Payment vs. compensation for ecosystem services: do words have a voice in the design of environmental conservation programs?

Clot, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4964-825X, Grolleau, G. and Méral, P. (2017) Payment vs. compensation for ecosystem services: do words have a voice in the design of environmental conservation programs? Ecological Economics, 135. pp. 299-303. ISSN 0921-8009 doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.12.028

Abstract/Summary

We examine whether and how word choice can affect individual perceptions about a proposed Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) program when objective outcomes are similar. From a traditional economic perspective, this type of manipulation would be considered unlikely to affect perceptions and behaviour, especially in the presence of pecuniary incentives and repeated decisions among sophisticated agents. From a behaviourally informed perspective, however, psychological and political theories of wording argue that word choice can have a significant impact on economic behaviour. To substantiate this discussion, we conduct a survey experiment that tests the impact of the words ‘payment’ and ‘compensation’ on favorability ratings of a proposed PES program. These preliminary findings suggest that the words used to describe public policies can be influential non-pecuniary interventions.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/75548
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Economics
Publisher	Elsevier
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• Payment vs. compensation for ecosystem services: do words have a voice in the design of environmental conservation programs? (deposited 04 Jan 2017 12:15)
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