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How did air quality standards affect employment at U.S. power plants? The importance of stringency, geography, and timing

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Listed:
  • Sheriff, Glenn
  • Ferris, Ann E.
  • Shadbegian, Ron

Abstract

Geographical differences in U.S. Clean Air Act requirements are often used to identify environmental regulatory impacts. The standard approach abstracts from aspects of the law affecting which areas are regulated, how strictly they are regulated, and when regulatory changes occur. We find that omitting these factors can bias results by contaminating the control group, leading to underestimation of historical employment impacts and overestimation of projected impacts from tightening regulations. Results indicate that 1990 changes to ozone nonattainment provisions reduced power plant employment without significantly affecting generation, suggesting that installation of pollution controls contributed to labor-saving technical change at affected sources.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheriff, Glenn & Ferris, Ann E. & Shadbegian, Ron, 2015. "How did air quality standards affect employment at U.S. power plants? The importance of stringency, geography, and timing," National Center for Environmental Economics-NCEE Working Papers 312460, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:nceewp:312460
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.312460
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gray, Wayne B. & Shadbegian, Ronald J. & Wang, Chunbei & Meral, Merve, 2014. "Do EPA regulations affect labor demand? Evidence from the pulp and paper industry," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 188-202.
    2. Kenneth Y. Chay & Michael Greenstone, 2003. "The Impact of Air Pollution on Infant Mortality: Evidence from Geographic Variation in Pollution Shocks Induced by a Recession," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 1121-1167.
    3. Becker, Randy A., 2005. "Air pollution abatement costs under the Clean Air Act: evidence from the PACE survey," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 144-169, July.
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