Do political systems have a lasting effect on climate change concern? Evidence from Germany after reunification

Abstract

Support for climate policy depends on the public’s perception of climate change costs. Assessing the determinants of climate change attitudes contributes to explaining cross-country differences in climate policy implementation. In this paper, I examine the influence of experience with a political system on individuals’ concern for the consequences of climate change. To address biases introduced by the endogeneity of the political system, I use the natural experiment created by the division and reunification of Germany. I find evidence suggesting that experience with the political system of East Germany has a lasting negative effect on climate change concern that is discernible more than 20 years after reunification. Results suggest that the influence of political institutions on climate change attitudes and policy adoption can persist long after they have been replaced.