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> I think in some countries if you don't want to get your money back you leave the bottles and cans near the garbage bin or other places and a kid or a poor per
by avar 8y ago
> I think in some countries if you don't want to get your money back you leave the bottles and cans near the garbage bin or other places and a kid or a poor person will return it and make some money.
Indeed. Personally I do this because it's not worth it for me to recycle it on my own, but I still care about the environment and my fellow man.
But what I'm pointing out is that it's an economically irrational decision on my part, and if someone doesn't give a shit about the environment to the point of not bothering with recycling unless it's costing them money not to do it, they probably don't care that much about their fellow man either.
So in some sense it's a regressive tax (although short term), but I'd be for a policy where drinks cost a bit more to make it economically worthwhile for more people who aren't going to do it because they're nice, but for profit.
- dragonwriter 8y ago> Personally I do this because it's not worth it for me to recycle it on my own, but I still care about the environment and my fellow man. > But what I'm pointing out is that it's an economically irrational decision on my part, It's not economically irrational; as obviously the condition of “the environment and your fellow man” play into your personal utility function.
- avar 8y agoBy this strange definition my desire to live as a beggar in Thailand for 10 years to meditate find my inner self even though I might hypothetically make $1M/yr now working in an office iseconomically rational. When people (including myself) say that something is economically rational it's commonly understood to mean that any given person wouldn't make the same choice if given the choice, not that you can't find an example of someone who'll do otherwise. In other words talking about something being "economically rational" is the other side of there being an "economic incentive". In this case the economic incentives of not just throwing away plastics aren't aligned with the desired effect. This is a classic example of an externality coupled with the tragedy of the commons.
- dragonwriter 8y ago> By this strange definition It's the standard definition underlying rational actor theory, and exactly what rationality means in economics.