Abstract How can we encourage sustainable choices even though they yield scarce gains for the current generation? Monetary incentives and concerns for future generations are argued to have far-reaching effects on sustainable behaviours, they are at the backbone of current policy frameworks and climate change campaigns. Yet, there is a scarcity of causal evidence assessing the effectiveness of these interventions in overcoming the social dilemma at the core of sustainable choices. These theoretical arguments have been tested separately and with different samples, often using observational data and with a stronger focus on attitudinal rather than behavioural changes. Here, we jointly test these theoretical arguments and assess the impact of monetary incentives and intergenerational awareness on the emergence of sustainable behaviours in two large pre-registered between-subjects experiments (N1 = 1,167; N2 = 1,093) where participants played a discrete Common Pool Resource dilemma. Results show that being aware that there is a future generation which is affected by current decisions increases the chances to achieve sustainable development, while moderate monetary incentives alone do not accomplish such outcome. However, the combined presence of intergenerational awareness and monetary incentives is the most effective intervention to increase sustainable behaviours and achieve sustainable development.
Testori et al. (Thu,) studied this question.