Tanvi Ravel Mehta

  Wednesday, 2nd November 2022

  14:00 - 15:00

   Clay Room - Nuffield College

   A Field Experiment Studying the Formation of Preferences Regarding Climate Change Policies in India

ABSTRACT

How do group identity concerns shape voters’ preferences around climate policy? I seek to answer this question in the context of India, building on insights generated by existing literature on the political economy of redistribution. I argue that emphasising group identity considerations as they relate to climate change can make middle-class voters more willing to absorb personal costs and support policies seemingly against their material self-interest. I use a survey experiment to test the effects of various identity frames (including national, regional, and linguistic) on participants’ (i) personal willingness to bear particular costs and (ii) support for targeted compensatory transfers.