Human Moderation Behavior in the Use of Natural Resources and the Environment: Systematic Review

Abstract

Rationality is one of the fundamental assumptions of economics. Under this assumption, there would not be reasons to assume that individuals will moderate the use of a natural resource or an ecosystem when access to them is free, so that the outcome is their depletion or deterioration. However, the economic literature also reports that people make decisions influenced by criteria that deviate from this assumption, although there are few references to the temperance or moderation in the use of nature or the environment. This systematic review describes the individual processes that lead people to moderate their use of nature or the environment when there are no access restrictions. We find thirteen studies on moderation behavior, where participants could use the environment or natural resources without restrictions. The results indicate that people may adopt moderation behavior under considerations other than utility maximization. Individuals may moderate the use of nature, or the environment driven by feelings of responsibility, ecological attitude, frugality, and self-efficacy, but also influenced by reference points such as goals, the actions of others, the state of the resource or ecosystem, and future consequences of their own actions. However, the relationship between this behavior and actual changes in consumption, resource status, or availability has been poorly studied. JEL Classification Q01 Q20 Q57