Environmental awareness, consumption, and labor supply: Empirical evidence from household survey data

What is the effect of environmental awareness on the households' consumption of polluting goods and labor supply decisions? We answer this question using household survey data from the United States and measuring environmental awareness with the decision to make environmental donations. We find that environmental awareness has a negative and economically significant effect on labor supply. The respective impact on the consumption of polluting goods is also negative, but less robust in terms of statistical significance. Our results highlight the importance of understanding the foundations of household behavior related to environmental quality. Indeed, environmentally aware households are willing to tradeoff work hours with improved environmental quality and less so to change their consumption habits.