Banking on the environment : multilateral development banks and environmental policymaking in Central and Eastern Europe
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 1999.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_US |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2005
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28207 |
| _version_ | 1811069966412152832 |
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| author | Gutner, Tamar L |
| author2 | Kenneth Oye. |
| author_facet | Kenneth Oye. Gutner, Tamar L |
| author_sort | Gutner, Tamar L |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 1999. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:19:43Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/28207 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:19:43Z |
| publishDate | 2005 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/282072019-04-09T17:59:43Z Banking on the environment : multilateral development banks and environmental policymaking in Central and Eastern Europe Multilateral development banks and environmental policymaking in Central and Eastern Europe Gutner, Tamar L Kenneth Oye. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Political Science Political Science Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 1999. Includes bibliographical references (p. 298-312). The dissertation is a comparative study of three multilateral development banks (MDBs)-the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and European Investment Bank (EIB)-and their struggles to operationalize and implement relatively new environmental mandates. MDBs are increasingly being relied upon to address environmental issues in their activities, while at the same time facing criticism for allegedly promoting serious environmental degradation in borrowing countries. The dissertation focuses on the activities of these banks in Central and Eastern Europe, where the fall of the Iron Curtain revealed the most polluted countries in Europe, and where these MDBs are among the top donors. There is significant variation in the degree to which these MDBs have incorporated environmental goals into their work. The World Bank has played an important role in providing policy support for environmental reform in the region, while financing the largest scope of "green" projects of the three banks. The EIB has responded to its environmental goals in minimal ways, and the EBRD has an intermediate position between the other two. I argue that external pressure from major shareholder countries, usually supported or pushed by NGOs, is a key factor determining the depth of an MDB's commitment to new mandates, such as the environment. However, shareholder commitment is a necessary but not sufficient condition in explaining the banks' environmental behavior. Governance structures for all three banks are diffuse, and, as a result, institutional design and incentive systems play critical roles in how environmental objectives are translated into activities. In all three cases, the banks' internal incentive systems are poorly aligned with their environmental goals, and even where institutional variables are structured to promote greater awareness of environmental issues within the banks, they do not always work as envisioned. Theoretically, the dissertation argues that different causal variables matter at different stages of the policy process. Neorealist approaches have the most explanatory power in accounting for how environmental ideas are brought to the MDBs, but are insufficient in explaining outcomes. Approaches drawn from institutionalist and organizational theories, in turn, provide guidance in analyzing the mechanisms by which environmental objectives are translated into practice. The argument calls for a better integration of international relations theories emphasizing the importance of shareholder politics with theories that focus on how institutional arrangements shape behavior. by Tamar L. Gutner. Ph.D. 2005-09-26T19:07:58Z 2005-09-26T19:07:58Z 1999 1999 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28207 42640110 en_US M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 312 p. 23743075 bytes 23785953 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Political Science Gutner, Tamar L Banking on the environment : multilateral development banks and environmental policymaking in Central and Eastern Europe |
| title | Banking on the environment : multilateral development banks and environmental policymaking in Central and Eastern Europe |
| title_full | Banking on the environment : multilateral development banks and environmental policymaking in Central and Eastern Europe |
| title_fullStr | Banking on the environment : multilateral development banks and environmental policymaking in Central and Eastern Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Banking on the environment : multilateral development banks and environmental policymaking in Central and Eastern Europe |
| title_short | Banking on the environment : multilateral development banks and environmental policymaking in Central and Eastern Europe |
| title_sort | banking on the environment multilateral development banks and environmental policymaking in central and eastern europe |
| topic | Political Science |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28207 |
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