Culture and investment in green public-private partnerships

Infrastructure public -private partnerships (PPPs) represent a significant opportunity to address the challenges of climate change. Yet few PPP projects leverage this opportunity. While prior work has mainly focused on economic and technical determinants of renewable energy investments, this study considers the role of national culture on investments in renewable energy PPPs. The empirical analysis of 1708 renewable energy PPPs across 20 countries reveals that the cultural value of individualism is negatively related to the size of financial investment in a renewable energy PPP project. The findings also demonstrate that the negative effect of individualism on investments in green energy PPPs is further reinforced in culturally tight societies. Post hoc analysis reveals that multilateral support from development banks in green PPPs may help alleviate the cultural tightness impediment. The findings contribute to the literature that seeks to explain the barriers to adoption of renewable energy. A key implication of these findings is that policymakers and development organizations' efforts to encourage renewable energy adoption are more likely to produce greater impact for the planet when they are sensitive to the sources of cultural variation in society.