Article

Households’ pro-environmental habits and investments in water and energy consumption: Determinants and relationships

Roberto Martinez-Espineira, Maria A. García-Valiñas, and Céline Nauges

Abstract

Economic instruments have received a lot of attention in the literature dealing with water and energy demand management. However factors driving households’ behaviour/habits and investment in water-saving and energy-saving equipment have been seldom studied. The main purpose of this article is to contribute to this literature by analysing the main determinants of a set of households’ conservation habits and pro-environmental investment decisions. Using household-level data from Spain, we show that conservation habits and the purchase of resource-efficient appliances are not independent.

Keywords

Water conservation; Energy conservation; Technology adoption; Habits; Multivariate probit;

JEL codes

  • C35: Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models • Discrete Regressors • Proportions
  • D10: General
  • Q25: Water
  • Q40: General
  • Q53: Air Pollution • Water Pollution • Noise • Hazardous Waste • Solid Waste • Recycling

Reference

Roberto Martinez-Espineira, Maria A. García-Valiñas, and Céline Nauges, Households’ pro-environmental habits and investments in water and energy consumption: Determinants and relationships, Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 133, 2014, pp. 174–183.

Published in

Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 133, 2014, pp. 174–183