International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, 2021
This paper argues for incorporating distributional impacts into research and classroom discussion... more This paper argues for incorporating distributional impacts into research and classroom discussions that focus on potential solutions to market failures. Many economists were taught to focus on the efficiency associated with such solutions and to assume that other means would be used to achieve the appropriate distribution of wealth within an economy. The paper briefly enumerates both theoretical and practical reasons why emphasizing distributional impacts is important. The paper offers a number of methods that can be used to identify distributional impacts in applied research such as Kaldor–Hick Tableaus, Lorenz Curves, Gini Coefficients, and weighted benefit–cost analysis and provides sample assignments that can be used in a wide range of classes.
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Jul 1, 2021
Abstract We explore the extent to which variation in states' resources devoted to environment... more Abstract We explore the extent to which variation in states' resources devoted to environmental protection leads to variation in environmental outcomes, specifically the monitoring and enforcement of large hazardous waste facilities regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Results from our instrumental variables regressions suggest that the average state responds to a reduction in its per-facility environmental agency budget by decreasing the fraction of large RCRA facilities receiving inspections and enforcement actions. We also find evidence that a reduction in a state's environmental budget may result in a substitution away from resource-intensive on-site inspections to lower-cost off-site inspections. If the latter type of inspection is relatively less effective in detecting violations, then this substitution is likely to lead to poorer environmental outcomes. Overall our results suggest that decreases in EPA funding for state environmental agencies and further devolution of responsibility for environmental programs to states may result in lower levels of environmental protection in some areas.
In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final policy, Incentives for Self-Pol... more In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final policy, Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction, and Prevention of Violations. \u27 This policy, more commonly referred to as the Audit Policy, is designed to encourage greater compliance with environmental regulations by providing incentives for facilities to voluntarily disclose and correct violations of environmental regulations.2 More specifically, the Audit Policy eliminates or reduces civil penalties for violations that facilities disclose as the result of a documented self-audit procedure and correct within 60 days.3 Additionally, regulators may choose not to recommend criminal prosecution for these facilities.4 Repeated violations, violations that present a serious or imminent harm to human health and the environment, or violations that involve criminal activity are not covered by the policy.5 Supporters of the Audit Policy argue that it is an efficient and economical means of ensuring ...
Even under current sea level conditions, many communities are working to protect their coastlines... more Even under current sea level conditions, many communities are working to protect their coastlines against flooding and shoreline erosion. Coastal communities often protect their shorelines against excessive erosion by using armoring techniques (e.g., bulkheads, riprap). Yet hardened structures reduce many of the natural adaptive mechanisms present in coastal ecosystems and reduce the sustainability of the coastal system. In contrast, natural and nature-based features (e.g., living shorelines) can better protect coastal properties from storm damage and reduce erosion while also having the potential to adapt to new conditions. Since property owners are installing armoring structures more often than living shorelines, we sought to understand the factors motivating their shoreline modification decision. We surveyed property owners in Virginia, U.S. that applied for a shoreline modification permit. Most property owners, regardless of modification sought, perceive riprap revetment to be e...
The role of compliance assistance in the U.S. EPA’s overall enforcement strategy has been quite v... more The role of compliance assistance in the U.S. EPA’s overall enforcement strategy has been quite variable over the past decade and a half, increasing in prominence under the Bush administration and now slated for significantly reduced funding under the Obama administration. While many theoretical models and anecdotal evidence suggest that compliance assistance should play some role in a comprehensive enforcement strategy, to date there has been relatively little empirical evidence on the actual effectiveness of existing compliance assistance programs. To help inform the debate over the appropriate use of compliance assistance, this paper uses data on hazardous waste generators nationwide to assess the effect of federal compliance assistance programs in improving compliance with hazardous waste regulations. The paper also conducts a direct empirical analysis of the relationship between traditional enforcement tools and compliance assistance. The results show that federal compliance as...
In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final policy, "Incentives for Se... more In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final policy, "Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction, and Prevention of Violations."' This policy, more commonly referred to as the Audit Policy, is designed to encourage greater compliance with environmental regulations by providing incentives for facilities to voluntarily disclose and correct violations of environmental regulations.2 More specifically, the Audit Policy eliminates or reduces civil penalties for violations that facilities disclose as the result of a documented self-audit procedure and correct within 60 days.3 Additionally, regulators may choose not to recommend criminal prosecution for these facilities.4 Repeated violations, violations that present a "serious or imminent harm" to human health and the environment, or violations that involve criminal activity are not covered by the policy. 5 Supporters of the Audit Policy argue that it is an "efficient an...
