Abstract
Several theoretical accounts assume a tradeoff between individual-level environmental and economic attitudes, whereby less favorable economic conditions cause individuals to increasingly prioritize economic growth over environmental quality. Yet empirical evidence of this tradeoff is contradictory, and the presumed tradeoff has rarely been subjected to rigorous empirical scrutiny. By compiling a large-scale longitudinal and cross-sectional dataset on individual-level environmental attitude data from five World Values Survey (WVS) waves between 1994-2022 covering 52 countries with varying income levels and geographic locations, this paper provides the most comprehensive analysis of the economy-environment tradeoff to date.
In a two-step approach the paper first maps the relationship between environmental priorities and economic conditions. Second, the paper empirically tests the tradeoff argument through a three-level logistic model. The paper finds support for the idea of a tradeoff, whereby individuals are more likely to prioritize environmental protection over economic growth when economic conditions are favorable.