Berkeley Program in Law and Economics

The literature on volunteering has strongly increased over the last few years. However, there is still a lack of substantial empirical evidence on the determinants of environmental participation. This empirical study analyses a cross-section of individuals using micro-data from the World Values Survey wave III (1995-1997), which covers 38 countries, to investigate this question. The results suggest that individuals’ active participation in environmental organizations is influenced not only by socio-demographic and socio-economic factors, but also by political attitudes. Furthermore, we observe regional differences. Interestingly, environmental participation seems to be a more important channel for action in developing countries, where weak and dysfunctional states make people pursue their goals through non-governmental sector activities. We also find that a higher level of perceived corruption promotes participation in environmental organizations, which shows that individuals take action when they feel that the government is corrupt.