What explains citizen support for transport policy? the roles of policy design, trust in government and proximity among Swiss citizens

Abstract

Conventional wisdom holds that climate policies imposing substantial costs on individuals only receive little public support. Policymakers are thus reluctant to implement such policies because they fear a political backlash. However, the specific mechanisms driving low support levels are widely understudied, and experimental evidence is scarce. We argue that support for policies depends on three mechanisms: (i) the policy instrument design, (ii) attitudes towards government, and (iii) individual proximity towards the policy issue. We test our arguments by comparing seven mobility-related policy measures, for which we explain the differences in support due to these three factors. We utilise a nationally representative sample of 2034 Swiss citizens and assess the role of the three mechanisms for public policy support measured in a conjoint experiment. The results suggest that all three mechanisms, policy design, attitudes towards government, and proximity, affect public support. First, we find that respondents show the least support for coercive market-based policies with usage dependent costs. Second, those who trust the government are inclined to support environmental and climate policies. Third, respondents who are the most affected will oppose policies the most. The explorative assessment also suggests that the dimensions are mostly independent of each other. However, proximity and policy measures with usage dependent costs reinforce their adverse effects. Implications for policymakers are manifold: First, considering the backlash from those affected most is of utmost importance to avoid public outcries against policy proposals in times of widespread anti-elitist sentiments. Second, compensations for those affected most might be one way to mitigate the problem at hand.