Iuliia Myroshnychenko

This study aims to examine how different types of pro-environmental video content (featuring humans versus AI-generated characters) influence household waste sorting attitudes and behaviors among Ukrainian residents. The research was conducted in two stages using a mixed-method approach. In the first stage, 102 individuals aged 18–45 watched two videos on waste sorting and completed an online questionnaire. Cluster and variance analyses were performed using Statistica software. In the second stage, 35 participants underwent a laboratory-based emotion analysis using iMotions software, heart rate monitors, and galvanic skin response sensors at the Behavioral Lab of Sumy State University (Ukraine) from May to July 2024. The results revealed that videos featuring real people were more effective in generating interest (average rating: 3.5 vs. 3.2) and emotional engagement, particularly joy and contempt, which were the most frequently expressed emotions. Cluster analysis identified four distinct respondent groups. Cluster 1 (39.2%) – primarily young women – responded positively to human-led videos but showed limited behavioral change. Cluster 2 (19.6%) – women aged 26–35 – reacted positively to both videos and were most willing to adopt waste sorting behavior. Cluster 3 (23.5%) – primarily men – showed moderate engagement and sorted waste occasionally. Cluster 4 (17.6%) – highly educated women – exhibited the least positive responses and were least likely to change their behavior. The emotion analysis confirmed that videos featuring real people elicited stronger emotional responses across all categories, whereas AI-generated videos prompted higher levels of anger but generally weaker engagement.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the Behavioral Laboratory at Sumy State University for providing the essential facilities and resources that enabled the successful completion of this research. Additionally, sincere appreciation is extended to all study participants for their valuable time, commitment, and contributions, which significantly enriched our understanding of consumer behavior related to waste management and the perception of advertising content.
The research is supported by the International Visegrad Fund: Visegrad Fellowship Program. Project № 62410031, “Marketing research consumer behaviour in the waste management system”, and by the budget of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (research topic 0123U100112 “Post-war recovery of the energy industry of Ukraine: Optimization of waste management taking into account the health of the population, environmental, investment, tax determinants”.

As the global community intensifies efforts to transition toward sustainable energy systems, the role of institutional and fiscal arrangements in fostering renewable energy has gained increasing attention. This study aims to assess whether fiscal decentralization contributes to the expansion of renewable electricity generation in OECD countries by analyzing panel data and identifying the direction and significance of this relationship. Utilizing a panel dataset of 34 countries spanning 2000–2023, the analysis employs a fixed-effects regression model with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors. It includes a one-year lag of fiscal variables to ensure robustness. The findings reveal a statistically significant but modest negative relationship between the share of subnational revenues in GDP and the share of renewables in electricity generation, suggesting that greater fiscal decentralization may not automatically incentivize renewable energy adoption. More specifically, the fixed-effects model corrected for heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation indicates that the coefficient for lagged subnational revenue (as a percentage of GDP) is negative and marginally significant (p ≈ 0.057), hinting at a potential delayed inhibitory effect. Additionally, country-level fixed effects demonstrate substantial heterogeneity, with nations like Iceland, Norway, and Canada showing systematically higher renewable electricity shares, regardless of fiscal structure. These results underscore the importance of complementary institutional frameworks and national coordination mechanisms to ensure that decentralization effectively supports climate policy goals.

Acknowledgment
This study was carried out within the framework of a research grant awarded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant no. IZURZ1_224119/1) and funded by the European Union grant “NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia” (No. 09I03-03-V01-00130) and project VEGA – 1/0392/23 “Changes in the approach to the creation of companies’ distribution management concepts influenced by the effects of social and economic crises caused by the global pandemic and increased security risks”.