Publications
24 results found
Kountouris Y, Williams E, 2023, Do protests influence environmental attitudes? Evidence from Extinction Rebellion, ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, Vol: 5, ISSN: 2515-7620
Kountouris Y, 2022, The influence of local waste management culture on individual recycling behavior, Environmental Research Letters, Vol: 17, ISSN: 1748-9326
The transition towards sustainable consumption and production requires public engagement and support. In this context, understanding the determinants of individual pro-environmental behavior can assist in sustainability policy design, and contribute to explaining cross-country and regional differences in its implementation and effectiveness. This paper examines the influence of local waste management culture on individual recycling behavior. To isolate the impact of location-specific norms, habits and traditions comprising waste management culture from the confounding effect of contemporaneous local economic and social conditions, we use data from over 40,000 domestic immigrants in Greece. Estimating models relating individual recycling activity in the region of current residence to recycling practices in the region of origin, we find robust evidence that region of origin waste management practices have quantitatively and statistically significant influence on individual recycling behavior: a 10 percentage point increase in the prevalence of recycling in the region of origin, increases the probability a subject recycles by 0.9 percentage points. The results suggest that locally prevailing waste management norms and practices influence individual recycling behavior independently of local economic, social and environmental circumstances. Designing effective sustainability policy may need to account for regional variation in norms and preferences, and encourage investment in the development of sustainable waste management culture.
Kountouris Y, 2022, Awareness days and environmental attitudes: the case of the “Earth Hour”, Ecological Economics, Vol: 195, ISSN: 0921-8009
Environmental awareness campaigns disseminate information about the state of the natural environment, aiming to affect public attitudes and encourage pro-environmental behavior. I test the influence of awareness days on the general public’s environmental and climate change attitudes and concern, focusing on the case of the Earth Hour, an international campaign organized annually by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The Earth Hour highlights environmental consequences of human activity and encouragessustainable behavior, culminating with a call to mass action. To assess the Earth Hour’s effect, I use longitudinal data from Germany and the UK, exploiting the orthogonality of the Earth Hour observance to the timing of data collection, to estimate models comparing individual attitudes and concern before and after the event. I find no evidence of an Earth Hour effect on environmental and climate change attitudes and concern. Results suggest that more research is needed to assess the influence of environmental advocacy campaigns and awareness days on the general public.
Ford A, Harrison S, Kountouris I, et al., 2021, Modelling human-fire interactions: combining alternative perspectives and approaches, Frontiers in Environmental Science, Vol: 9, Pages: 1-23, ISSN: 2296-665X
Although it has long been recognised that human activities affect fire regimes, the interactions between humans and fire are complex, imperfectly understood, constantly evolving, and lacking any kind of integrative global framework. Many different approaches are used to study human-fire interactions, but in general they have arisen in different disciplinary contexts to address highly specific questions. Models of human-fire interactions range from conceptual local models to numerical global models. However, given that each type of model is highly selective about which aspects of human-fire interactions to include, the insights gained from these models are often limited and contradictory, which can make them a poor basis for developing fire-related policy and management practices. Here, we first review different approaches to modelling human-fire interactions and then discuss ways in which these different approaches could be synthesised to provide a more holistic approach to understanding human fire interactions. We argue that the theory underpinning many types of models was developed using only limited amounts of data and that, in an increasingly data-rich world, it is important to re-examine model assumptions in a more systematic way. All of the models are designed to have practical outcomes but are necessarily simplifications of reality and as a result of differences in focus, scale and complexity, frequently yield radically different assessments of what might happen. We argue that it should be possible to combine the strengths and benefits of different types of model through enchaining the different models, for example from global down to local scales or vice versa. There are also opportunities for explicit coupling of different kinds of model, for example including agent-based representation of human actions in a global fire model. Finally, we stress the need for co-production of models to ensure that the resulting products serve the widest possible community.
