Does culture affect soil erosion? Empirical evidence from Europe. (10th July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wuepper, David
• Is Part Of: European review of agricultural economics. Volume 47:Number 2(2020)
• Page Start: 619
• Page End: 653
• Publication Date: 2019-07-10
• Subjects: soil erosion -- culture -- time preferences -- environmental preferences -- locus of control -- perceived self-efficacy; Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Europe -- Periodicals; 338.109405
• DOI: 10.1093/erae/jbz029
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0165-1587

Abstract

Abstract: I investigate whether cultural differences explain why some European regions are more effective in mitigating soil erosion than others. Specifically, I consider environmental preferences and beliefs as well as time preferences. For causal identification, I use a control function approach. The estimates suggest that a 1 standard deviation increase in pro-environmental culture increases erosion mitigation by 2–9 percentage points. This has important implications for research and policy making, which I discuss.