The Cultural Multiplier of Climate Policy
Torren Peraire, Daniel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Savin, Ivan (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Data:	2025
Resum:	To achieve deep decarbonisation, the design of climate policy needs to account for consumption choices being influenced not only by pricing but also by social learning. This involves changes that pertain to the whole spectrum of consumption, likely involving shifts in lifestyles. In this regard, it is crucial to consider social learning not only in the short term but also slower and longer-term cultural change. Against this background, we analyse the interaction between climate policy and cultural change, focusing on carbon pricing. We extend the notion of "social multiplier" of environmental policy derived in an earlier study to the context of multiple consumer needs while allowing for behavioural spillovers between these, giving rise to a "cultural multiplier". We develop a model to assess how this multiplier contributes to the effectiveness of carbon pricing. Our results show that the cultural multiplier stimulates a greater reduction in emissions compared to fixed preferences and the social multiplier. These findings are also good news for policy acceptance since the cultural multiplier greatly increases the effectiveness of a carbon price, meaning a lower price suffices for a given emissions-reduction goal. At high carbon prices, the distinction between social and cultural multiplier effects diminishes, as the strong price signal drives even resistant individuals toward low-carbon consumption. By varying economic and social conditions, such as substitutability between low- and high-carbon goods, social network structure, proximity of like-minded individuals, diversity of consumption lifestyles, and heterogeneity of preferences, the model provides insight into how cultural change can be leveraged to secure maximum effectiveness of climate policy.
Ajuts:	European Commission 956107
Nota:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Nota:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Carbon pricing ; Endogenous preferences ; Social networks ; Agent-based modelling
Publicat a:	Environmental and Resource Economics, December 2025, ISSN 1573-1502

DOI: 10.1007/s10640-025-01048-z

37 p, 6.1 MB

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Documents de recerca > Documents dels grups de recerca de la UAB > Centres i grups de recerca (producció científica) > Ciències > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA) > Environmental and Climate Economics (ECE)
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