The Korea Local Administration Review

This paper examined five factors that affect the success of green energy policy, including 1) subnational government capacity, 2) the level of American Recovery Reinvestment Act(ARRA) funding, 3) accumulated knowledge of sustainable energy policy implementation, 4) performance ability and 5) political influence. This research used panel data from 49 U.S. states between 2003 and 2013. Results suggest that state and federal energy expenditures are correlated with green energy jobs’ growth. Federal funding allocated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 also led to successful policy implementation. The effects of ARRA funds is found to be more robust over time compared to other types of federal, state, and local government expenditures. Accumulated knowledge in certain energy policies is found to be correlated with new green jobs’, but only when a longer period is considered. Political factors and performance ability are not statistically significant in the estimates.