Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Agricultural and Resource Economics

Committee Chair

Levan Elbakidze

Committee Co-Chair

Xiaoli Etienne

Committee Member

Xiaoli Etienne

Committee Member

Alan Collins

Committee Member

Joshua Hall

Abstract

This dissertation empirically examines three issues related to renewable energy and international development: 1) The Political Economy of Solar Initiatives in the Sunshine State; 2) Climate Change, Natural disasters, and Institutional Integrity; and 3) Institutional Integrity and Carbon emissions.

In Chapter 2, I empirically examine the outcomes of two solar energy amendments that were on the ballot in Florida in 2016. One amendment exempts solar energy devices from ad valorem taxation of real estate property, effectively decreasing the cost of solar energy for those who adopt solar photovoltaic panels. The other amendment reaffirms the right of property owners to install or lease solar photovoltaic panels for their personal use but also allows for the possibility of discontinuing the net metering program. While the former is supportive of solar energy installation, the latter is not due to the negative implications for the net metering program. The results show that depending on the policy, per capita income, and pro-environmental ideology can be associated with voter support. Shares of county employment in construction, agriculture and forestry, retail, transportation, warehousing and utilities have adverse effects on the support of pro-solar policies.

Natural disasters can cause significant disruptions to socio-economic systems. In Chapter 3, I empirically investigate the effect of climate-induced natural disasters on the quality of institutions in 92 countries using data from 1984 to 2016. An instrumental variable approach is used to account for the reverse causality from the number of people affected by natural disasters to the quality of institutions. I then employ the Hausman Taylor three-step approach to account for the bias in estimating panels with endogenous variables. Estimation results reveal a negative impact of the occurrence of natural disasters on the quality of national institutions. Furthermore, disasters negatively affect the quality of institutions in low-income, non-developed countries, whereas the effect is non-significant for high-income, developed nations. At the regional level, institutions in East Asia, Pacific, and South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean tend to deteriorate after natural disasters. In contrast, in Middle East and North Africa, natural disasters lead to improved institutions. Of the 12 parameters of the institutional integrity index, metrics mostly affected by disasters include government stability, internal conflicts, law and order, ethnic fragmentation, democratic accountability. Thus, policy advice to countries on disaster preparedness should strongly depend on the political, social and cultural characteristics of those countries.

Institutions affect environmental quality through enabling economic growth, implementing and supporting environmental protection policies, and regulating industries. Finally in Chapter 4, I empirically examine the impact of institutions on carbon emissions. Using Generalized Methods of Moments estimation and an unbalanced panel of 120 countries from 1984 to 2016, I show that an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between the institutional integrity and carbon emissions. I also explore the heterogeneous effect of institutions on carbon emissions across income groups and regions.

Lastly, I examine the impact of disaggregated factors of institutional quality on per capita carbon emissions and carbon intensity of energy use. The results confirm the presence of the Environmental Kurzets Curve (EKC) in models with and without institutions. I find that in low- and lower-middle-income countries, per capita carbon emissions decrease when the quality of institutions improves. I also find that higher per capita GDP, a decrease in corruption, external conflicts, and more democratic accountability reduce the carbon intensity of energy use. On the other hand, a better investment profile in countries with greater GDP increases carbon intensity.

Embargo Reason

Publication Pending

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