Are left-wing party strength and corporatism good for the environment? Evidence from panel analysis of air pollution in OECD countries

The effect of left-wing party strength and corporatism on air pollution levels in up to 21 OECD countries over the period 1980 or 1990-1999 is tested with both fixed-effects and random-effects estimators. Controlling for scale, composition, technique as well as aggregate time effects, robust evidence is found that parliamentary green/left-libertarian party strength is associated with lower pollution levels. The rise of ecologically oriented parties has thus had a real impact on air pollution levels. Traditional left-wing party strength is possibly also associated with lower pollution levels, but the evidence is less consistent and robust. Combined left-wing party strength in government is possibly associated with higher pollution levels, but this result is also far from robust and is practically small. No evidence is found for a consistent systematic impact of corporatism on pollution levels. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.