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Special Issue Articles
* I would like to thank Masahiko Iguchi, Yuichi Kubota, and some anonymous reviewers for their comments and Akiko Nanami for her editing and comments.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries has fostered economic growth recently but in the process has encountered a number of serious problems regarding environmental destruction, such as the air and water pollution. In addition, due to rapid population growth and urbanization, there are emerging concerns about decline of the environment in those countries in the near future (Takemoto, 1999; Kato, 1999; Yamaji and Komiyama, 2011).
One of the surveys that tries to measure the attitudes of ASEAN citizens on environmental issues is the ASEAN Barometer survey conducted in 2009.1This survey consists of two modules of Health and Environment. Using the latter module (and demographic and nation-level variables), in particular, this paper aims to unfold how ASEAN citizens evaluate environmental problems and what underlies their evaluations.
Overview
Questions about environmental consciousness
What are ASEAN citizens thinking about the environmental problems of that region? To answer this query, the following three questions from the ASEAN Barometer will be used. The first question (Q39) is 'To what extent do you worry about the following global environmental issues?' From this question one can measure the extent of ASEAN citizens' concerns about some global environmental problems. In this paper, it is called Worry about environment. The second question (Q32) is 'Have you done any of the following environmental activities?' From this question one can measure the extent of ASEAN citizens' involvement in some public environmental activities. In this article, it is called Environmental activity in public. The third question (Q34) is 'How often have you done any of the following actions during the last 12 months?' From this question one can measure the level at which ASEAN citizens are prepared to commit themselves to environmental activities around them or the family. It is called Environmental activity in private. Out of the latter two questions, Environmental activity in public is the activities relating to the political and social arena, though Environmental activity in private is the activities citizens undertake personally and at home. But these two items are...