Center for Innovation and Development Studies, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, China.
School of Economics and Resource Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 15;19(6):3469. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063469.
The increasing amount of waste produced has been a challenge for human health and the environment, causing a call for effective waste management measures in which household waste separation is of great significance. Although an expanding body of literature has examined the impact of social capital on individual waste-separation behavior, few studies have explicitly discussed the endogeneity problem and the influence mechanisms. Accordingly, our study investigates the effect of social capital on waste-separation behavior and corresponding mechanisms using a national survey dataset of China. The study also reveals the heterogeneity of the influence of individual characteristics on waste-separation behavior. Our results demonstrate that social capital casts a significant positive impact on waste-separation behavior, providing opportunities for individuals' social learning and strengthening the reputation effect. The heterogeneous effects of social capital reveal that women, higher-educated individuals, and political party members present better waste-separation behavior. Besides, the impact of social capital varies between urban and rural areas and among different age groups. Our study provides empirical evidence for policy making of household waste-separation management in developing countries from the perspective of informal institutions.
日益增多的垃圾产量给人类健康和环境带来了挑战，因此需要采取有效的垃圾管理措施，其中家庭垃圾分类具有重要意义。尽管越来越多的文献研究了社会资本对个人垃圾分类行为的影响，但很少有研究明确讨论内生性问题和影响机制。因此，我们使用中国的全国调查数据集研究了社会资本对垃圾分类行为及其相应机制的影响，并揭示了个体特征对垃圾分类行为影响的异质性。我们的研究结果表明，社会资本对垃圾分类行为具有显著的正向影响，为个人的社会学习提供了机会，并增强了声誉效应。社会资本的异质效应表明，女性、受教育程度较高的个体和党员表现出更好的垃圾分类行为。此外，社会资本的影响在城乡之间和不同年龄组之间存在差异。我们的研究从非正式制度的角度为发展中国家的家庭垃圾分类管理政策制定提供了经验证据。
