Per Fredriksson

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• PhD
• Professor at University of Louisville

This paper studies the effect of legal origins (common law vs. civil law) on contemporary slum formation in developing countries. First, we provide a cross‐country correlation analysis. Second, a regression discontinuity analysis using household data from Cameroon. The results suggest that a common law heritage is associated with a lower probabilit...

What factors determined the timing and duration of West European colonization? These colonization decisions have had profound economic, institutional, and social effects. Colonization is the process of creating a new and lasting political organization through invasion, conquest, and/or settlement, with a remote mother country that claims exclusive...

The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with short-term air quality improvements in many countries around the world. We study whether the degree of democracy and political institutions played a role. We provide novel empirical evidence from 119 countries. A given stringency of COVID-19 containment and closure policies had a stronger effect on air qual...

The effects of the individualism vs. collectivism cultural dichotomy on economic outcomes have been widely recognized in the literature. We propose and test the hypothesis that individuals and populations located in areas exposed long-term to more ultraviolet radiation (UV-R; sunlight) exhibit a greater degree of collectivism. We provide individual...

National climate change policies vary considerably across countries. This study explores how a country's adoption of climate change policies is influenced by its population's level of religiosity. We update and extend an existing cross-country index of climate change policy stringency. The cross-country analysis suggests that countries with populat...

This study explains the differences in technology adoption as a result of both culture and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection. We use data for 83 countries and 24 technologies for the time period 1980 to 2000. An individualistic culture, a strong IPR protection regime, and their joint effect are positively associated with technology adop...

This paper first hypothesizes that countries that have accumulated more statehood experience over the last two millennia tend to have more stringent climate change policies. A second hypothesis is that there are also indirect effects via the rule of law, democracy, corruption, political instability, regulatory quality, and government effectiveness....

A speedy response made a significant difference to the number of infections and deaths due to COVID-19. Did legal philosophies matter for policy responses? We find that when 100 cases had been diagnosed (and 7–14 days thereafter), common law countries had implemented weaker measures than civil law countries. However, no significant difference is fo...

Does environmental enforcement actions, including states’ strategic responses to neighbors’ policy choices, depend on governor party affiliation? Do governors of different parties use environmental policy instruments differently? Our paper addresses these questions. Accounting for endogeneity and omitted variable biases, we find that Democratic gov...

Why do 20% of Swedes report having adopted a clean energy system while the corresponding share of Spaniards equals 0.4%? Using data for about 25,000 individuals across 33 countries, this study tests which cultural trait, individualism or collectivism, is associated with greater levels of clean technology adoption. Our fractional probit estimates su...

A debate is brewing in the literature on whether legacies of rice and wheat cultivation in China matters for cultural attributes, in particular individualism vs. collectivism. In turn, this important cultural dimension has recently been shown to affect the pattern of innovation across countries. However, the previous literature has not firmly conne...

We investigate the implication of a civil law legal heritage versus common law heritage for environmental policy outcomes. We utilize several estimators that address selection issues. Common law countries set weaker climate change policies than do civil law countries.

This study shows that the level of trust matters for how corruption affects public policy outcomes in the long-run, in particular the stringency of environmental policies. We argue that the level of trust affects the relative strength of industry- and environmental lobby groups, and therefore the effect of corruption on the stringency of environmen...

This study establishes a positive and robust association between the present-day country-level male-to-female sex ratio (at birth, 0–4, 0–14 year olds) and the pre-colonial experience with sedentary agricultural activities (the Neolithic Revolution). In comparison, historical plough use has a less robust impact on the sex ratio at birth, but a posi...

Higher exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV‐R) is associated with greater prevalence of eye disease such as cataracts. We hypothesize that the variation in the intensity of UV‐R can help explain the differences in institutional quality observed across countries. The long‐term incentive and ability to improve the quality of institutions decline whe...

A country's cumulative experience with statehood influences its ability to consolidate power and create a capable bureaucracy. Longer statehood experience gives countries more time to adapt their laws to local needs, provided the legal system is adaptable. We find that, relative to British common law countries with the most flexible laws, German an...

According to cross-cultural psychologists, cross-country differences in individualism vs. collectivism constitute an important dimension of cultural variation. Legal-economic theorists argue that legal philosophies such as common law and civil law have developed differently over centuries and have persistent effects. In this paper, we argue that th...

