Work

Effect of policy consequentiality on willingness to pay for renewable energy in transport in Quebec

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study examines the effect of policy consequentiality perception on willingness to pay (WTP) for the expansion of renewable energy in Quebec. To do this, werandomly assigned two versions of questionnaires to two groups of respondents.The first group was exposed to the policy consequentiality of the Quebec government, while the second group was exposed to the policy consequentiality of oilcompanies and service stations. Our results show that individuals who perceivethe policies as consequential express a higher willingness to pay than those whodo not perceive them as consequential. Moreover, respondents who perceive theQuebec government’s policies as consequential express a higher willingness to paythan those who perceive the policies of oil companies as consequential. This mayimply that individuals have more confidence in the Quebec government to implement the expansion of renewable energy. Another important finding is the ”knife-edge” effect we observed. This effect suggests that the WTP of respondents whoperceive policy consequentiality is significantly higher than that of respondentswho do not.

Source: Discover Environment

DOI: 10.1007/s44274-026-00621-7

Author: Kpanoga Kolombia

Institution: University of Alberta

Language: English

Topic: Economic and Environmental Valuation

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,390