Regulating US Automakers for Climate Change

What is it about?

The US was able to enact a cluster of environmental policies regarding automotive firms, including significant increases in fuel economy. Globalization concerns, including global competition and compliance, influenced nearly all firms to acquiesce to the new policies, but convenentional policymaking explanations also mattered.

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Why is it important?

These policy changes were US President Barack Obama's first major domestic climate policy achievement. Considering automakers' long history of opposition to environmental regulations in the US, this achievement poses an intriguing research puzzle: how was the US able to enact environmental policy regarding the automotive industry?