Do rights of nature protect the environment? Macro-level evidence from Ecuador

Left-leaning populist regimes, such as Rafael Correa’s government in Ecuador (2007–2016), often claim to protect the environment from the negative effects of free-market regimes. This study examines the environmental impact in Ecuador following the 2008 Constitution, which was the first in the world to include rights of nature. We find no statistical evidence that Correa’s constitutional change had any measurable effect on Ecuador’s macro-level environmental outcomes, as captured by forest cover, greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy output, and carbon intensity of GDP.