Institutions and climate change

This paper reviews research across economics, political economy, political science, and public policy to investigate how institutions shape the adoption, implementation, and durability of climate policies. We examine how formal institutions (i) coordinate implementation capacity, (ii) anchor long-term commitments, and (iii) mediate distributional conflict. We also discuss how informal institutions, such as social norms and trust, further condition whether formal mechanisms translate into durable action. We distinguish quasi-experimental evidence from correlational and case-based findings, identifying where economic methods could further sharpen evidence, and conclude with a research agenda focused on institutional interdependencies and the conditions under which institutions can facilitate the adoption of effective and irreversible climate policies.