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Do green parties affect local waste management policies?

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  • Cerqua, Augusto
  • Fiorino, Nadia
  • Galli, Emma

Abstract

We explore whether mayors supported by pro-environmental parties enhance local environmental outcomes compared to their non-environmental counterparts. We study close elections within a regression discontinuity design and find a notable rise in recycling rates in Italian municipalities governed by pro-environmental coalitions. This uptick becomes far less pronounced when adopting broader criteria to define green mayoral candidates. Crucially, the enhanced recycling rates are not realized through augmented budgets for environmental initiatives or waste collection, but rather are primarily attributed to the implementation of local policies, such as on-call waste collection and the establishment of waste collection centers.

Suggested Citation

  • Cerqua, Augusto & Fiorino, Nadia & Galli, Emma, 2024. "Do green parties affect local waste management policies?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:128:y:2024:i:c:s009506962400130x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2024.103056
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Politicians; Green parties; Partisan politics; Environmental policies; Political economy; Regression discontinuity design;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • Q2 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

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