarak, düşük işsizlik oranı, yüksek gelir düzeyine ve düşük emisyon oranına sahip ülkelerde, bireylerin çevreyi büyümeye tercih ettikleri bulunmuştur.

Keywords

Ekonomik Büyüme, Çevrenin Korunması, Gönüllü Organizasyonlara Üyelik, Lojistik Regresyon

References

• Abou-Chadi, T. & Kayser, M. (2017). It’s not easy being green: why voters punish parties for environmental policies during economic downturns. Electoral Studies, 45, 201–207. doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2016.10.009
• Aktar, M. A., Alam, M. M., & Al-Amin, A. Q. (2021). Global economic crisis, energy use, CO2 emissions, and policy roadmap amid COVID-19. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 26, 770-781.
• Asai, K., Borgonovi, F., & Wildi, S. (2022). Understanding how economic conditions and natural disasters shape environmental attitudes: A cross-country comparison to inform policy making. OECD Social, Employment, and Migration Working Papers, (280), 0_1-75.
• Bekun, F. V., Alola, A. A., Gyamfi, B. A., & Yaw, S. S. (2021). The relevance of EKC hypothesis in energy intensity real-output trade-off for sustainable environment in EU-27. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(37), 51137-51148.
• Beckerman, W. (1992). Economic growth and the environment: Whose growth? Whose environment?. World development, 20(4), 481-496.
• Bernauer, T., Kalbhenn, A., Koubi, V., & Spilker, G. (2010). A comparison of international and domestic sources of global governance dynamics. British Journal of Political Science, 40(3), 509-538.
• Brechin, S. R., & Kempton, W. (1994). Global environmentalism: a challenge to the postmaterialism thesis?. Social science quarterly, 75(2), 245-269.
• Blocker, T. J., & Eckberg, D. L. (1997). Gender and environmentalism: Results from the 1993 general social survey. Social Science Quarterly, 841-858.
• Brehm, J. M., Eisenhauer, B. W., & Stedman, R. C. (2013). Environmental concern: Examining the role of place meaning and place attachment. Society & Natural Resources, 26(5), 522-538.
• Brieger, S. A. (2019). Social identity and environmental concern: The importance of contextual effects. Environment and Behavior, 51(7), 828-855.
• Dalton, R. J. (2005). The greening of the globe? Cross-national levels of environmental group membership. Environmental politics, 14(4), 441-459.
• Den Butter, F. A. G., & Verbruggen, H. (1994). Measuring the trade-off between economic growth and a clean environment. Environmental and Resource Economics, 4, 187-208.
• Dietz, T., Kalof, L., & Stern, P. C. (2002). Gender, values, and environmentalism. Social science quarterly, 83(1), 353-364.
• Dietz, T., Stern, P.C., Guagnano, G.A., 1998. Social structural and social psychological bases of environmental concern. Environ.Behav. 30, 450 – 471.
• Dunlap, R. E., & Mertig, A. G. (1997). Global environmental concern: An anomaly for postmaterialism. Social science quarterly, 78(1), 24-29.
• Escario, J. J., Rodriguez-Sanchez, C., Valero-Gil, J., & Casaló, L. V. (2022). COVID-19 related policies: The role of environmental concern in understanding citizens’ preferences. Environmental Research, 211, 113082.
• Fielding, K. S., McDonald, R., & Louis, W. R. (2008). Theory of planned behaviour, identity and intentions to engage in environmental activism. Journal of environmental psychology, 28(4), 318-326.
• Frank, D. J., Hironaka, A., & Schofer, E. (2000). Environmentalism as a global institution: Reply to Buttel. American sociological review, 65(1), 122-127.
• Franzen, A., & Meyer, R. (2010). Environmental attitudes in cross-national perspective: A multilevel analysis of the ISSP 1993 and 2000. European sociological review, 26(2), 219-234.
• Fairbrother, M., Johansson Sevä, I. & Kulin, J. (2019). Political Trust and The Relationship Between Climate Change Beliefs and Support for Fossil Fuel Taxes: Evidence from a Survey of 23 European Countries. Global Environmental Change, 59, 102003. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.102003
• Franzen, A. & Vogl, D. (2013). Two Decades of Measuring Environmental Attitudes: A Comparative Analysis of 33 Countries. Global Environmental Change, 23(5), 1001-1008. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.03.009
• Givens, J. E., & Jorgenson, A. K. (2011). The effects of affluence, economic development, and environmental degradation on environmental concern: A multilevel analysis. Organization & Environment, 24(1), 74-91.
• Gradus, R., & Smulders, S. (1993). The trade-off between environmental care and long-term growth—pollution in three prototype growth models. Journal of Economics, 58(1), 25-51.
• Grossman, G. M., & Krueger, A. B. (1995). Economic growth and the environment. The quarterly journal of economics, 110(2), 353-377.
• Haerpfer, C., Inglehart, R., Moreno, A., Welzel, C., Kizilova, K., Diez-Medrano J., M. Lagos, P. Norris, E. Ponarin & B. Puranen (Eds.). (2022). World Values Survey: Round Seven - Country-Pooled Datafile Version 5.0. Madrid, Spain & Vienna, Austria: JD Systems Institute & WVSA Secretariat. doi:10.14281/18241.20
• Inglehart, R. (1977). The silent revolution: Changing values and political styles among Western publics. Princeton University Press.
• Inglehart, R. (1995). Public support for environmental protection: Objective problems and subjective values in 43 societies. PS: Political Science & Politics, 28(1), 57-72.
• Inglehart, R., & Abramson, P. R. (1994). Economic security and value change. American political science review, 88(2), 336-354.
