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Performative State Capacity and Climate (In)Action

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  • Immanuel Feld
  • Thiemo Fetzer

Abstract

Climate action requires significant public- and private sector investment to achieve meaningful reductions in carbon emissions. This paper documents that large-scale austerity, coupled with barriers to flows of data and a lack of (digital) skills in (local) government, may have been a significant barrier to delivering climate action in the form of retrofitting. Decomposing heterogeneity in estimated treatment effects of a large-scale energy efficiency savings program that was rolled out through a regression discontinuity design in the early 2010s, we find that both the extent of austerity-induced local budget cuts and poor digital connectivity – may be responsible for up to 30% fewer retrofit installations that counterfactually would have taken place had it not been for austerity.

Suggested Citation

  • Immanuel Feld & Thiemo Fetzer, 2024. "Performative State Capacity and Climate (In)Action," CESifo Working Paper Series 10990, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10990
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    1. Carlo Aall & Kyrre Groven & Gard Lindseth, 2007. "The Scope of Action for Local Climate Policy: The Case of Norway," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 7(2), pages 83-101, May.
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    5. Thiemo Fetzer & Srinjoy Sen & Pedro C L Souza, 2023. "Housing Insecurity and Homelessness: Evidence from the United Kingdom," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 526-559.
    6. Thiemo Fetzer & Callum Shaw & Jacob Edenhofer, 2024. "Informational Boundaries of the State," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 282, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fetzer, Thiemo & Palmou, Christina & Schneebacher, Jakob, 2024. "How do firms cope with economic shocks in real time?," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 722, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    2. Thiemo Fetzer & Christina Palmou & Jakob Schneebacher, 2024. "How Do Firms Cope with Economic Shocks in Real Time?," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 337, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    3. Thiemo Fetzer & Christina Palmou & Jakob Schneebacher, 2024. "How Do Firms Cope with Economic Shocks in Real Time?," CESifo Working Paper Series 11367, CESifo.
    4. Fetzer, Thiemo & Palmou, Christina & Schneebacher, Jakob, 2024. "How do firms cope with economic shocks in real time?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1517, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    state capacity; austerity; skills; climate action; public economics;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures

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