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Policy Evolution under the Clean Air Act

In: Economics of Environment, Climate Change, and Wine Selected Papers of Robert N Stavins Volume 3 (2011–2023)

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  • Richard Schmalensee
  • Robert N. Stavins

Abstract

Nearly half a century has elapsed since 1970, when the first Earth Day was celebrated, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established, and the US Clean Air Act passed with unanimous bipartisan support in the Senate and only a single negative vote in the House of Representatives. It was not the first federal law to deal with air pollution — that was the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 — and it was technically only an amendment to the original Clean Air Act of 1963 (Stern, 1982). But the 1970 Clean Air Act established the basic architecture of the US air pollution control system, it was the first environmental law to give the federal government a serious regulatory role, and it became a model for many subsequent environmental laws in the United States and abroad. In this chapter, we describe the evolution of air pollution control policy under this legislation with particular attention to the types of policy instruments used…

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Schmalensee & Robert N. Stavins, 2025. "Policy Evolution under the Clean Air Act," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Economics of Environment, Climate Change, and Wine Selected Papers of Robert N Stavins Volume 3 (2011–2023), chapter 10, pages 267-298, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:wschap:9789811292415_0010
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    2. Joseph E. Aldy & Robert N. Stavins, 2025. "Rolling the Dice in the Corridors of Power: William Nordhaus’s Impacts on Climate Change Policy," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Economics of Environment, Climate Change, and Wine Selected Papers of Robert N Stavins Volume 3 (2011–2023), chapter 3, pages 31-52, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Kellogg, Ryan, 2020. "Output and attribute-based carbon regulation under uncertainty," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    4. Yu Xia, 2025. "Discriminatory auctions lead to lower allowance prices: evidence from the United States," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 45(4), pages 1735-1743.
    5. Bialek, Sylwia & Gregory, Jack & Revesz, Richard L., 2022. "Still your grandfather's boiler: Estimating the effects of the Clean Air Act's grandfathering provisions," Working Papers 05/2022, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung.
    6. Maogang Tang & Silu Cheng & Wenqing Guo & Weibiao Ma & Fengxia Hu, 2023. "Relationship between carbon emission trading schemes and companies’ total factor productivity: evidence from listed companies in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(10), pages 11735-11767, October.
    7. Brian C. Murray & William H. Niver, 2020. "A 21st Century Low‐Carbon Transition in U.S. Electric Power: Extent, Contributing Factors, and Implications," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 37(3), pages 412-438, May.
    8. Hernandez-Cortes, Danae & Meng, Kyle C., 2023. "Do environmental markets cause environmental injustice? Evidence from California’s carbon market," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    9. Faisal Mehmood & Sajid Ur Rehman & Ahyoung Choi, 2025. "Vision-AQ: Explainable Multi-Modal Deep Learning for Air Pollution Classification in Smart Cities," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-18, September.
    10. Myroslava Bublyk & Agnieszka Kowalska-Styczeń & Vasyl Lytvyn & Victoria Vysotska, 2021. "The Ukrainian Economy Transformation into the Circular Based on Fuzzy-Logic Cluster Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    11. Hsu, Bo-Xiang & Chen, Yi-Min, 2023. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility, external orientation, and environmental performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    12. Alex Hollingsworth & Ivan Rudik, 2021. "The Effect of Leaded Gasoline on Elderly Mortality: Evidence from Regulatory Exemptions," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 345-373, August.
    13. Fraas, Arthur G. & Kopits, Elizabeth & Wolverton, Ann, 2021. "A Retrospective Review of Retrospective Cost Analyses," RFF Working Paper Series 21-29, Resources for the Future.
    14. Bartram, Söhnke M. & Hou, Kewei & Kim, Sehoon, 2022. "Real effects of climate policy: Financial constraints and spillovers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(2), pages 668-696.

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    JEL classification:

    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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