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Do collective actions clear common air? The effect of international environmental protocols on sulphur emissions

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  • Aakvik, Arild
  • Tjøtta, Sigve

Abstract

This paper considers the effects of voluntary international environmental protocols on emissions, in particular the effect of the 1985 Helsinki Protocol and the 1994 Oslo Protocol on the reduction of sulphur oxides. The analysis employs panel data from 30 European countries over the period between 1960 and 2002. We divide all countries into 'signatories' and 'controls', i.e., those that have signed and ratified a specific protocol and those that have not. Using a difference-in-difference panel data regression model, including yearly dummies and country-specific quadratic growth trajectories, we find no significant effect of either the Helsinki or the Oslo agreement in reducing sulphur emissions.

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  • Aakvik, Arild & Tjøtta, Sigve, 2011. "Do collective actions clear common air? The effect of international environmental protocols on sulphur emissions," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 343-351, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:27:y:2011:i:2:p:343-351
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    4. Marco Battaglini & Bård Harstad, 2020. "The Political Economy of Weak Treaties," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(2), pages 544-590.
    5. Rahel Aichele & Gabriel Felbermayr, 2013. "Estimating the Effects of Kyoto on Bilateral Trade Flows Using Matching Econometrics," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 303-330, March.
    6. Rahel Aichele & Gabriel Felbermayr, 2015. "Kyoto and Carbon Leakage: An Empirical Analysis of the Carbon Content of Bilateral Trade," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(1), pages 104-115, March.
    7. Rahel Aichele & Gabriel Felbermayr, 2013. "The Effect of the Kyoto Protocol on Carbon Emissions," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 731-757, September.
    8. Yoomi Kim & Katsuya Tanaka & Shunji Matsuoka, 2017. "Institutional Mechanisms and the Consequences of International Environmental Agreements," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 17(1), pages 77-98, February.
    9. Aichele, Rahel & Felbermayr, Gabriel, 2012. "Kyoto and the carbon footprint of nations," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 336-354.
    10. Rahel Aichele, 2013. "Trade, Climate Policy and Carbon Leakage - Theory and Empirical Evidence," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 49.
    11. Aurelie Slechten & Vincenzo Verardi, 2014. "Assessing the effectiveness of global air-pollution treaties on CO2 emissions," Working Papers 64981625, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    12. Yoomi Kim & Katsuya Tanaka & Shunji Matsuoka, 2020. "Environmental and economic effectiveness of the Kyoto Protocol," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-15, July.
    13. Aurélie Slechten & Vincenzo Verardi, 2016. "Measuring the Impact of Multiple Air Pollution Agreements on Global CO2 Emissions," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 92(3), pages 534-554.
    14. Rahel Aichele & Gabriel Felbermayr, 2011. "What a Difference Kyoto Made: Evidence from Instrumental Variables Estimation," ifo Working Paper Series 102, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International environmental agreements Program evaluation Panel data;

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • H49 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Other
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy

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