Several recent contributions to the literature have suggested that the strength of family ties is related to various economic and social outcomes. For example, Alesina and Giuliano (2014) highlight that the strength of family ties is strongly correlated with lower GDP and lower quality of institutions. However, the forces shaping family ties remain...

This study investigates how the implementation of modern climate change policies is related to former colonies' length of state history and their legal heritage. We argue that countries with longer statehood experience around the time of colonization were better equipped to implement the legal philosophies transplanted by their colonial powers. The...

This chapter discusses the theoretical and empirical literature analyzing the effects of democracy and political institutions on environmental policy and quality. Current research indicates that the effect of democracy on the environment is not unambiguous. Within democracies, environmental quality and policy outcomes are affected by the existence...

Does the effect of fuel taxes on clean innovations (e.g. hybrid technology) depend on the legal system’s rigidity? Using 1986–2005 data from more than 1900 firms, evidence suggests that auto-industry firms located in civil law (with more rigid laws) countries increase clean technology patenting more than common law (with more flexible laws) firms w...

This chapter discusses the theoretical and empirical literature analyzing the effects of democracy and political institutions on environmental policy and quality. Current research indicates that the effect of democracy on the environment is not unambiguous. Within democracies, environmental quality and policy outcomes are affected by the existence...

In this paper, we investigate how former colonies’ legal origins affect environmental policy outcomes. In particular, does it matter for climate change policies whether a country has French civil law or British common law legal heritage? In a cross section of up to 109 countries, we find that civil law countries tend to have stricter climate change...

The literature on trade liberalization and environment has not yet considered federal structures. In this paper, we show how the design of environmental policy in a federal system has implications for the effects of trade reform. Trade liberalization leads to a decline in pollution taxes, regardless of whether pollution taxes are set at the federal...

We study the effect of countries’ historical legacy with corruption on recent climate change policies and on global cooperation. Current policy outcomes build on policy choices made in previous years, and these choices were likely affected by the degree of corruption at the time. Our empirical findings using data for up to 131 countries suggest tha...

Does the level of political centralization affect the outcome of environmental decentralization? Using a cross section of up to 110 countries and a propensity score estimation approach, we find that political centralization as measured by the strength of national level political parties tends to improve the result of the decentralization of environ...

High party discipline and high party strength induce legislators to stay committed to the party's promised policies after their election. This is because party leaders are able to punish deviations and reward behavior that is in the party's interest. Higher political stability induces party leaders to take a longer-term perspective. We investigate...

In this article, we evaluate the role of elections in governors' state tax policy making. Does it matter for state taxes whether the governor is a Democrat or Republican and whether she is eligible for re-election or faces a binding term limit? Using a Regression Discontinuity Design and a panel of U.S. states, we find that the manner in which gove...

This paper argues that it is countries’ historical experience with democracy, the democratic capital stock, rather than current levels of democracy that determines current climate change policies. Empirical evidence using data starting as far back as year 1800 for 87 countries, which together are responsible for 93.7 per cent of global carbon emiss...

This study shows that the level of trust matters for how corruption affects public policy outcomes in the long run, in particular with regard to the stringency of environmental policies. We argue that the level of trust affects the relative strength of industry and environmental lobby groups, and therefore the effects of corruption. We construct a...

This article discusses the theoretical and empirical literature analyzing the effects of democracy and political institutions on environmental policy and quality. Current research indicates that the effect of democracy on the environment is not unambiguous. Within democracies, the existence of specific political institutions plays a pivotal role, i...

Using LCV score data, we find that female legislators favor stricter environmental policies than do their male counterparts. Moreover, gender-corrected estimates suggest that voters do not push environmental policy towards the middle, but rather select the ideologically closest candidate.

Are elected politicians primarily motivated by holding office, thus choosing environmental policies accordingly? Or are they motivated by the chance to implement their preferred environmental policies? Do governors have character, in the sense that they promise and implement environmental policies consistent with their own preferences? To answer th...

Abstract We provide a theory of trade policy determination that incorporates the protectionist bias inherent in majoritarian systems, suggested by Grossman and Helpman (2005). The prediction that emerges is that in majoritarian systems, the majority party favours industries located disproportionately in majority districts. We test this prediction u...

