ABSTRACT
Rational choice theory is a framework for understanding social and economic behaviour. It can be applied in making policy or taking action for environmental justice. To either make policy or take action for environmental justice requires decisions, some of which are about what to believe, some about what to prefer, and some about what to say or do. Rational choice theory claims to describe these decisions and prescribe ways to improve the process of making them. Individual or group-level choices contribute to the creation of conditions of environmental justice, or not, every day. Some such choices involve the dumping of garbage, construction and demolition debris, toxic and hazardous materials, household appliances, and other waste products, which are often discarded at night to avoid the cost and inconvenience of proper waste disposal. One of the practical difficulties of relying upon rational choice as a theoretical basis for making decisions related to environmental justice stems from its predictions about individual-level behaviours.
