Environmental Federalism : A Panacea or Pandora’sBox for Developing Countries?

Fredriksson, Per G. ; Mani, Muthukumara ; Wollscheid, Jim R.

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ABATEMENT;    ABATEMENT COSTS;    ACCOUNTABILITY;    AIR POLLUTION;    ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-3847
RP-ID  :  WPS3847

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper provides new empirical evidence to the debate on the optimal locus of power over environmental policymaking in developing countries. The authors develop a simple lobby group model with mobile capital. The model predicts that a decentralized institutional structure leads to weaker environmental policy due to more intensive lobbying by capital owners and workers. They test this prediction using novel cross-sectional developing country data. The results are consistent with the prediction of the model, in particular for air pollution policies. The authors also find that the effect of decentralization declines with a greater degree of trade openness. They believe this is the first developing country evidence on the environmental policy effects of federalism.