Abstract We provide a theory of trade policy determination that incorporates the protectionist bias inherent in majoritarian systems, suggested by Grossman and Helpman (2005). The prediction that emerges is that in majoritarian systems, the majority party favours industries located disproportionately in majority districts. We test this prediction u...

This survey encompasses multiple areas. The theoretical literature on environmental federalism continues to expand in areas such as capital competition and political economy. On the empirical side, emphasis is put on the existence of strategic interaction among states, the effects of President Reagan's decentralization of environmental policy, and...

Abstract We adopt the view that greater party discipline induces legislators to commit to promised policies after being elected. We then develop the hypothesis that the effect of party discipline on the stringency of environmental policy is conditional on the degree of government corruption. Our empirical work suggests that greater party discipline...

This paper sheds new light on the determination of environmental tax policies in majoritarian federal electoral systems, such as the U.S., and derives implications for the environmental federalism debate on whether the national or local government should have authority over environmental taxes. In the absence of majority bias, the socially preferre...

In this paper, we evaluate the role of elections for governors' tax policy making. Do voters affect state tax policies by pushing politicians to set middle-of-the-road policies (yielding policy convergence), or do voters pick the politician who announces the most preferred policies (yielding policy divergence)? We show that political behavior diffe...

We investigate whether the effect of government corruption is conditional on a country’s institutional structure. Federal systems have an additional layer of government, making lobbying relatively more costly. We investigate whether the effect of government corruption on environmental policy (in the form of restrictions on energy use) is conditiona...

A multiple-principal, multiple-agent lobby group model suggests that the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on environmental policies is conditional on the structure of host countries' political institutions such as the number of legislative units (veto players). The model also yields the novel concept of "aggregate honesty" which combines v...

I study a budget-constrained, private-valuation, sealed-bid sequential auction with two incompletely-informed, risk-neutral bidders in which the valuations and income may be non-monotonic functions of a bidder's type. Multiple equilibrium symmetric bidding functions may exist that differ in allocation, efficiency and revenue. The sequence of sale a...

We provide a theory of trade policy determination that incorporates the protectionist bias inherent in majoritarian systems, suggested by Grossman and Helpman (2005). The prediction that emerges is that in majoritarian systems, the majority party favors industries located disproportionately in majority districts. We test this prediction using U.S....

This paper examines the effect of state level corruption on state beer taxes in the United States. Our lobby group model predicts that corruption reduces the beer tax, but this effect is conditional on the level of alcohol-related vehicle deaths. Using a panel of state level data from 1982 to 2001, we find that increased corruption is associated wi...

This paper investigates whether reputation building strategies guide U.S. governors' responses to changes in federal cigarette taxes. If state governors facing a binding term limit (lame ducks) exhibit a different response than other governors, then reputational concerns affect their behavior according to Besley and Case (1995). Using 1975-2000 dat...

This paper seeks to explain the implications of corruption and political instability for firm investment in abatement technology. In our theoretical set-up, a firm has an incentive to under-invest in abatement technology in order to gain a political advantage. The prediction that emerges is that greater corruptibility increases the level of abateme...

In federal systems, where tax bases are joint property, the tax policy of one level of government affects the tax base of the other. This paper examines the interdependence of US federal and state cigarette tax rates. Our results suggest that states may reduce their cigarette tax rate by as much as 48 cents per dollar increase in the federal tax ra...

The empirical trade policy literature based on by Grossman and Helpman [Grossman, G. and E. Helpman, 1994, Protection for Sale, American Economic Review 84, 833-850.] provides estimates of the U.S. and Turkish governments′ weight on welfare significantly greater than on campaign contributions. We explain this puzzle by incorporating political insti...

The role of political institutions in shaping public policy has been analyzed in isolation from corruption, and legislative organization (specifically, bicameralism) has received minimal attention. We analyze pollution taxation when decisions are influenced by several veto players, such as legislative chambers. Our theory predicts that an increase...

The literature suggests that democracy positively affects environmental policy stringency. Using the method of propensity score matching, we find that this result appears to be largely driven by the parliamentary democracies (as opposed to the presidential-congressional, proportional or majority systems). Moreover, it appears that presidential-cong...

