We empirically analyze the formation of international environmental agreements within a political economy framework. We develop a theoretical model of state dependent net benefits of ratification predicting (i) strategic behavior with respect to the timing of ratification and (ii) that...

"Ellesmere Island is in the very far north of Canada, above the arctic circle. It lies just to the west of Greenland, and like its bigger neighbor it is almost entirely glaciated. If you are on your way to the North Pole by way of Canada, this will probably be your last stop. Few scientists had...