@misc{Topal, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Topal, Azra Sakine}, title = {German Consumers' Attitudes Towards Carbon Taxation in the Automotive Sector}, school = {Hochschule f{\"u}r Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin}, pages = {107}, abstract = {Carbon taxes are considered as a cost-effective instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by impacting the consumption of individuals. Nevertheless, it seems as if these are not supported by the public. Since consumer attitudes are of importance due to their provision of valuable information, the thesis aims to understand these consumer attitudes in the automotive sector in case of Germany by testing its relationship to diverse factors acting as the independent variables: personal (car drivers/non-car drivers), distributional (household income level, residence and generation) and procedural impacts (political trust). This was done by collecting primary data through a quantitative survey (N=154, only consumers=109). Hereby, various statistical methods were applied in order to test these relationships. Two scenarios were illustrated to the sample. The first displayed the general carbon tax, whilst the second communicated the already implemented system in the country presenting similar effects to a tax. Thus, consumer attitudes, which were measured on the basis of the depending variables reflecting the degree in acceptability and acceptance of the respective systems, were compared on account of both economic tools. Overall, this study could show significant relationships in regard to personal and procedural impacts for both the general tax and German carbon pricing system. Conversely, the distributional effects displayed inconsistencies with the literature review. Even though it was assumed that a higher household income level as well as decreasing age would reflect more positive levels in supporting consumer attitudes, this study could not prove these associations. Additionally, the residence of consumers led to different results since a curvilinear relationship was in emphasis, which is different from a linear association. Furthermore, it needs to be stated that both systems resulted in similar deductions. The survey's findings implicate that there are three target groups for marketers in Germany to emphasise on in order to positively influence attitudes of consumers: first, individuals driving a car with a combustion engine; second, consumers residing further away from the city and third, automobile drivers with lower political trust.}, language = {en} }