Working Paper: NBER ID: w18385
Authors: Timothy Simcoe; Michael W. Toffel
Abstract: We measure the impact of municipal policies requiring governments to construct green buildings on private-sector adoption of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard. Using matching methods, panel data, and instrumental variables, we find that government procurement rules produce spillover effects that stimulate both private-sector adoption of the LEED standard and supplier investments in green building expertise. Our findings suggest that government procurement policies can accelerate the diffusion of new environmental standards that require coordinated complementary investments by various types of private adopter.
Keywords: green buildings; public procurement; LEED; private sector adoption
JEL Codes: L15; O33; Q55; Q58
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| LEED-accredited professionals (J44) | LEED adoption (Q52) |
| municipal green building procurement policies (L78) | neighboring cities' LEED adoption (R23) |
| government procurement policies (H57) | development of specialized input markets (D40) |
| municipal green building procurement policies (L78) | LEED-accredited professionals (J44) |
| municipal green building procurement policies (L78) | LEED adoption (Q52) |