Wesley A. Magat

Effectiveness of the EPA's Regulatory Enforcement: The Case of Industrial Effluent Standards

IN the almost two decades since the initial wave of social regulation, the academic literature documented very few, if any, instances of a health, safety, or environmental regulation being an unqualified success. Indeed, in most cases, the problem is even more fundamental. The typical analysis of government regulation found that the regulation did not even fulfill its primary mission, much less pass a more demanding benefit-cost test. This absence of a well-documented case study of effective social regulation may be due, in part, to the particular set of regulations selected for analysis. There is certainly no inherent economic reason why such regulations cannot play a productive role in our economy. In the case of environmental quality, for example, the externality problems being addressed are not handled well by markets, implying that government regulation has at least the potential for playing a beneficial role. However, this potential will not be realized if the regulations are ill conceived or not effectively enforced, or if the environmental problem has no feasible solution. A brief review of past regulatory experiences may be instructive to put in better perspective the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) water pollution control effort-the focus of this article. Most of these detailed evaluations have been done with respect to agencies other than the EPA.

An Investigation of the Rationality of Consumer Valuations of Multiple Health Risks

After developing a conceptual analysis of consumer valuation of multiple risks, we explore both economic and cognitive hypotheses regarding individual risk-taking. Using a sample of over 1,500 consumers, our study ascertains risk-dollar tradeoffs for the risks associated with using an insecticide and a toilet bowl cleaner. We observe the expected positive valuation of risk reductions and find empirical support for a diminishing in the valuation of risk reduction as the extent of the risk reduction increases. We also find evidence of certainty premiums for the total elimination of one risk, but no strong evidence of additional certainty premiums for the elimination of multiple risks. Strong reference risk effects are evident, as increases in risk were valued much more greatly than were decreases.

Pollution control and technological advance: A dynamic model of the firm☆

Abstract The paper extends the static comparison of effluent taxes and effluent standards to a dynamic world in which firms invest resources in improving their abatement technology as well as their production technology. The analysis shows that the two pollution control policies lead to a distinctly different allocation of research and development (R & D) funds between improvement in abatement technology and improvement in production technology. The model also shows that a temporally constant effluent tax leads to an increasing effluent discharge rate for “typical” firms. Other results concern the pattern of output growth and the rate of technological advance.

Paired comparison and contingent valuation approaches to morbidity risk valuation

Abstract This research uses an experimental approach for eliciting consumer valuations of morbidity risk reductions associated with safter chemical products and introduces the paired comparison questions approach to non-market valuation. In four applications, the paired comparisons approach yields higher morbidity valuations than the more familiar contingent valuation approach. However, both methodologies produce large values of morbidity reduction benefits in comparison to estimates derived from wage hedonic studies. Explanations for the difference in the estimates and their magnitudes are suggested along with the public policy implications.

Altruistic and private valuations of risk reduction

To remedy the neglect of altruism in benefit assessments for risk regulation programs, this article reports the findings of a new survey of 785 consumers regarding their valuation of two pairs of risks from insecticide. The risk-dollar tradeoffs revealed by consumers averaged

Informational regulation of consumer health risks: an empirical evaluation of hazard warnings

2,080 and

Bayesian Decisions with Ambiguous Belief Aversion

3,680 per injury pair prevented within the household; they were willing to pay

An Iterative Choice Approach to Valuing Clean Lakes, Rivers, and Streams

5.01 and

Smoking Status and Public Responses to Ambiguous Scientific Risk Evidence

9.06 per 1000 injury pairs prevented in the rest of the state and

Revealed Rules for Regulatory Decisions: An Empirical Analysis of EPA Rulemaking Behavior

1.72 and