IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/socsci/v99y2018i2p524-535.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Justice in Safe Drinking Water Compliance

Author

Listed:
  • David Switzer
  • Manuel P. Teodoro

Abstract

Objective Past research yields inconsistent evidence of disparities in environmental quality by socioeconomic status (SES), race, and/or ethnicity. Since the political significance of race/ethnicity may be contingent upon SES, this study advances environmental justice research by examining interactively the effects of race, ethnicity, and SES on environmental quality. Methods We match 2010–2013 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) compliance records with demographic and economic data for U.S. local government water utilities serving populations greater than 1,000. Statistical regression isolates direct and interactive relationships between communities’ racial/ethnic populations, SES, and SDWA compliance. Results We find that community racial/ethnic composition predicts drinking water quality, but also that SES conditions the effect; specifically, black and Hispanic populations most strongly predict SDWA violations in low†SES communities. Conclusions Our findings highlight the importance of analyzing race, ethnicity, and SES interactively in environmental justice research. Results also carry troubling implications for drinking water quality in the United States.

Suggested Citation

  • David Switzer & Manuel P. Teodoro, 2018. "Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Justice in Safe Drinking Water Compliance," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 99(2), pages 524-535, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:99:y:2018:i:2:p:524-535
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12397
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12397
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ssqu.12397?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hyde, Kelly, 2020. "The Regressive Costs of Drinking Water Contaminant Avoidance," GLO Discussion Paper Series 703, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Agustin Leon-Moreta & Vittoria Totaro, 2023. "Interlocal interactions, municipal boundaries and water and wastewater expenditure in city-regions," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(1), pages 46-66, January.
    3. Wan, Xibo & Keiser, David, 2020. "The Effects of Source Water Protection Grants: Evidence from the Minnesota Clean Water Fund," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304386, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Xun Cao & Qing Deng & Xiaojun Li & Zijie Shao, 2022. "Fine me if you can: Fixed asset intensity and enforcement of environmental regulations in China," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 983-1004, October.
    5. Elbakidze, Levan & Beeson, Quinn, 2020. "State Regulatory Heterogeneity and Clean Water Act Compliance," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304638, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Scott, Ryan P. & Scott, Tyler A. & Greer, Robert A., 2019. "The environmental and safety performance of gas utilities in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    7. Khanal, Nabin Babu & Elbakidze, Levan, 2023. "Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Drinking Water: Evaluation of exposure in the US," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 336001, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:99:y:2018:i:2:p:524-535. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0038-4941 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.