Does environmental lobbying affect the probability of environmental treaty ratification? Does the level of government corruption play a role for the success of such lobbying? In this paper, we propose that a more corruptible government may be more responsive to the demands of the environmental lobby. We use several stratified hazard models and pane...

This paper provides new empirical evidence to the debate on the optimal locus of power over environmental policymaking in developing countries. The authors develop a simple lobby group model with mobile capital. The model predicts that a decentralized institutional structure leads to weaker environmental policy due to more intensive lobbying by cap...

We suggest a novel perspective on the relationship between the stringency of environmental policies and foreign direct investment (FDI). We develop a political economy model with imperfect product market competition where local and foreign firms jointly lobby the local government for a favorable pollution tax. FDI is found to affect environmental p...

This paper investigates how domestic political institutions and interest group pressures jointly determine the probability that a country ratifies an international environmental agreement. We build a model of government decision-making where multiple gove rnment units (such as the president, the prime minister, the legislative chambers in parliamen...

We suggest a new perspective on firms' ability to organize collective action. We argue that industries that face a greater number of regulations have an easier time forming a lobby group and sustaining joint lobbying efforts. In particular, firms in industries that are pollution intensive, and therefore incur abatement costs, face an extra policy i...

This paper makes two empirical contributions to the literature, based on predictions generated by a lobby group model. First, we investigate how environmental lobby groups affect the determination of environmental policy in rich and developing countries. Second, we explore the interaction between democratic participation and political (electoral) c...

We suggest a new perspective on firms' ability to organize collective action. We argue that industries that face a greater number of regulations have an easier time forming a lobby group and sustaining joint lobbying efforts. In particular, firms in industries that are pollution intensive, and therefore incur abatement costs, face an extra policy i...

We study the effects on the equilibrium tax of refunding firms' pollution tax payments. Can lobbying yield stricter environmental policy? Do imperfect property rights affect policy? Clean firms may favor higher pollution levies, but insecure property rights reduce this incentive.

This paper investigates the effect of electoral rules on environmental policymaking. Using several estimators from the program evaluation literature, we find that governments set stricter environmental policies under proportional, as opposed to majoritarian, systems.

This study uses a three-stage common agency model to explore the linkages between trade policy, corruption and environmental policy in an imperfect market setting. We show that the effect of trade liberalization on the stringency of environmental policy depends critically on the level of corruption-in relatively corrupt countries, trade openness le...

In this paper, we take a step towards understanding the role of democratic institutions on the level of pollution taxation. Persson et al. (J. Polit. Economy 108 (2000) 1121) argue that presidential–congressional regimes set lower taxes than parliamentary regimes. This conclusion results from the checks and balances built into the former, and the h...

We investigate the effect of corruption and industry sector size on energy policy outcomes. The main predictions of our theory are that: (i) greater corruptibility of policy makers reduces energy policy stringency; (ii) greater lobby group coordination costs (increased industry sector size) results in more stringent energy policy; and (iii) workers...

This paper contributes to the unresolved issue regarding the effect of economic integration on environmental policymaking. In particular, we discuss the joint impact of trade openness and political stability on environmental policymaking. Our theory predicts that the effect of trade integration on environmental policy is conditional on the degree o...

This paper provides a novel explanation forthe formation of protectionist lobby groupsin imperfectly competitive sectors. Thelevel of collusion is shown to be a crucialdeterminant of the ability of firms tosustain lobbying. We show that greatercollusion reduces firm contributionsto tariff lobbying, when the governmentvalues welfare sufficiently and...

This paper examines the reasons whycorruption and policy distortions tend toexhibit a high degree of persistence incertain regimes. We identify circumstancesunder which a firm seeks to evaderegulations through (i) bribery of localinspectors, and (ii) by lobbying high-levelgovernment politicians to resist legalreforms designed to improve judicialeff...

This chapter explores the impact of openness to trade, and the size of trade flows, on the determination of environmental regulations. Some authors argue that as a result of global trade liberalization countries are likely to relax domestic environmental policy standards in order to increase (or maintain) “competitiveness” (see Esty, 1994; Dua and...

This paper develops a theory of environmental policy formation, taking into consideration the degree of corruptibility and political turbulence. The predictions that emerge are that the interaction between the two variables is important. Political instability has a negative effect on the stringency of environmental regulations if the level of corru...

