Send us your feedback

Thank you for your feedback. An email has been sent to the ESRC support team.

An error occured whilst sending your feedback. Please review the problems below.

Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy

Grant reference: RES-599-28-0001

Working paper details

Title Clean or 'dirty' energy : evidence on a renewable energy resource curse

Description The aim of this paper is to provide an assessment of the potential for resource curse in the renewable energy sector. Taking a political economy approach, we analyze the link between public support schemes for renewable energy and the potential scope for rent seeking and corruption. The insights of a model of political influence by interest groups are tested empirically using a panel data of Italian provinces for the period 1990-2007. We find evidence that a curse exists in the case of wind energy, and specifically that: i) criminal association activity increased more in high-wind provinces and especially after the introduction of a more favourable public policy regime and, ii) the expansion of the wind energy sector has been driven by both the wind level and the quality of political institutions, through their effect on criminal association. The analysis points out that in the presence of poor institutions, efficient market-based policies can have an adverse impact. This has important normative implications especially for countries that are characterized by abundant renewable resources and weak institutions, and are thus more susceptible to the private exploitation of public incentives.

URL http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/femfemwpa/2011.63.htm

Language English

Primary contributor

Author Caterina Gennaioli

Additional contributors

Co-author Massimo Tavoni

Additional details

Series title Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei working paper

Place of publication Milan, Italy

Date of publication 01 August 2011

Publisher Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

ISSN 2037-1209

Is this item peer reviewed? Yes

Series number 63.2011