A presentation by Johanna Arlinghaus (Assistant Professor of Economics and Sustainability, Hertie School). This event is part of the Sustainability Colloquium hosted by the Centre for Sustainability.
At this Sustainability Colloquium, we welcome Johanna Arlinghaus to the Hertie School and the Centre for Sustainability. The environmental economist joined the school this academic year as an Assistant Professor of Economics and Sustainability. In this session, Professor Arlinghaus will present her research on the effect of information framing on policy support, looking specifically at citizens' attitudes towards urban tolls in the metropolitan areas of Berlin-Brandenburg and Paris-Ile de France.
Following the presentation, attendees will have the chance to discuss and ask questions. The discussion, moderated by Christian Flachsland, will be followed by an open exchange over drinks and snacks.
Working paper’s abstract:
Urban tolls can effectively address externalities from urban road transport, yet they are rarely implemented. We administer a large-scale representative survey with randomised video treatments to test how different policy frames -- time savings, health and environment -- affect citizens' attitudes towards urban tolls in two large European metropolitan areas, Berlin-Brandenburg and Paris-Ile de France. Providing information on air pollution increases support by up to 11.4%p, information on climate change and time savings increase support by 7.1 and 6.5 %p, respectively. Treatment effects are stronger in the Paris region, where initial support is lower. Urban toll support is higher among households with more education and income, trust in state institutions and science, as well as those living in urban centers. Support more than doubles when tolling revenues are invested in public transport infrastructure. Our findings imply that providing targeted information to specific population groups can significantly alter policy support. Different justifications for the same policy design can affect citizen's views distinctly.