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The Economics of Nonpoint Source Pollution

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  • Anastasios Xepapadeas

Abstract

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution refers to the form of pollution where neither the source nor the size of specific emissions can be observed and 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 run-off 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 emission taxes or tradable quotas to regulate NPS pollution is very difficult. This chapter 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.

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  • Anastasios Xepapadeas, 2012. "The Economics of Nonpoint Source Pollution," DEOS Working Papers 1233, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:aue:wpaper:1233
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    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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