Determinants of Transportation Electrification Policy at Local, Cross-Municipal, and Cross-National Levels

Abstract

In this dissertation, I examine the role that governments play in the diffusion and adoption of electric transportation technologies, the challenges faced by governments, as well as the determinants of the type and level of governmental support for EVs. By deploying multi-scale, mixed qualitative and quantitative methods, I uncover why institutions choose different policy instruments in response to the emergence of electric transportation technologies and why similar policy instruments yield different outcomes. By examining interactions among political entities at the local and cross-municipal levels, the study identifies the varied obstacles to green technological transition, how to overcome them at different scales, and proposes policy solutions that can catalyze the adoption of green technologies.This dissertation consists of three articles, each with a different unit of analysis, leveraging different methods, utilizing different types of data, and examining transportation electrification policies at multiple scales. Collectively, they uncover some under-explored factors behind governments’ support for electric mobility. Furthermore, this research project highlights the potential and significance of national trade policy and subnational governments in promoting electric mobility, which is often overlooked. The first article, Protectionism or Climate Change? Neither. Urbanization. Explaining Cross- National Variations in Electric Vehicle Import Tariffs, 2012-2022, investigates what factors influence countries’ trade policies concerning transportation electrification. It finds that countries with higher levels of urbanization are more likely to adopt lower EV import tariffs. Environmental factors, measured by PM 2.5, and climate factors measured by greenhouse gas emissions, do not have any statistically significant effect on countries’ choice of tariff policies. The second and third papers explore local governments' role in supporting transportation electrification at the local level. The second paper, Fueling Electric Vehicles: Motivation behind China’s Municipal-level EV Charging Infrastructure Subsidies, examines the factors driving policies supportive of transportation electrification in China at the municipal level. Based on an original dataset on charging infrastructure subsidy policies in China, covering a total of 335 cities (including directly-administered municipalities, sub-provincial cities, and prefecture-level cities) from 2009 to 2021, this study finds that decisions are influenced by top-down pressures from national governments, policy adoption in neighboring cities, and local industrial pressures. The third paper, Resource, Motivation, and Leadership: Determinants of Local Government Action in Electric Vehicle Uptakes in King County, examines the role of local governments in promoting electric mobility, particularly their actions, motivations, and challenges. Based on 49 comprehensive and in-depth interviews with respondents from 37 local governments (county, cities, and towns) and local stakeholders in King County, Washington, this study identifies three key factors—resources, motivation, and local leadership—that explain variations in local government actions toward transportation electrification.