Over the space of three articles, we attempt to answer two broad questions related to public sector voluntary environmental programs (VEP) through a case study on the National Association of Swedish Eco-municipalities (SEKOM). The first question asks what are the municipal factors that influence the decision to participate in the program. The second set of questions has to do with whether participation in SEKOM improves the environmental performance of members.
In article 1, we consider the factors that influence the eco-municipality participation decision and find that even after accounting for spatial dependence; environmental consciousness, municipality type (urban/suburban/rural), the level of education, industry structure, and environmental vulnerability (as proxied by proximity to the coast) are significant determinants of the municipality’s decision to participate in the program.
Article two attempts to determine whether SEKOM improves municipal environmental performance as measured by two environmental policy performance measures: the adoption of environmentally classified vehicles (ECVs) and the implementation of food waste collection policies by Swedish local governments. We make use of a two-stage estimation procedure to account to the self-selection bias that plagues most VEP studies. Our results suggest that SEKOM membership is associated with an increased adoption of ECVs and a higher likelihood of implementing a food waste collection program.
Article three examines the effect of SEKOM membership on the adoption of wind power in Sweden. We make use of a difference-in-difference design with a matched control group. Our results regarding the existence of a positive and significant overall effect are negative. However, we have evidence of the presence of cohort specific effects. Specifically, these suggest that the length of exposure to the program matters for the magnitude and significance of the effect. Eco-municipalities that joined in the earliest cohorts in our sample had the only significant improvement in both the number of wind power projects and the operational installed capacity.