1,721,049 research outputs found
Young People and Nature: What Drives Underlying Behavioural Intentions towards Protected Areas Conservation?
No full textA choice experiment on consumer perception of three generations of genetically modified foods
No full textNutraceuticals: Some remarks by a choice experiment on food, health and new technologies
No full textNowadays people are increasingly interested in health foods, which are foods considered beneficial to well-being in ways that go beyond a normal healthy diet required for human nutrition. This study aims at providing a better understanding of the main factors leading to the purchase of a relatively new category of technological foods, namely nutraceuticals. Based on data collected on a sample of Italian families through a cross-sectional survey, which included choice experiment questions and socio-demographic characteristics, two specifications of discrete choice models allowed us to formalise the behavioural response linked to that purchase and to preference heterogeneity across consumers, and the willingness to pay for these products. Findings show that not all nutraceutical features are equally important in shaping consumers’ preferences for health-oriented foods. The role played by formal education in describing the behavioural response towards nutraceuticals and the significant preference heterogeneity across consumers in relation to specific nutraceutical features provide interesting insights to assist researchers and marketers in developing more market-oriented functional foods that gain consumer acceptance
How environmental sustainability labels affect food choices: Assessing consumer preferences in southern Italy
Full text linkThis paper assesses consumer preferences and willingness to pay for three different environmental sustainability
labels (EU Organic Farming, Rainforest Alliance, ‘Per il Clima-Legambiente’) and information cues about the
origin displayed on a processed food product, namely tomato puree. Using a choice experiment and conditional
logit models, the results show that: i) preferences for the environmental sustainability labelled product increase
when consumers have proper knowledge about the meaning of the labels; ii) the information cue about the
product’s domestic origin is important for all consumers, regardless of their education, unlike environmental
sustainability labels that are more appreciated by well-educated consumers; iii) consumers’ willingness to pay is
higher for labels with greater market penetration, regardless of certification by private or public organisations.
Findings suggest that the adoption of environmental sustainability labels by food producers should be combined
with effective information policies aimed at increasing consumer awareness
Using geographically weighted regressions to explore spatial heterogeneity of land use influencing factors in Campania (Southern Italy)
No full textThe progressive artificial covering of originally natural surfaces (land consumption) is a major concern of today’s societies due to the implications for the environment and the availability of land resources. This study aims to explore the local variations in the effects of the main socio-demographic, economic and institutional determinants of land consumption in Campania (southern Italy). Using data from official sources for 2020 at the municipal level, geographically weighted regression was run to address local variations through a set of coefficients as a function of spatial location. One of the main elements of novelty of this study is that it links research on land use influencing factors to such a high level of geographic detail (all 550 Campanian municipalities), while controlling for spatial non-stationarity and morphological characteristics. Understanding how the impact of the determinants varies across municipalities can help local policy makers adopt the regulatory instruments
for land use management envisaged by law. The results show that the levels of land consumption are not aligned with the real demand and carrying capacity of several areas of the region, suggesting that: i) knowing the local specificities explaining land consumption is the prerequisite for preserving environmental quality and ecosystem services; ii) better quality local institutions are needed to curb unbalanced land consumption and to guide spatial planning in support of sustainable land management
Sustainable urban mobility: evidence from three developed European countries
Full text linkThe importance acquired by private cars as the leading travel mode in most advanced countries has drawn attention to concerns related to pro-environmental travel behaviour. Indeed, the car has brought great benefits to society, albeit causing a whole lot of environmental and socio-economic consequences. In this perspective, we exploit Eurobarometer data on the attitudes of Europeans towards urban mobility to investigate the main motivations of citizens’ public transport use frequency. Ordered logistic regressions are estimated by country (Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands) and by gender. Our results suggest the key role played by a comprehensive set of socio-demographic, economic, and environmental aspects in determining urban travel behaviour. Moreover, our investigation brings to light some relevant cross-country and cross-gender commonalities and differences. The provided evidence may give policymakers a better knowledge of travel behaviour, useful for designing new interventions for environmentally-sustainable travelling
Values, concern, beliefs, and preference for solar energy: A comparative analysis of three European countries
No full textEnvironmental research has increasingly recognised the relevance of energy-efficiency behaviours to mitigate climate change. In this perspective, we exploit data from the European Social Survey round 8 (2016) to provide new insights into the main factors leading to the preference for solar power in three European countries – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. A Structural Equation Model is adopted to assess the impact of self-transcendent values, efficacy beliefs and concern about energy security on such preference. Our outcomes suggest the key role of self-transcendent values in driving preference for solar energy in all the analysed countries. On the other hand, the impact of efficacy beliefs and concern on such preference shows interesting cross-country differences: beliefs are relevant in France and Germany, while concern provides more guidance for French and British citizens. The provided evidence may assist policymakers in increasing the adoption of green energy sources among citizens, sustainably enhancing economic growth
EUROPEAN FUNDS AND EMPLOYMENT CONVERGENCE AT A REGIONAL LEVEL
Full text linkAt least three of the headline goals of the EU 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth relate directly to
employment and productivity. In particular, the first target of the Strategy fosters a high-employment economy (at least
75% of the 20-64 year-olds EU citizens) that delivers territorial cohesion, and the European Structural Investment (ESI)
Funds are the most intensively instruments used by the EU institutions for encouraging the convergence. Having regard to
the close links between the programming periods of the ESI Funds, this work throws new insights into whether and how the
2007-2013 period contributed to employment convergence at a regional level within a set of European countries, exploring
the extent to which the progress reached in this period laid the basis for the time after. Using official data level (i.e.,
Eurostat, Istat, and SIEPI) at NUTS2 from 2000 to 2016, the effect of the regional funds on local employment is exploited by
the Difference-in-Difference (DiD) method. Moreover, we perform an extended DiD model by controlling for a set of
institutional, political, and socio-economic factors, in order to investigate the main reasons behind the potential failure of the
EU funding policies in Italy. The poor quality of institutions and the heterogeneous socio-economic development prevented or
delayed synergies between funding sources in Italy, restricting national resources if a larger availability of European funds
existed
Exploring the determinants of separate waste collection from a spatial perspective
No full textA virtuous waste management is one of the main pillars of EU environmental policies. The European directives aim at minimising the waste generation and increasing the separate waste collection level. As a Member State, Italy is not far from the European targets, nevertheless it is characterised by wide regional differences. Some areas, especially in the South, experienced waste management crises mainly due to a failure to properly collect and separate urban waste. This makes Italy a noteworthy case study in the waste management framework. Our main research question is to assess the effects of different factors (i.e., socio-economic and morphological backgrounds, institutional quality, and individual motivations) on citizens’ recycling behaviours. For this purpose, we analyse the determinants of separate waste collection by comparing two regions of Southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia, characterised by opposite results in terms of separate waste collection. By using spatial econometric models, we examine whether virtuous waste management performances are driven by political dynamics rather than extrinsic motivations, such as social influence or monetary incentives, or intrinsic motivations, such as proenvironmental attitudes. The main finding is that extrinsic motivations, although important, are not the only driving forces behind the good waste management performances. The intrinsic motivations also play a key role: specifically, individual pro-environmental attitudes, knowledge and commitment to differentiate. In general, Sardinia performs better than Sicily. This advantage is explained by a more effective combination of factors (local institutional quality, monetary incentives, and citizens’ good actions) and synergy between local governments and citizens
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