Social norms affect environmental quality. But what exactly is a social norm? Environmental economists studying the topic draw on diverse scholarly traditions and may not have the same phenomenon in mind when using the concept. For example, social norms may refer to common, but not necessarily socially approved, behaviors; to internalized ethical rules; or to one of several equilibria in a coordination game. I first discuss some of the definitions used in the environmental economics literature. Then, I outline a simple framework for analysis of voluntary contributions to public goods. Using this framework, I illustrate differences and similarities between altruism, moral norms, and social norms and discuss implications for environmental policies. In particular, when a social norm represents one of several stable equilibria, policy can potentially invoke abrupt and dramatic behavioral changes.

中文翻译：

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社会规范与环境

社会规范影响环境质量。但究竟什么是社会规范？研究该主题的环境经济学家借鉴了不同的学术传统，在使用该概念时可能不会想到相同的现象。例如，社会规范可能是指常见但不一定得到社会认可的行为；内化道德规则；或协调博弈中的几个均衡之一。我首先讨论环境经济学文献中使用的一些定义。然后，我概述了一个简单的框架，用于分析对公共物品的自愿捐款。使用这个框架，我说明了利他主义、道德规范和社会规范之间的异同，并讨论了对环境政策的影响。特别是，当一个社会规范代表几个稳定均衡之一时，