Kountouris Y, 2021, An assessment of the relationship between daylight saving time, disruptions in sleep patterns and dwelling fires, Fire Technology, Vol: 57, Pages: 123-144, ISSN: 0015-2684
Residential fires pose threats to living environments, generating costs to health and property. Understanding the roles of human behavior and social organization in determining fire occurrence is important for developing strategies to manage fire risk. This paper tests the impact of daylight saving time (DST) transitions on dwelling fire occurrence. DST transitions affect sleep patterns, impairing human cognitive and motor performance, potentially influencing the incidence of dwelling fires. Employing a regression discontinuity design with time as the running variable and using data from over 260,000 primary dwelling fires that took place in the U.K. over 8 years we do not find evidence suggesting that DST transitions impact on dwelling fire occurrence. For both the start of DST and end of DST transitions, estimated effects is quantitatively small and statistically insignificant. Results suggest that disruptions in sleep patterns induced by DST are not a driver of dwelling fires in the U.K.
Harris ZM, Kountouris Y, 2020, Vertical Farming as a Game Changer for BECCS Technology Deployment, SUSTAINABILITY, Vol: 12
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- Citations: 6
Kountouris Y, 2020, Higher education and fertility: evidence from reforms in Greece., Economics of Education Review, ISSN: 0272-7757
Kountouris Y, 2020, Examining the Relationship between Elections and Wildfires, International Journal of Wildland Fire, ISSN: 1049-8001
Kountouris Y, 2020, Human activity, daylight saving time and wildfire occurrence, Science of The Total Environment, Vol: 727, ISSN: 0048-9697
Wildfires shape landscapes and ecosystems, affecting health and infrastructure. Understanding the complex interactions between social organization, human activity and the natural environment that drive wildfire occurrence is becoming increasingly important as changing global environmental conditions combined with the expanding human-wildland interface, are expected to increase wildfire frequency and severity. This paper examines the anthropogenic drivers of wildfire, and the relationship between the organization of human activity in time and wildfire occurrence focusing on the effects of transitions into and out of Daylight Saving Time (DST). DST transitions shift activity in relation to natural wildfire risk within a solar day, induce changes in the time allocated to wildfire-causing activities and disrupt sleep patterns. The paper estimates short and medium run effects of DST-induced changes in the temporal organization of human activity through a Regression Discontinuity Design with time as the running variable and Fixed Effects models, using data from over 1.88 million non-prescribed ignitions recorded in the contiguous US over 23 years. Estimates suggest that DST has a quantitatively and statistically significant immediate and medium-run effect on wildfire occurrence. Wildfire occurrence jumps by around 30% in the immediate aftermath of transitions into DST, adding about 98 human-caused wildfires across the contiguous US per year, while the transition's effect is detectable for 3 weeks. Transitions induce within-day temporal displacement of wildfires in a pattern compatible with the shifting of human activity mechanism, while the result cannot be attributed exclusively on disruptions in sleep patterns. Naturally arising lightning-strike wildfires do not respond to changes in civil time, while the results are robust to changes in assumptions. Results suggest that wildfire policy should account for the temporal organization of human activity.
Kountouris Y, 2020, Ambient PM2.5 influences productive activities in public sector bureaucracies., Environmental Research Communications, Vol: 2, Pages: 1-10, ISSN: 2515-7620
Fine particles (PM2.5) can penetrate buildings through ventilation and air conditioning systems, exposing indoors workers to pollution levels similar to those prevailing outdoors. This letter investigates the immediate influence of fine particle pollution on the productive activity of local government bureaucracies, linking novel data on the daily output of local governments in municipalities of the Athens metropolitan area, Greece, to PM2.5 levels recorded nearby. To address biases introduced by omitted variables and measurement error, I use the plausibly exogenous variation introduced by the basin's horizontal ventilation, instrumenting PM2.5 levels with local wind strength. Estimates suggest a statistically and quantitatively significant negative effect from PM2.5 on the output of public administrations. Increasing PM2.5 levels by 1% decreases the activity proxy by around 0.25%. Results point to the influence PM2.5 can have on activities that are mentally but not physically demanding and suggest that costs from PM2.5 will increase with the share of global income produced by office workers.
Collins C, Vaskou P, Kountouris I, 2019, Insect food products in the Western world: assessing the potential of a new ‘green’ market, Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Vol: 112, Pages: 518-528, ISSN: 0013-8746
Although two billion people already eat insects in the world and the benefits of edible insects are well known, these ‘green’ sources of protein are neither treated as conventional food products nor widely incorporatedinto Western diets. Using a school-based investigation surveying 161 children, aged 6–15, and 114 of theirparents in London, and an online consumer survey with mainly British and French consumers (N = 1,020), this research provides insights into the potential of the insect market in the West. This work supports the idea that incorporating insect food into our diets makes not only environmental but also business sense.A nonnegligible segment of the population surveyed is willing to pay for mealworm minced meat and young children and pre-teens could represent a substantial market segment, as yet unexplored. This analysis points to multiple marketing strategies, such as early exposure, education, reducing the visibility of insect parts, celebrity endorsement, or peer-to-peer marketing, all of which could facilitate the adoption of insect food in the ‘mainstream’ arena, according to the consumer segment being targeted. Generalizations from these results are restricted to an educated and youthful subset of the potential consumer pool and further work remains to understand the patterns of Western consumer acceptance for the range of insect foods.
