Inequality and Environmental Policy in Mexico

Mexico has suffered big environmental losses due to different causes, and experiences a great inequality within each state. The objective of this article is to study the link between inequality and the environment. Specifically, it will explain the relationship between power inequality and the environmental policies in each Mexican state. Two econometric estimations are made: the first one to see the determinants of the distribution of power, and the second one to see the connection between power inequality (and three control variables) and the environmental policies of each state in Mexico. We found that higher levels of power inequality are related to less quality in environmental policies. This is because individuals that benefit from pollution-generating activities are more capable of influencing political decisions, as they are relatively wealthy and well educated.