Economic Globalization and Environmental Concern: A Multilevel Analysis of Individuals Within 37 Nations

The authors assess the extent to which particular characteristics of economic globalization at the national level influence the likelihood of individuals expressing concern for the natural environment. The globalization characteristics of interest include relative levels of exports, measured as exports as percent total gross domestic product (GDP), and the vertical flow of exports, measured as the percent of total exports sent to high-income countries (HICs). Results of multilevel logistic regression analyses of more than 48,000 individuals within 37 nations indicate that the two characteristics have opposite effects on environmental concern, net of various country-level and individual-level factors. In particular, exports as percent of total GDP lessens the likelihood of environmental concern, whereas percent exports to HICs increases the likelihood of individuals expressing concern for the environment. The results highlight the need for the development of theorization that considers the complex interrelationships between environmental concern and economic globalization characteristics.