Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP18204
Authors: Diego Comin; Johannes Rode
Abstract: We estimate the causal effect of the diffusion of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on the fraction of Green Party votes in federal and state elections in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Our estimates are based on instruments that induce exogenous variation in roof appropriateness to PV installation. We find that PV adoption had a strong positive effect on Green Party votes. The effect is connected to the direct engagement of households with the PV system and does not reflect reciprocity to economic gains from PV. Our estimates likely reveal changing attitudes towards environmentally friendly values after adopting PV produced by cognitive dissonance.
Keywords: voting; green technology; diffusion; PV systems
JEL Codes: O14; O33; Q48; Q58
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Adoption of solar photovoltaic systems (Q42) | Change in attitudes towards pro-environmental values (O44) |
| Change in attitudes towards pro-environmental values (O44) | Increase in the share of votes for the green party in Baden-Württemberg (Q01) |
| Adoption of solar photovoltaic systems (Q42) | Increase in the share of votes for the green party in Baden-Württemberg (Q01) |
| Roof appropriateness for PV installation (L74) | Adoption of solar photovoltaic systems (Q42) |