Party affiliation, economic interests and U.S. governors’ renewable energy policies

Paolo Bonnet () and Alessandro Olper

Energy Economics, 2024, vol. 130, issue C

Abstract: This paper explores the impact of U.S. state governors’ party affiliation and economic interests on renewable energy outcomes. Using data on installed renewable capacity, we find that, on average, Democratic governors had a positive impact on the state-level adoption of renewable energy. However, the effect is highly heterogeneous. There are no differences in renewable energy outcomes between Democratic and Republican governors in states where the energy-intensive manufacturing industries are economically important or in states where the natural renewable endowment is scarce. Consistent with a political economy approach, we argue that in the area of renewable and climate policy, governors’ policy preferences are overridden by holding office motivations and economic interests.

Keywords: Renewable energy sources; Energy policy; Political parties; Economic interests; United States (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 Q42 Q48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:130:y:2024:i:c:s0140988323007570

DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2023.107259

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