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The Economics of Non-Point-Source Pollution

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  • Anastasios Xepapadeas

    (Department of International and European Economic Studies, Athens University of Economics and Business, 104 34 Athens, Greece)

Abstract

Non-point-source (NPS) pollution refers to a form of pollution in which neither the source nor the size of specific emissions can be observed or identified with sufficient accuracy. In NPS pollution the ambient concentration of pollutants associated with the individually unobserved emissions is typically observed. NPS pollution due to agricultural runoff is a major source of water pollution, eutrophication, and hypoxia. Due to informational asymmetries and stochastic effects, the use of traditional environmental policy instruments such as emissions taxes or tradable quotas to regulate NPS pollution is very difficult. This article reviews the main theoretical approaches, up to the present, to the regulation of NPS pollution—input-based schemes, ambient schemes, and endogenous monitoring—and discusses issues associated with NPS pollution regulation and their relation to the theoretically proposed instruments.

Suggested Citation

  • Anastasios Xepapadeas, 2011. "The Economics of Non-Point-Source Pollution," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 355-373, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:anr:reseco:v:3:y:2011:p:355-373
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    diffused source pollution; input-based schemes; ambient schemes; endogenous monitoring; moral hazard; uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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