Replication Data for: How relevant is NIMBY opposition to citizens' support for the large-scale deployment of public goods? Experimental evidence from 5G antenna placement in Switzerland

Supplying society-wide public goods often depends on site-specific provision. Yet, (perceived) localized provision costs may at times outweigh localized individual benefits and thus lead to \"not-in-my-backyard\" (NIMBY-)opposition (e.g., when trying to set up energy, transportation, social, or, in our case, communication infrastructure). Accurate estimation of the level of NIMBY-opposition per se is analytically challenging because general attitudes towards provision and NIMBY-motivated opposition are intertwined but need to be distinguished and because site selection can be endogenous to local support/opposition. We conducted an experiment that addresses these challenges, focusing on public attitudes toward 5G antenna placement in Switzerland. Using original data for a population-representative sample of Swiss residents (N=5,035), we observe a population split on the question of 5G network expansion. We survey-experimentally revealed actual 5G antenna locations around respondent homes to a sample largely unaware of these locations beforehand. This information increased individuals’ worry over proximity to antenna sites and reduced support for 5G rollout, with such effects becoming stronger with closer proximity. Differentiating respondents with ex-ante higher perceived costs/lower perceived benefits and lower costs/higher benefits from provision, the former are more opposed to 5G rollout, regardless of distance. In contrast, the latter exhibit particularly pronounced NIMBY attitudes. This allows for unexpected political coalitions that, in our case, could affect majority support. In additional experiments, we show that NIMBY attitudes translate into a higher willingness to pay for opposition in close proximity to new provision sites -- but this could potentially be mitigated by scenarios where citizens decide under a veil of ignorance.全社会层面的公共品供给，往往依赖于特定选址的落地实施。然而，（感知到的）本地供给成本有时可能超过本地个体收益，进而引发‘邻避效应（not-in-my-backyard, NIMBY）’式反对——例如在推进能源、交通、社会民生，或是本研究聚焦的通信基础设施建设时。准确估算邻避反对程度本身就存在分析层面的挑战：一方面，公众对基础设施供给的一般态度与邻避动机的反对态度相互交织，却又需要加以区分；另一方面，选址决策可能内生性地受本地支持或反对态度的影响。本研究针对瑞士公众对5G基站选址的态度展开实验，以应对上述分析难题。我们使用针对瑞士居民的人口代表性样本（N=5035）的原始数据，发现公众在5G网络扩容议题上存在明显的态度分化。我们通过调查实验，向事先大多并不知晓自家周边真实5G基站位置的受访样本披露了这些实际选址信息。该信息提升了受访者对基站邻近位置的担忧程度，同时降低了其对5G网络部署的支持度，且邻近程度越高，此类影响越强。我们将受访者按事前感知的供给成本与收益分为两组：事前感知成本更高、收益更低的一组，无论距离远近，其对5G部署的反对态度都更为强烈；而事前感知成本更低、收益更高的一组，则表现出尤为显著的邻避态度。这种分化可能催生意料之外的政治联盟，在本研究场景中，这将影响多数派的支持倾向。在补充实验中，我们发现邻避态度会转化为民众为反对邻近新建基础设施而愿意支付的更高成本——但在公民以‘无知之幕’为前提进行决策的场景中，此类影响或可得到缓解。