PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Popp, David
TI  - Altruism and the Demand for Environmental Quality
AID  - 10.2307/3147128
DP  - 2001 Aug 01
TA  - Land Economics
PG  - 339--349
VI  - 77
IP  - 3
4099  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/77/3/339.short
4100  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/77/3/339.full
SO  - Land Econ2001 Aug 01; 77
AB  - This paper asks whether individuals consider the value that future generations will receive from environmental quality when deciding what level of environmental protection to provide. Using data on life expectancy, I develop two tests for altruism towards future generations. One, a test for strong altruism, asks whether individual motives are purely altruistic when deciding to provide environmental quality. The second, a test for weak altruism, combines an individual’s concern for both self-interest and the interest of future generations. Using data from a Washington Post survey on environmental attitudes to implement the test, I find evidence of weak altruism. (JEL Q20)