High levels of observed city involvement in energy and climate initiatives indicate that freeriding has been much less of a barrier to local climate protection efforts than suggested by theories of collective action. This study investigates why local governments have adopted various energy and...

Local governments have a substantial stake in energy efficiency and climate protection. Urban areas are significant contributors to climate change and are also particularly vulnerable to its effects. By some estimates, more than three-fourths of global carbon emissions come from cities. Although...

This interdisciplinary work contributes empirical grounding to the growing literature in law and public policy on local governments and climate mitigation. Much of the recent scholarship presents an optimistic view of the potential in local climate action. Here, we refine the optimism for local...

Local governments in the United States have adopted a variety of economic development tools and strategies to revitalize and compete. This research considers two questions. First, what factors influenced early and late adopters of strategic economic development policy tools, and second, how are...

The choice of economic development incentives involves a complex system of political and economic considerations. The previous research on local government incentive alternatives has examined individual policies either in isolation or summation. I build on this theory by modeling economic...