Does culture affect soil erosion? Empirical evidence from Europe

Abstract

I investigate whether cultural differences explain why some European regions are more effective in mitigating soil erosion than others. Specifically, I consider environmental preferences and beliefs as well as time preferences. For causal identification, I use a control function approach. The estimates suggest that a 1 standard deviation increase in pro-environmental culture increases erosion mitigation by 2–9 percentage points. This has important implications for research and policy making, which I discuss.