Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/289567 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
ECONtribute Discussion Paper No. 281
Publisher: 
University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Reinhard Selten Institute (RSI), Bonn and Cologne
Abstract: 
Climate action requires significant public- and private sector investment to achieve meaningful reductions in carbon emissions. This paper documents that large-scale austerity, coupled with barriers to flows of data and a lack of (digital) skills in (local) government, may have been a significant barrier to delivering climate action in the form of retrofitting. Decomposing heterogeneity in estimated treatment effects of a large-scale energy efficiency savings program that was rolled out through a regression discontinuity design in the early 2010s, we find that both the extent of austerity - induced local budget cuts and poor digital connectivity - may be responsible for up to 30% fewer retrofit installations that counterfactually would have taken place had it not been for austerity.
Subjects: 
state capacity
austerity
skills
climate action
public economics
JEL: 
Q54
Q58
H76
C21
O33
R11
H54
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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