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Democracy and climate change policies: Is history important?

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Listed author(s):
  • Fredriksson, Per G.
  • Neumayer, Eric

Abstract

This paper argues that it is countries' historical experience with democracy, the democratic capital stock, rather than current levels of democracy that determines current climate change policies. Empirical evidence using data starting as far back as year 1800 for 87 countries, which together are responsible for 93.7% of global carbon emissions, suggests that the democratic capital stock has an important and robust effect on climate change policies. A history of executive constraints is particularly important. The current level of democracy does not play a role once democratic capital has been accounted for.

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File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800913002590
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Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Ecological Economics.

Volume (Year): 95 (2013)
Issue (Month): C ()
Pages: 11-19

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Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:95:y:2013:i:c:p:11-19
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.08.002
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon

Keywords: International public goods; Climate change; Environmental policy; Democracy; Democratic capital; Executive constraints;

Find related papers by JEL classification:

  • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
  • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
  • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
  • H87 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - International Fiscal Issues; International Public Goods

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Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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Cited by:

  1. Garmann, Sebastian, 2014. "Do government ideology and fragmentation matter for reducing CO2-emissions? Empirical evidence from OECD countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 1-10.
  2. Beland, Louis-Philippe & Boucher, Vincent, 2015. "Polluting politics," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 176-181.
  3. Danny García Callejas, 2015. "Voting for the environment: the importance of Democracy and education in Latin America," REVISTA DE ECONOMÍA DEL CARIBE 014782, UNIVERSIDAD DEL NORTE.
  4. Hany Abdel-Latif & Tapas Mishra & Anita Staneva, 2015. "Arab Countries Between Winter and Spring: Where Democracy Shock Goes Next!," Working Papers 954, Economic Research Forum, revised Oct 2015.
  5. Csereklyei, Zsuzsanna & Stern, David I., 2015. "Global energy use: Decoupling or convergence?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 633-641.
  6. Per G. Fredriksson & Eric Neumayer, 2016. "Corruption and Climate Change Policies: Do the Bad Old Days Matter?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 63(2), pages 451-469, February.
  7. repec:spr:envpol:v:19:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10018-016-0162-5 is not listed on IDEAS
  8. Astghik Mavisakalyan & Yashar Tarverdi & Clas Weber, 2017. "Talking in the Present, caring for the Future: Language and Environment," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1703, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
  9. James B. ANG & Per G. Fredriksson, 2016. "Statehood Experience, Legal Traditions and Climate Change Policies," Economic Growth Centre Working Paper Series 1610, Nanyang Technological University, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Economic Growth Centre.
  10. Joungseok Park, 2016. "How Democracy Matters: Evidence of Electoral Incentives for Environmental Policy," Working Papers 16-20, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.
  11. Per Fredriksson & Jim Wollscheid, 2015. "Legal Origins and Climate Change Policies in Former Colonies," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 62(2), pages 309-327, October.
  12. Joungseok Park, 2016. "Rational Skeptics: On the Strategic Communication of Scientific Data," Working Papers 16-19, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.

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