The Participation Dilemma: A Survey of the Empirical Literature on International Environmental Agreement Ratification

Several of the most pressing environmental problems involve transboundary issues and can be solved only through international cooperation. Hence, a successful policy response requires a good understanding of international environmental agreements—the primary tool for international cooperation. What motivates participation in environmental agreements, and how can it be increased? These questions have been addressed in economic research, mostly using game theoretical approaches, in models that predict the optimal emission abatement and participation levels. Our survey focuses on a contiguous body of work: the empirical literature on environmental treaty participation. The scope of this paper is to compile the first detailed survey of the empirical literature on participation in environmental agreements, summarize its findings, and enable better comparison with theoretical predictions.