Strategic Behavior in IEAs: When and Why Countries Joined the Kyoto Protocol

Abstract

We empirically analyze the formation of international environmental agreements within a political economy framework. We develop a theoretical model of state dependent net benefits of ratification that predicts strategic behavior with respect to the timing of ratification and allows us to relate countries’ signing and ratification decisions. Analyzing the signature and ratification process of the Kyoto Protocol via generalized binary and ordered response models, we find significant evidence for our theoretical predictions. In addition, we show that a wide selection of determinants including economic and political factors influences the decision whether to sign and when to ratify.

Keywords: Climate Change, Generalized Response Models, International Environmental Agreements, Kyoto Protocol

JEL Classification: Q54, F53, C25