This paper examines the impact of the 1982 Department of Justice Merger Guidelines on the stock m... more This paper examines the impact of the 1982 Department of Justice Merger Guidelines on the stock market prices of publicly traded firms in the United States. We argue that those Guidelines were perceived by the market as a real change in enforcement policy that would result in substantial deregulation of mergers throughout the economy. We conduct an event study of S&P 500 firms to test this hypothesis and find evidence of a significant positive effect on the stock prices of firms in moderately concentrated industries subject to antitrust regulation, the firms for which the 1982 Guidelines articulate a substantially less intrusive enforcement policy. However, the announcement does not have any significant effect on firms in less concentrated industries or those that are highly concentrated. These results are robust to a number of different sensitivity analyses and thus we conclude that market actors believed the 1982 Guidelines contained new information.
In his book Outsourcing Sovereignty Paul Verkuil warns us to be wary of the possible threats to a... more In his book Outsourcing Sovereignty Paul Verkuil warns us to be wary of the possible threats to accountability and process in what has been a largely unexamined shift from private to public governance. This goal of this article is to examine particular form of outsourcing - the outsourcing of regulatory enforcement to regulated entities themselves, a practice known as self-policing - to determine whether this type of delegation of public power can be justified as being in the public interest. The article presents a case study of the Environmental Protection Agency’s self-policing program, assessing the extent to which it is a defensible form of outsourcing. Additionally the paper reviews a number of other federal self-policing programs and provides a brief assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, the article concludes with some general guidelines for self-policing programs that can help to minimize concerns about this form of outsourcing.
EPA's Audit Policy is a voluntary self-policing program that reduces penalties for violations... more EPA's Audit Policy is a voluntary self-policing program that reduces penalties for violations of environmental regulations. This paper examines the Audit Policy's effect on compliance with hazardous waste regulations using data for 9,500 facilities across the U.S. The analysis also considers the effect of state audit and self-policing programs. The federal Audit Policy appears to decrease the number of reported hazardous waste violations as do state programs that only include audit privilege. However, state programs that include both audit privilege and immunity appear to encourage violation. Finally, state self-policing programs that do not require audits appear to decrease violations. *The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 23187. Email: slstaf@wm.edu.
International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, 2021
This paper argues for incorporating distributional impacts into research and classroom discussion... more This paper argues for incorporating distributional impacts into research and classroom discussions that focus on potential solutions to market failures. Many economists were taught to focus on the efficiency associated with such solutions and to assume that other means would be used to achieve the appropriate distribution of wealth within an economy. The paper briefly enumerates both theoretical and practical reasons why emphasizing distributional impacts is important. The paper offers a number of methods that can be used to identify distributional impacts in applied research such as Kaldor–Hick Tableaus, Lorenz Curves, Gini Coefficients, and weighted benefit–cost analysis and provides sample assignments that can be used in a wide range of classes.
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Jul 1, 2021
Abstract We explore the extent to which variation in states' resources devoted to environment... more Abstract We explore the extent to which variation in states' resources devoted to environmental protection leads to variation in environmental outcomes, specifically the monitoring and enforcement of large hazardous waste facilities regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Results from our instrumental variables regressions suggest that the average state responds to a reduction in its per-facility environmental agency budget by decreasing the fraction of large RCRA facilities receiving inspections and enforcement actions. We also find evidence that a reduction in a state's environmental budget may result in a substitution away from resource-intensive on-site inspections to lower-cost off-site inspections. If the latter type of inspection is relatively less effective in detecting violations, then this substitution is likely to lead to poorer environmental outcomes. Overall our results suggest that decreases in EPA funding for state environmental agencies and further devolution of responsibility for environmental programs to states may result in lower levels of environmental protection in some areas.
In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final policy, Incentives for Self-Pol... more In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final policy, Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction, and Prevention of Violations. \u27 This policy, more commonly referred to as the Audit Policy, is designed to encourage greater compliance with environmental regulations by providing incentives for facilities to voluntarily disclose and correct violations of environmental regulations.2 More specifically, the Audit Policy eliminates or reduces civil penalties for violations that facilities disclose as the result of a documented self-audit procedure and correct within 60 days.3 Additionally, regulators may choose not to recommend criminal prosecution for these facilities.4 Repeated violations, violations that present a serious or imminent harm to human health and the environment, or violations that involve criminal activity are not covered by the policy.5 Supporters of the Audit Policy argue that it is an efficient and economical means of ensuring ...
