Can teaching children about the environment influence household behavior? Experiments in Swedish schools

In two separate field experiments with Swedish school children aged 10-16, we evaluate variants of an Environmental Education Program designed to promote pro-environmental behavior; specifically, reduce household waste. We match the addresses of participating students with high-resolution administrative records on collected household waste. This allows us to estimate causal effects on the waste generated in households where a child was treated. Both experiments produce null effects on waste generation. In the second experiment, we are also able to estimate the effect of regular environmental education within the Swedish school curriculum, and find only weak evidence that this affects household waste.

Ek, C., Söderberg, M., & Kataria, M. (2026). Can teaching children about the environment influence household behavior? Experiments in Swedish schools.The Scandinavian Journal of Economics.