Democracy, governance, and environmental policy effectiveness: a cross-country analysis with Sustainable Governance Indicators

Abstract

The effectiveness of environmental policies has been extensively studied, often focusing solely on environmental degradation indicators. However, successful environmental policies have broader societal impacts. This study addresses this limitation by utilizing the Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGIs) for a more comprehensive measurement of environmental policy effectiveness. Analyzing 41 countries with data from 2014-2021, a fixed-effects model was employed to assess the impact of democratic and good governance practices on environmental policy success. The findings reveal that democracy and government quality are crucial determinants of effective environmental policies, highlighting the need for improved institutional structures. The robustness of these results is confirmed using alternative democracy and governance indicators. Additionally, the study identifies education, urbanization, and population density as significant factors influencing environmental policy performance.