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Are autocracies bad for the environment? Global evidence from two centuries of data

Are autocracies bad for the environment? Global evidence from two centuries of data
Are autocracies bad for the environment? Global evidence from two centuries of data
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions is crucial for reducing the danger posed by climate change. There are factors for and against democracies in achieving these desired reductions. Using data from 150 countries, we estimate the marginal emission intensity (i.e., the change in per-capita carbon dioxide emissions for a unit change in per-capita income) across autocracies and democracies. We use regional waves of democratization and mean per-capita income of other countries in the region as instruments for democracy and per-capita income, respectively. Using these instruments, we obtain the causal estimate of the difference in marginal emission intensity and confirm that democracies have lower per-capita carbon dioxide emissions per unit increase in per-capita income compared to autocracies. Our results suggest that these benefits of democracies have occurred in recent decades, following the surge in public concerns about climate change and intergovernmental initiatives to reduce emissions. There is also evidence to suggest that strengthening rule enforcement and improving access to justice can be critical in decreasing carbon dioxide emissions.
0195-6574
Sinha, Apra
aa6edbe8-5152-43b3-bf9e-cb191daf7825
Kumar Sedai, Ashish
74cebc42-3673-4c61-966f-3145c05aca8b
Kumar, Abhishek
bf1591a0-5a8b-40ae-a3b3-6a4ef990564e
Nepal, Rabindra
c1040a6e-942e-4bb2-81d4-4a29ed44cfbd
Sinha, Apra
aa6edbe8-5152-43b3-bf9e-cb191daf7825
Kumar Sedai, Ashish
74cebc42-3673-4c61-966f-3145c05aca8b
Kumar, Abhishek
bf1591a0-5a8b-40ae-a3b3-6a4ef990564e
Nepal, Rabindra
c1040a6e-942e-4bb2-81d4-4a29ed44cfbd

Sinha, Apra, Kumar Sedai, Ashish, Kumar, Abhishek and Nepal, Rabindra (2023) Are autocracies bad for the environment? Global evidence from two centuries of data. The Energy Journal, 44 (2). (doi:10.5547/01956574.44.2.asin).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions is crucial for reducing the danger posed by climate change. There are factors for and against democracies in achieving these desired reductions. Using data from 150 countries, we estimate the marginal emission intensity (i.e., the change in per-capita carbon dioxide emissions for a unit change in per-capita income) across autocracies and democracies. We use regional waves of democratization and mean per-capita income of other countries in the region as instruments for democracy and per-capita income, respectively. Using these instruments, we obtain the causal estimate of the difference in marginal emission intensity and confirm that democracies have lower per-capita carbon dioxide emissions per unit increase in per-capita income compared to autocracies. Our results suggest that these benefits of democracies have occurred in recent decades, following the surge in public concerns about climate change and intergovernmental initiatives to reduce emissions. There is also evidence to suggest that strengthening rule enforcement and improving access to justice can be critical in decreasing carbon dioxide emissions.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 12 April 2021
Published date: 1 April 2023

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 475320
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/475320
ISSN: 0195-6574
PURE UUID: 3d660ad5-2fdd-4316-bd29-36da6ff50f19
ORCID for Abhishek Kumar: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2259-5506

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Date deposited: 15 Mar 2023 17:38
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:18

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Contributors

Author: Apra Sinha
Author: Ashish Kumar Sedai
Author: Abhishek Kumar ORCID iD
Author: Rabindra Nepal

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