Authors
Jan Goebel, Christian Krekel, Tim Tiefenbach, Nicolas R Ziebarth
Publication date
2015/10
Journal
Journal of Population Economics
Volume
28
Pages
1137-1180
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Description
We study the impact of the Fukushima disaster on environmental concerns, well-being, risk aversion, and political preferences in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. In these countries, overall life satisfaction did not significantly decrease, but the disaster significantly increased environmental concerns among Germans. One underlying mechanism likely operated through the perceived risk of a similar meltdown of domestic reactors. After Fukushima, more Germans considered themselves as “very risk averse.” However, drastic German policy action shut down the oldest reactors, implemented the phaseout of the remaining ones, and proclaimed the transition to renewables. This shift in energy policy contributed to the subsequent decrease in environmental concerns, particularly among women, Green party supporters, and people living in close distance to the oldest reactors. In Germany, political support for the …
Scholar articles
J Goebel, C Krekel, T Tiefenbach, NR Ziebarth - Journal of Population Economics, 2015