Ricerc@Sapienza

This project's core goal is to study how the supply of environmentalism affects the way firms and consumers choose their products and the ensuing consequences for the global level of pollution and social welfare of the economy. It is well known that various goods satisfying the same needs have different ecological footprints. They are (or are not) biodegradable, they can (or cannot) be recycled, and they use (or do not use) reduced packaging and low energy. Deeply embedded in most debates is the view that changes in consumers' behavior are a necessary (and, perhaps, sufficient) condition for a transition to a cleaner society to be doable. Accordingly, by inciting consumers to shift from polluting to less-polluting products, a deep individual and social environmental consciousness would spark a major drop in the mass of pollutants generated by consumption. This argument, though seemingly convincing, overlooks several important aspects of the problem. Firstly, a higher level of environmental awareness within the population affects consumers' willingness-to-pay, hence the incentives firms face when they choose their product characteristics, which may not have the expected consequences for the environment. Secondly, other actors influence the interaction between consumers and firms: these are non-governmental organizations and social media lobbying in various ways for a wide set of issues, including the environment.

Our project aims at looking at the delicate interaction between firms, consumers and non-governmental organizations and evaluate their capacity to reduce pollution.