Water Conservation Behavior and Environmental Concerns

Water conservation represents important pro-environmental behavior for a sustainable environment. This paper investigates the link between water conservation behavior and general environmental concerns using a large dataset from the Multipurpose Household Survey conducted annually by the Italian Central Statistics Office. Univariate probit models show that pollution and resource exhaustion are positively related to individual water conservation behavior while alteration of environmental heritage exhibits a negative relationship with water saving behavior. These findings are robust to the inclusion of environment knowledge and social capital variables. Robustness analysis also indicates that television and radio, participation in environmental initiatives, money for environmental protection and churchgoing are significant determinants of water conservation behavior.