Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
Please note that all times are shown in the time zone of the conference. The current conference time is: 10th Sept 2026, 07:05:06pm CEST (Norway)
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Daily Overview |
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Green preferences and climate policy Location: Auditorium K Session Chair: Tara L'Horty, Climate Economics Chair | |
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Fool Me if You Want: A Laboratory Experiment on Greenwashing and Enforcement University of Bologna, Italy Greenwashing, despite being regulated by truth-in-advertising laws, continues to be a significant issue, posing challenges to consumer protection and fair competition. Even with these regulations, difficulties in detection and inconsistent enforcement impede a solution to the problem. This paper explores greenwashing through a variation of a sender-receiver game, incorporating a random inspector responsible for detecting false claims. Using signalling theory, we predict the behaviour of sellers and buyers based on each other’s beliefs. We then test these predictions in a laboratory setting with real products and consequential purchasing decisions, examining how different detection probabilities influence greenwashing as well as consumption behaviour and beliefs. Not surprisingly, our findings indicate that enforcement primarily acts as a deterrent for sellers. Interestingly, buyers repeatedly purchase green products even when greenwashing can be foreseen. This evidence goes against the “market for lemons” theory in the context of everyday product consumption. Policymakers should address greenwashing differently depending on the weight they give to consumer surplus and environmental concerns. | |