Detrimental Determinants: The Impacts of Neoliberalism on Pro-Environmental Behaviors
Abstract
The mounting evidence of anthropogenic climate change in the past 30 years has
beckoned the social sciences to illuminate and address the complex phenomena
underlying actions that impact the environment. While many studies have considered
salient indicators of pro-environmental behavior (PEB) in the United States, little
research has assessed how economic ideologies influence such behaviors at the individual
level. Accordingly, this study develops and tests a sociological augmentation of the
Theory of Planned Behavior in an effort to understand how neoliberal market ideology
impacts the frequency and likelihood of behaviors that benefit the environment. Using
data from the 2010 General Social Survey and the Environment III module of the
International Social Survey Program (N=1430), the impacts of market-fundamentalist
endorsements are tested using hierarchical regression techniques on a variety of
environmentally significant behavioral outcomes. Results indicate that neoliberalism
overall plays a significant and often negative role in individual pro-environmental
behavior, which empirically challenges the assertion that markets can simultaneously
self-regulate and address environmental degradation. Insights for future research,
theoretical synthesis, and public policy are discussed.
Table of Contents
Introduction -- Literature review -- Methods -- results -- Discussion
Degree
M.A.