Date of Graduation

Spring 2020

Degree

Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Jordan Belisle

Abstract

The procedures were informed by a pilot investigation conducted by this research team that is described below. In the primary study, students attending Missouri State University chose between a policy with no restrictions or taxation on their carbon emissions versus a restriction on the amount of mileage driven per month and taxation related to the mileage. The main study also included an added variable of the influence a redistribution taxation policy into different geographic distances would have on policy preference. Results were interpreted in terms of a multilevel hyperbolic discounting model using the “R” program. The results suggest that there is little to no preference for a policy in which half of the taxes would be redistributed to other countries, as long as the effects of climate change could remain delayed. These results have implications for future environmental policies that intend to redistribute taxation revenue to assist other states or countries in altering their systems to become more environmentally-friendly, given there is a delay of the effects from climate change. These results have implications for future environmental policies that intend to redistribute taxation revenue to assist other states or countries in altering their systems to become more environmentally-friendly, given there is a delay of the effects from climate change.

Keywords

climate change, delay discounting, social discounting, policy preference, environmental policy

Subject Categories

Applied Behavior Analysis | Behavioral Economics | Economic Policy | Environmental Policy | Environmental Studies

Copyright

© Celeste Noelle Unnerstall

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