Even under current sea level conditions, many communities are working to protect their coastlines... more Even under current sea level conditions, many communities are working to protect their coastlines against flooding and shoreline erosion. Coastal communities often protect their shorelines against excessive erosion by using armoring techniques (e.g., bulkheads, riprap). Yet hardened structures reduce many of the natural adaptive mechanisms present in coastal ecosystems and reduce the sustainability of the coastal system. In contrast, natural and nature-based features (e.g., living shorelines) can better protect coastal properties from storm damage and reduce erosion while also having the potential to adapt to new conditions. Since property owners are installing armoring structures more often than living shorelines, we sought to understand the factors motivating their shoreline modification decision. We surveyed property owners in Virginia, U.S. that applied for a shoreline modification permit. Most property owners, regardless of modification sought, perceive riprap revetment to be e...
The role of compliance assistance in the U.S. EPA’s overall enforcement strategy has been quite v... more The role of compliance assistance in the U.S. EPA’s overall enforcement strategy has been quite variable over the past decade and a half, increasing in prominence under the Bush administration and now slated for significantly reduced funding under the Obama administration. While many theoretical models and anecdotal evidence suggest that compliance assistance should play some role in a comprehensive enforcement strategy, to date there has been relatively little empirical evidence on the actual effectiveness of existing compliance assistance programs. To help inform the debate over the appropriate use of compliance assistance, this paper uses data on hazardous waste generators nationwide to assess the effect of federal compliance assistance programs in improving compliance with hazardous waste regulations. The paper also conducts a direct empirical analysis of the relationship between traditional enforcement tools and compliance assistance. The results show that federal compliance as...
In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final policy, "Incentives for Se... more In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final policy, "Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction, and Prevention of Violations."' This policy, more commonly referred to as the Audit Policy, is designed to encourage greater compliance with environmental regulations by providing incentives for facilities to voluntarily disclose and correct violations of environmental regulations.2 More specifically, the Audit Policy eliminates or reduces civil penalties for violations that facilities disclose as the result of a documented self-audit procedure and correct within 60 days.3 Additionally, regulators may choose not to recommend criminal prosecution for these facilities.4 Repeated violations, violations that present a "serious or imminent harm" to human health and the environment, or violations that involve criminal activity are not covered by the policy. 5 Supporters of the Audit Policy argue that it is an "efficient an...
This paper examines the impact of the 1982 Department of Justice Merger Guidelines on the stock m... more This paper examines the impact of the 1982 Department of Justice Merger Guidelines on the stock market prices of publicly traded firms in the United States. We argue that those Guidelines were perceived by the market as a real change in enforcement policy that would result in substantial deregulation of mergers throughout the economy. We conduct an event study of S&P 500 firms to test this hypothesis and find evidence of a significant positive effect on the stock prices of firms in moderately concentrated industries subject to antitrust regulation, the firms for which the 1982 Guidelines articulate a substantially less intrusive enforcement policy. However, the announcement does not have any significant effect on firms in less concentrated industries or those that are highly concentrated. These results are robust to a number of different sensitivity analyses and thus we conclude that market actors believed the 1982 Guidelines contained new information.
In his book Outsourcing Sovereignty Paul Verkuil warns us to be wary of the possible threats to a... more In his book Outsourcing Sovereignty Paul Verkuil warns us to be wary of the possible threats to accountability and process in what has been a largely unexamined shift from private to public governance. This goal of this article is to examine particular form of outsourcing - the outsourcing of regulatory enforcement to regulated entities themselves, a practice known as self-policing - to determine whether this type of delegation of public power can be justified as being in the public interest. The article presents a case study of the Environmental Protection Agency’s self-policing program, assessing the extent to which it is a defensible form of outsourcing. Additionally the paper reviews a number of other federal self-policing programs and provides a brief assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, the article concludes with some general guidelines for self-policing programs that can help to minimize concerns about this form of outsourcing.
EPA's Audit Policy is a voluntary self-policing program that reduces penalties for violations... more EPA's Audit Policy is a voluntary self-policing program that reduces penalties for violations of environmental regulations. This paper examines the Audit Policy's effect on compliance with hazardous waste regulations using data for 9,500 facilities across the U.S. The analysis also considers the effect of state audit and self-policing programs. The federal Audit Policy appears to decrease the number of reported hazardous waste violations as do state programs that only include audit privilege. However, state programs that include both audit privilege and immunity appear to encourage violation. Finally, state self-policing programs that do not require audits appear to decrease violations. *The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 23187. Email: slstaf@wm.edu.
Uploads
Papers by Sarah Stafford