This paper explores the effects of trade liberalization on environmental policy outcomes when collective action is endogenous. The polluting industry’s ability to undertake lobbying is shown to depend on the degree of competition in the product market, establishing a new link between trade and environmental policies. If trade liberalization causes...

This study examines the effects of air quality regulation on economic activity. Anecdotal evidence and some recent empirical studies suggest that an inverse relationship exists between the stringency of environmental regulations and new plant formations. Using a unique county-level data set for New York State from 1980 to 1990, we revisit this conj...

Previous studies have proposed that equilibrium capital flows are affected by environmental regulations—the commonly coined ‘pollution haven’ hypothesis. We revisit this issue by treating environmental policies as endogenous and allowing governmental corruption to influence foreign direct investment patterns. Via these two simple extensions, we are...

A large literature explores strategic interaction in single instruments such as environmental or tax policy, with recent empirical studies documenting the existence of horizontal strategic interaction amongst governments. These studies rely on estimating reaction functions in a uni-dimensional policy framework, where a nonzero slope estimate sugges...

This paper can be downloaded without charge at: The Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Note di Lavoro Series Index: http://www. feem. it/web/acfiv/ activ.html Social Science Research Network Electronic Paper Collection: http://papers. ssm.com/abstract id=XXXXXX The opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the position of Strategic Poli...

Empirical evidence suggesting that a considerable amount of horizontal strategic interaction exists amongst governments is important in light of recent devolutionary trends of many important public programs. The empirical approach in these studies typically relies on estimating reaction functions in a uni-dimensional policy framework, where a nonze...

We develop and test a theory of the rule of law and environmental policy formation. In our model an increase in the degree of rule of law has two opposing partial effects on environmental policy: first, a greater share of policy decisions are implemented according to law; second, industry bribery efforts increase because more is at stake. Moreover,...

This paper develops a theory of compensation of producers for the costs associated with environmental regulations. We show that the existence of transfers can give counter-intuitive effects of environmental policy on both output and trade flows. In particular, the compensation obtained by producers neutralizes the effect of environmental policy on...

We develop and test a theory of the rule of law and environmental policy formation. In our model an increase in the degree of rule of law has two opposing partial effects on environmental policy: first, a greater share of policy decisions are implemented according to law; second, industry bribery efforts increase because more is at stake. Moreover,...

What determines state environmental policymaking in the US? Vogel (Trading Up: Consumer and Environmental Regulation in a Global Economy, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1995; J. Eur. Pub. Pol. 4 (1997) 556–571) argues that California has been a de facto leader since the early 1970s in terms of automobile emissions standards. In this paper...

We examine whether U.S. states are engaged in strategic environmental policymaking. In particular, do states incorporate the stringency of environmental policies in neighboring states into their own decision calculus? Our analysis suggests that states are influenced by their neighbors—both contiguous and regional neighbors—and the effect operates w...

This paper seeks to contribute to the unresolved issue of the effect of economic integration on environmental policy. In particular, we discuss the joint impact of trade openness and political uncertainty. Our theory predicts that the effect of trade integreation on the environment is conditional on the degree of political uncertainty. Trade integr...

This paper develops a positive theory of pollution taxation by a federal authority when pollution abatement subsidies are used by local governments. Environmental and industry lobby groups influence governments with campaign contributions. First, pollution may increase in the pollution tax because the abatement subsidy increases (decreases) with th...

This study explores the linkages between trade policy, corruption, and environmental policy. We begin by presenting a theoretical model that produces several testable predictions, including: (i) the effect of trade liberalization on the stringency of environmental policy depends on the level of corruption; and (ii) corruption reduces environmental...

We address the question whether NAFTA altered the nature of strategic environmental policymaking across US states. Specifically, we extend previous research -that has documented a race to the top between US states in environmental policymaking -by examining interstate environmental relationships in the time leading up to and beyond the ratification...

The authors use a proportional hazards framework to investigate the impact of various country characteristics on the duration of time taken to ratify the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC). The most significant findings are that the conditional probability of ratification is positively related to total CO2 emissions and th...

The Importance of Trade for the Ratification of the 1992 Climate Change Convention Per G. Fredriksson and Noel Gaston The focus in this paper is the issue of "political drag" in environmental policy making. Do countries delay the ratification of international environmental agreements and the associated abatement efforts, for international "competit...