Determinants of Pro-environmental Practices: An Analysis Using Discrete Choice Models

Responsible consumption decisions are key to achieving environmental sustainability, particularly concerning pro-environmental practices. However, adopting pro-environmental practices varies and is closely linked to the diversity of individual behaviors. Therefore, this research aims to identify the factors determining pro-environmental practices such as electricity-saving, potable water-saving, and recycling in Ecuadorian households from 2010 to 2014. Secondary data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses were utilized. The information was processed to evaluate the marginal propensity of pro-environmental practices using a logit model and a conditional multinomial logit model. Additionally, tests incorporating unobserved heterogeneity were conducted to assess the robustness of the model. The main findings confirm that the Theory of Planned Behavior explains the performance of environmental practices in Ecuadorian households. Specifically, environmental awareness accounts for the largest increase in pro-environmental practices, approximately 8% and 10%. Moreover, examining the marginal propensity of each pro-environmental practice reveals heterogeneous results. Additionally, labor income and education increase pro-environmental practices by 2.14% to 1.5%, while female-headed households show an increase of 5.68%. Conversely, evidence suggests that Indigenous ethnicity is associated with a lower likelihood of engaging in pro-environmental practices. Policy implications derived from the study suggest focusing public efforts on increasing household environmental awareness.