Kountouris I, Remoundou K, 2016, Cultural Influence on Preferences and Attitudes for Environmental Quality, Kyklos, Vol: 69, Pages: 369-397, ISSN: 1467-6435
We investigate national culture's influence on preferences for and attitudes to environmental quality. We use the cultural diversity of immigrants in European countries to isolate the effect of culture from the confounding effect of the economic and institutional environment. Results suggest that culture is a significant determinant of migrants' individual environmental preferences and attitudes. Migrants from countries with higher levels of environmental preferences are more willing to trade off income for environmental quality when controlling for individual characteristics, country of residence, and country of origin macroeconomic and environmental conditions. Furthermore, culture significantly influences individual beliefs about limits to growth, the fragility of the balance of nature, and the likelihood of an ecological crisis. The result is robust to alternative definitions of the cultural proxy and points to the significance of accounting for cultural influences in the design of domestic and international environmental policy and the application of environmental valuation techniques.
Kountouris Y, Nakic Z, Sauer J, 2015, Political instability and non-market valuation: Evidence from Croatia, Resource and Energy Economics, Vol: 41, Pages: 19-39, ISSN: 1873-0221
We examine the effect of political instability on willingness to pay estimates (WTP) from nonmarket valuation, using data from a choice experiment implemented in Zagreb, Croatia to value groundwater quality and quantity. To evaluate the sensitivity of preferences for environmental quality to instability, we use the timing of a period of public protest that occurred in the city during the data collection and compare preferences before and during the protest. We find some evidence that WTP is lower in the period of political instability, but the result is sensitive to the specification used.
Kountouris Y, Remoundou K, 2014, About time: Daylight Saving Time transition and individual well-being, ECONOMICS LETTERS, Vol: 122, Pages: 100-103, ISSN: 0165-1765
Kountouris Y, Remoundou K, 2013, Is there a cultural component in tax morale? Evidence from immigrants in Europe, JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR & ORGANIZATION, Vol: 96, Pages: 104-119, ISSN: 0167-2681
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- Citations: 21
Remoundou K, Kountouris Y, Koundouri P, 2012, Is the value of an environmental public good sensitive to the providing institution?, Resource and Energy Economics
Kountouris Y, Remoundou K, 2011, Valuing the Welfare Cost of Forest Fires: a Life Satisfaction Approach, Kyklos
Kountouris Y, Remoundou K, 2011, Valuing the Welfare Cost of Forest Fires: a Life Satisfaction Approach, Kyklos, Vol: 64, Pages: 556-578
Selassie GG, Kountouris Y, 2010, Fishing permit price and wetland conservation: A choice experiment on the value of improved environmental quality of lake awassa, Ethiopia, Choice Experiments in Developing Countries: Implementation, Challenges and Policy Implications, Pages: 50-66, ISBN: 9781848440036
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- Citations: 3
Birol E, Koundouri P, Kountouris Y, 2010, Assessing the economic viability of alternative water resources in water-scarce regions: Combining economic valuation, cost-benefit analysis and discounting, Ecological Economics, Pages: 839-847
Koundouri P, Kountouris Y, Remoundou K, 2009, Valuing a wind farm construction: A contingent valuation study in Greece, Energy Policy, Pages: 1939-1944
Birol E, Hanley N, Koundouri P, et al., 2009, Optimal management of wetlands: Quantifying trade-offs between flood risks, recreation, and biodiversity conservation, Water Resources Research
Birol E, Koundouri P, Kountouris Y, 2008, Evaluating farmers' preferences for wastewater: Quantity and quality aspects, International Journal of Water
Birol E, Koundouri P, Kountouris Y, 2008, Integrating wetland management into sustainable water resources allocation: The case of akrotiri wetland in Cyprus, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management
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