Dissertation
UNPACKING ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT: CAUSAL INFERENCE, REGULATORY MECHANISMS, AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
12/2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000007213
Abstract
This dissertation contains three chapters on causal inference in the context of environmental economics. The first chapter examines regulatory discretion and marginal deterrence in the 2014 revision of criteria for severe violations under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The study uses policy application variation and finds that post-revision, plants located in states most impacted by the policy exhibited a greater decrease in emissions. The estimated reduction of 2.5% in emissions-related damages from stationary air pollution sources equates to $2.4 billion annually. The second chapter investigates the effectiveness of non-traditional enforcement tools in promoting compliance and additional social benefits compared to traditional methods. It estimates the relative compliance and pollution effects of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) versus monetary penalties. Results indicate a positive difference of 11.2% in compliance and a negative difference of 33.9% in emissions for all plants that implemented SEPs, suggesting that cooperative tools offer benefits beyond compliance. The third chapter analyzes SEPs through an environmental justice (EJ) lens, assessing their effectiveness in providing EJ benefits to pollution-impacted communities. Findings show that SEPs result in greater emissions reductions in minority and low-income areas compared to cash penalties, supporting the EJ efficacy of these projects.
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Details
- Title
- UNPACKING ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT
- Creators
- Almira Salimgarieva
- Contributors
- Wesley Blundell (Chair)Joe Cook (Committee Member)Jill McCluskey (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of Economic Sciences
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 170
- Identifiers
- 99901195438901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation