Working Paper: NBER ID: w31324
Authors: Diego A. 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: solar photovoltaic; green party; voting behavior; Germany; cognitive dissonance
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 PV systems (Q48) | fraction of votes received by the green party (D79) |
| exogenous variation in PV adoption (O39) | fraction of votes received by the green party (D79) |
| adoption of PV systems (Q48) | change in attitudes towards environmentally friendly values (F64) |
| change in attitudes towards environmentally friendly values (F64) | political support for green values (Q28) |
| household engagement with PV systems (D10) | political support for green values (Q28) |