Configurational Impacts of Government Policies on Electric Vehicle Diffusion: A Global Analysis

Prior studies show that the effectiveness of government policies on electric vehicle (EV) diffusion varies significantly across different macro-environments. To address this complexity, we adopt a configurational perspective and use fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Using data collected from International Energy Agency and World Bank, we analyze 516 national EV policies from 25 major countries (2011–2023) to examine how government policies interact with macro-environments and jointly shape EV diffusion. We identify multiple solutions of policy features (i.e., density, intensity, and diversity) that lead to effective EV diffusion in different macro-environments and the key to success is finding fitted combinations. Our analysis also shows that government policies are not always necessary for promoting EV diffusion, and the roles of both financial and regulatory policies are nuanced and context-dependent. By adopting a configurational perspective, this research helps reconcile inconsistencies in existing literature on policy impact and offers context-specific insights for policymakers.