Essays on governance, institutions and the environment
Environmental Governance. Institutional Quality. Bibliometrics. Spatial Analysis.
The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive and extensive analysis of Environmental Governance, exploring its development, the initial requirements for its implementation, the role of institutional frameworks, and the interaction between institutional quality and the environment, aiming to enrich and consolidate understanding in this field. To achieve this goal, three independent yet interconnected essays are proposed. The first article aims to examine research on Environmental Governance by conducting a systematic review to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the field, addressing its trends, challenges, and contributions. The second essay aims to broaden the understanding of environmental governance by investigating the initial conditions and essential social and institutional arrangements for its establishment and validation. It proposes a life cycle of environmental governance, exploring the involved agents, the instruments used, and the process of legitimizing environmental solutions. The third essay presents an empirical study that analyzes the interaction between institutional quality, environmental quality, and economic growth in Brazilian municipalities. This study assesses the impact of institutional quality and economic growth on CO2 emissions and municipal economic development, suggesting that strengthening local institutions could be a viable approach to achieve beneficial environmental solutions without compromising economic interests.