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Environmental regulation: choice of instruments under imperfect compliance

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  • Inés Macho-Stadler

Abstract

Compliance is an important issue in environmental regulation. In this paper, we discuss some of the key elements of the problem and analyze a situation where emissions are not random and firms are risk-neutral. We study the firm's decision on emissions and compliance when the environmental regulation is based on standards and the enforcement agency audits the firm with a certain probability. We then compare total emissions when environmental regulation is based on different instruments: standards, taxes, and tradable permits. We show that when compliance is an issue, environmental taxes are superior to the other instruments. We also analyze the (static) efficiency of the solution.
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  • Inés Macho-Stadler, 2008. "Environmental regulation: choice of instruments under imperfect compliance," Spanish Economic Review, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:specre:v:10:y:2008:i:1:p:1-21
    DOI: 10.1007/s10108-007-9025-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Rohling, Moritz & Ohndorf, Markus, 2012. "Prices vs. Quantities with fiscal cushioning," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 169-187.
    2. Häckner, Jonas & Herzing, Mathias, 2017. "The effectiveness of environmental inspections in oligopolistic markets," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 83-97.
    3. Markus Ohndorf, 2010. "Optimal Monitoring for project-based Emissions Trading Systems under incomplete Enforcement," IED Working paper 10-13, IED Institute for Environmental Decisions, ETH Zurich.
    4. Min Chen & Konstantinos Serfes, 2012. "Minimum quality standard regulation under imperfect quality observability," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 269-291, April.
    5. Cheng, Chu-Chuan & Lai, Yu-Bong, 2012. "Does a stricter enforcement policy protect the environment? A political economy perspective," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 431-441.
    6. Ian MacKenzie & Markus Ohndorf, 2012. "Optimal monitoring of credit-based emissions trading under asymmetric information," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 180-203, October.
    7. Inés Macho-Stadler & David Pérez-Castrillo, 2010. "Optimal monitoring to implement clean technologies when pollution is random," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 1(3), pages 277-304, July.
    8. Villegas, Clara & Coria, Jessica, 2009. "Taxes, Permits, and the Adoptation of Abatement Technology under Imperfect Compliance," RFF Working Paper Series dp-09-20-efd, Resources for the Future.
    9. Gutierrez-Hita, Carlos & Martinez-Sanchez, Francisco, 2013. "Environmental Policy to Foster a Green Differentiated Energy Market," MPRA Paper 47263, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Clara Villegas-Palacio & Jessica Coria, 2010. "On the interaction between imperfect compliance and technology adoption: taxes versus tradable emissions permits," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 274-291, December.
    11. Li, Shengnan & Zheng, Xinya & Liao, Jing & Niu, Jianbo, 2024. "Low-carbon city pilot policy and corporate environmental performance: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 1248-1266.
    12. Ke Zhao & Chao Wu & Jinquan Liu & Yongfu Liu, 2024. "Green Finance, Green Technology Innovation and the Upgrading of China’s Industrial Structure: A Study from the Perspective of Heterogeneous Environmental Regulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-17, May.
    13. Francisco Álvarez & Francisco André, 2015. "Auctioning Versus Grandfathering in Cap-and-Trade Systems with Market Power and Incomplete Information," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 62(4), pages 873-906, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental regulation; Audits and compliance; Environmental instruments; K32; K42; D82;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

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