Bootleggers, Baptists, and the Global Warming Battle

Abstract

Our article addresses the Kyoto Protocol in light of Prof. Yandle's "bootleggers and Baptists" theory of regulation, a subset of the economic theory of regulation. The theory's name is meant to evoke 19th century laws banning alcohol sales on Sundays. Baptists supported Sunday closing laws for moral and religious reasons, while bootleggers were eager to stifle their legal competition. Thus, politicians were able to pose as acting in the interests of public morality, even while taking contributions from bootleggers. We argue that a similar phenomenon took place in the battle over the Kyoto Protocol, where the "Baptist" environmental groups provided moral support while "bootlegger" corporations and nations worked in the background to seek economic advantages over their rivals.

Keywords: Kyoto, economic theory of regulation, economics, regulation, environmental, Yandle, bootleggers and Baptists

JEL Classification: K00, K32, K33, L51, L50, Q25