• Haerpfer, C., Inglehart, R., Moreno, A., Welzel, C., Kizilova, K., Diez-Medrano, J., Lagos, M., Norris, P., Ponarin, E. & Puranen B. (2022): World Values Survey Wave 7 (2017-2022) Cross-National Data-Set. Version: 4.0.0. World Values Survey Association. DOI: doi.org/10.14281/18241.18
• Hassan, S. T., Baloch, M. A., Mahmood, N., & Zhang, J. (2019). Linking economic growth and ecological footprint through human capital and biocapacity. Sustainable Cities and Society, 47, 101516.
• Jackson, Tim. (2021). Büyümesiz Refah: Sonlu Bir Gezegene Yönelik Bir İktisat. (Çev. A. S. Erdoğan). İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları.
• Jones, C. I. & Vollrath, D. (2013). Introduction to Economic Growth (3rd Edition). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
• Kågeson, P. (2012). Growth versus the environment: is there a trade-off? (Vol. 14). Springer Science & Business Media.
• Kayser, M. & Grafström, C. (2016). The Luxury Goods Vote: Why Left Governments are Punished More for Economic Downturns, 10.13140/RG.2.2.24409.31841
• Kenny, J. (2020). Economic conditions and support for the prioritisation of environmental protection during the Great Recession. Environmental Politics, 29(6), 937-958.
• Kozal, E. Ö. (2023). Turkey's Environment vs. Economic Growth Dilemma: Unpacking Perceptions and Influential Factors, Kent Akademisi Dergisi, 16(Special Issue for the 100th Anniversary of the Republic of Turkey):38-54. https://doi.org/10.35674/kent.1346194
• Kuznets, S. (2019). Economic growth and income inequality. In The gap between rich and poor. Routledge.
• Lin, D., Hanscom, L., Murthy, A., Galli, A., Evans, M., Neill, E., ... & Wackernagel, M. (2018). Ecological footprint accounting for countries: updates and results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018. Resources, 7(3), 58.
• Liu, D., Xie, Y., Hafeez, M., & Usman, A. (2022). The trade-off between economic performance and environmental quality: does financial inclusion matter for emerging Asian economies?. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-10.
• Liu, D., Xie, Y., Hafeez, M., & Usman, A. (2022). The trade-off between economic performance and environmental quality: does financial inclusion matter for emerging Asian economies?. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-10.
• Luhtanen, R., & Crocker, J. (1992). A Collective Self-Esteem Scale: Self-evaluation of one’s social identity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 302-318. doi:10.1177/0146167292183006
• Meadows, D. H., Meadows, D. H., Randers, J. & Behrens III, W. W. (1972). The Limits to Growth: A Report to The Club of Rome. Google Scholar, 91, 2.
• Meeusen, C. (2014). The intergenerational transmission of environmental concern: The influence of parents and communication patterns within the family. The Journal of Environmental Education, 45(2), 77-90.
• Mishan, E. J. (1967). The costs of economic growth (p. 112). London: Staples Press.
• Mildenberger, M. & Leiserowitz, A. (2017). Public opinion on climate change: Is there an economy– environment trade-off? Environmental Politics, 26:5, 801-824, DOI: 10.1080/09644016.2017.1322275
• Raworth, K. (2019). Simit Ekonomisi 21. Yüzyıl İktisatçısı Gibi Düşünmenin Yedi Yolu (Çev. Akın Emre Pilgir), İstanbul: Tellekt
• Reese, G., Proch, J., & Finn, C. (2015). Identification with all humanity: The role of self-definition and self-investment. European Journal of Social Psychology, 45, 426-440. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2102
• Ripple, W. J., Wolf, C., Newsome, T. M., Barnard, P., Moomaw, W. R., & Grandcolas, P. (2020). World scientists' warning of a climate emergency. BioScience. 70(1), 8-12.
• Roberts, J. T., Parks, B. C., & Vásquez, A. A. (2004). Who Ratifies Environmental Treaties and Why? Institutionalism, Structuralism and Participation by 192 Nations in 22 Treaties. Global Environmental Politics, 4(3), 22–64.
• Smith, E. K. & Mayer, A. (2018). A Social Trap for The Climate? Collective Action, Trust and Climate Change Risk Perception in 35 Countries. Global Environmental Change, 49, 140-153. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.02.014
• Smith, J., & Wiest, D. (2005). The uneven geography of global civil society: National and global influences on transnational association. Social Forces, 84(2), 621-652.
• Sprinz, D., & Vaahtoranta, T. (1994). The Interest-Based Explanation of International Environmental Policy. International Organization, 48(1), 77–105.
• Tajfel, H. ve Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin ve S. Worchel (Ed), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33-47). Monterey, CA: BrooksJCole.
• Tümer, E. T., Korkmaz Tümer, E. & Erdölek Kozal, Ö. (2023). İklim Değişikliği Farkındalığı ve Kurum Algısı: Avrupa Ülkeleri Üzerine Ampirik Bir Analiz. Fiscaoeconomia, 7(2), 1511-1535. Doi: 10.25295/fsecon.1263231
• Martinez-Alier, J. (1995). The environment as a luxury good or “too poor to be green”?. Ecological economics, 13(1), 1-10.
• Schumacher, E. F. (1973). Small is beautiful: Economics as if people mattered. London: Blond & Briggs. Van den Bergh, J. C., & Verbruggen, H. (1999). Spatial sustainability, trade and indicators: an evaluation of the ‘ecological footprint’. Ecological economics, 29(1), 61-72.
• Wroe, A. (2015). Economic Insecurity and Political Trust in the United States, American Politics Research, 44(1), 131-163, https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673x15597745.