Hartwell, Christopher A. and Otrachshenko, Vladimir and Popova, Olga (2021) Waxing power, waning pollution: The effect of COVID-19 on Russian environmental policymaking. ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS, 184: 107003. ISSN 0921-8009, 1873-6106
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
Like most countries globally, COVID-19 continues to have a demonstrable health, economic, and environmental impact on Russia. The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible ramifications for environmental quality in Russia during and following the coronavirus pandemic. Our work builds on the framework of Elinor Ostrom, as we argue that the pandemic and subsequent lockdown in Russia has highlighted the need for a more polycentric, de-centralized approach to environmental protection. We provide evidence for this point using a novel econometric strategy: given the tight centralization of environmental policymaking, we proxy for de facto decentralization using the amount of influence a regional governor has at the federal level. Using timely data on pollution in major Russian cities both before and during the pandemic, we employ an instrumental variable analysis which shows that pollution in a particular Russian region is negatively related to the amount of influence a Russian governor has at the federal level. Thus, the more powerful a governor is in their ability to set their own course, the better results they have in environmental quality. We conclude that Russia?s environmental policy needs a fundamental rethink ? and extensive decentralization ? in a post-COVID-19 world.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | GOVERNANCE; STATE; REORGANIZATION; BUREAUCRACY; COMMONS; SOVIET; SUSTAINABILITY; POLYCENTRISM; FEDERALISM; FEDERATION; Coronavirus; Environmental policy; Russia; Decentralization; Property rights; Pollution; Elinor Ostrom |
| Subjects: | 300 Social sciences > 320 Political science 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics |
| Divisions: | Central Institutions > Wissenschaftszentrum Ost- und Südosteuropa Regensburg |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Sep 2022 13:11 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Sep 2022 13:12 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/47645 |
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