Economics, Ethics and Green Consumerism

Publisher Summary This chapter examines green consumerism and its implications for human welfare and the environment. The analysis begins with a simple model of rational choice to demonstrate that economics can yield insights into consumption that are not as simplistic as those built into many conventional model. The standard model of rational choice, and its expansion to take into consideration non-welfarist concerns for the environment, yields an optimistic view of green consumerism and its potential to deliver more sustainable consumption patterns. In essence, it contributes an overly optimistic understanding, according to which sensitizing consumers to environmental values and concerns, brings about a change of values to change the behavior. Models that recognize the interdependence of consumer choices substantiate the promise of green consumerism and strongly remind the fragility of the promise of green consumerism. These models also demonstrate that it maybe costly for consumers to change their consumption patterns may be costly. The public policy may expand opportunity sets and alter the relative costs and benefits of alternatives. The worrying aspect of green consumerism is its potential transformation into an elitist alternative lifestyle. Green consumerism may not deliver environmental benefits, although it could deliver moral satisfaction for the alternative minority.