Behavioral economists are studying how framing issues and the setting where we are located affects our willingness to absorb information and how it affects our actions in markets (see Laibon's paper on cue-theory). For those Cambridge Ph.D. students seeking a dissertation topic. I suggest that they go to the zoo. This NY Times article discusses that zoos are now educating attendees about climate change issues. Why? Some of this may be the preferences of the zoomaster but perhaps they have read David Laibson's work and they are aware that the type of person who self selects to go to the zoo is open minded about learning about nature and may be in the mood to be "educated". From my experience at the Bronx Zoo in the 1970s, I would guess that young people are a large share of the attendees. Could attending the zoo and receiving the information "treatment" shift their preferences forever? Do you believe that the young are malleable?
As I have said several times, we do not know the root sources of environmentalism. Why doesn't Dick Cheney live in Berkeley? Field experiments at the zoo might help. I have friends in China who are trying to exploit the fact that Mao dictated that different books be used as class texts in different parts of the nation and that some of these books were more "pro-green" than others. That is a nice natural experiment on the long run determinants of environmentalism. So, young Ph.D. candidates, get thee to a zoo! (how is that for a Shakespeare paraphrase?)
