Revisiting Partisan Politics of Environmental Policy: How Labour Market Outsiders Weaken Left-wing Governments’ Eco-friendliness

It is well documented that left-wing governments implement more stringent environmental protection measures than their right-wing counterparts. However, given the recent increase in outsiders in labour markets among left-wing voters, this conventional wisdom requires reassessment. These voters are less likely to support environmental protection due to economic distress and the potential negative economic consequences of such policies. By analysing a panel dataset covering 27 OECD member countries from 1990 to 2015, this paper examines how the size of the outsider population conditions the relationship between government partisanship and environmental policy stringency. The empirical analysis reveals that while a small outsider population results in minimal partisan differences in environmental protection stringency, a large outsider population leads to less stringent environmental protection under left-wing governments than under their right-wing counterparts. These findings challenge the conventional view that left-wing parties are inherently more committed to environmental protection.