Raufhon Salahodjaev

“Climate Change Policies: The Role of Democracy and Social Cognitive Capital”

Abstract The impact of democracy on governments’ choice of environmental policies has attracted significant academic attention in recent years. However, less attention has been devoted to the role of the social cognitive capital of the national population. Does societys cognitive capital matter in governmental choice regarding environmental policies, if at all? This study addresses this question through a large‐N analysis of 94 countries accounting for the role of both political regimes and social capital in governmental choice of climate change policies. We find that higher social cognitive capital within a democratic state radically increases that states commitment to adopt environmental policies. More specifically, a 1‐point increase in the democracy index is associated with nearly 5 points increase in the adoption of the Climate Laws, Institutions and Measures Index (CLIMI). In a similar vein, a 10 points increase in social cognitive capital is associated with a nearly 16 points increase in CLIMI. The findings presented in this study aim to contribute to the ongoing debate on the impact of democracy and the cognitive capital of society on international environmentalism. The findings will also be interesting for scholars working on the impact of political institutional factors and the role of society in environmental policy choices made at the international level. HighlightsThis article investigates the impact of democracy on climate change.It investigates the impact of social cognitive capital on CLIMI.The analysis builds on the data from 94 states.This paper finds that both democracy and social cognitive capital are significant.

Are greenhouse gas emissions and cognitive skills related? Cross-country evidence

Abstract Are greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and cognitive skills (CS) related? We attempt to answer this question by exploring this relationship, using cross‐country data for 150 countries, for the period 1997–2012. After controlling for the level of economic development, quality of political regimes, population size and a number of other controls, we document that CS robustly predict GHG. In particular, when CS at a national level increase by one standard deviation, the average annual rate of air pollution changes by nearly 1.7% (slightly less than one half of a standard deviation). This significance holds for a number of robustness checks. HighlightsThis study explores the link between cognitive skills at a national level and air pollution.This study finds that cognitive skills are inversely related to air pollution.The results hold for a number of robustness tests.

Is there a link between cognitive abilities and environmental awareness? Cross-national evidence

ABSTRACT This article explores the effect of cognitive abilities on environmental awareness using data from 119 countries for the period 2005–2015. Our findings provide pioneering confirmation that a facet of human psychology, namely cognitive ability, is positively associated with environmentalism. The empirical estimations indicate that when cognitive abilities increase by one standard deviation, climate change awareness increases by approximately 19% (slightly less than one standard deviation). This positive association remains intact when we control for other determinants of environmentalism. HighlightsThis paper explores the link between human psychology and climate change awareness.This study finds that cognitive abilities are robust predictors of climate change awareness.We use cross‐country data in our study.Our results are robust to a range of robustness tests.