[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/rffdps/10601.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Use of Economic Incentives in Developing Countries: Lessons from International Experience with Industrial Air Pollution

Author

Listed:
  • Blackman, Allen
  • Harrington, Winston
Abstract
To what extent should developing countries eschew conventional command and control environmental regulation that is increasingly seen as inefficient and rely instead on economic incentives? This paper addresses this question as it pertains to industrial air pollution. The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various economic incentive instruments, presents in-depth case studies of their application in Sweden, the United States, China, and Poland, and proposes a number of policy guidelines. We argue that both design deficiencies and pervasive constraints on monitoring and enforcement impede the effectiveness of economic instruments in developing countries. The latter are difficult to rectify, at least in the medium term. As a result, tradable permits are generally not practical. Suitably modified however, emissions fee policies probably are appropriate. They can provide a foundation for a transition to an effective economic incentive system, and can raise much needed revenue for environmental projects and programs. In addition, if political opposition can be overcome, environmental taxes constitute a second-best but potentially effective pollution control instrument.

Suggested Citation

  • Blackman, Allen & Harrington, Winston, 1999. "The Use of Economic Incentives in Developing Countries: Lessons from International Experience with Industrial Air Pollution," Discussion Papers 10601, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:rffdps:10601
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.10601
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/10601/files/dp990039.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.10601?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Malik, Arun S, 1992. "Enforcement Costs and the Choice of Policy Instruments for Controlling Pollution," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 30(4), pages 714-721, October.
    2. Buchanan, James M & Tullock, Gordon, 1975. "Polluters' Profits and Political Response: Direct Controls Versus Taxes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(1), pages 139-147, March.
    3. Afsah, Shakeb & Laplante, Benoit & Wheeler, David, 1996. "Controlling industrial pollution : a new paradigm," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1672, The World Bank.
    4. Dasgupta, Susmita & Huq, Mainul & Wheeler, David, 1997. "Bending the rules : discretionary pollution control in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1761, The World Bank.
    5. Larsen, Bjorn & Shah, Anwar & DEC, 1992. "World fossil fuel subsidies and global carbon emissions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1002, The World Bank.
    6. Foster, Vivien & Hahn, Robert W, 1995. "Designing More Efficient Markets: Lessons from Los Angeles Smog Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(1), pages 19-48, April.
    7. Swierzbinski Joseph E., 1994. "Guilty until Proven Innocent-Regulation with Costly and Limited Enforcement," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 127-146, September.
    8. Heyes, Anthony & Rickman, Neil, 1999. "Regulatory dealing - revisiting the Harrington paradox," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(3), pages 361-378, June.
    9. Arora Seema & Cason Timothy N., 1995. "An Experiment in Voluntary Environmental Regulation: Participation in EPA's 33/50 Program," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 271-286, May.
    10. Pargal, Sheoli & Wheeler, David, 1996. "Informal Regulation of Industrial Pollution in Developing Countries: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1314-1327, December.
    11. Eskeland, Gunnar*Chingying Kong, 1998. "Protecting the environment and the poor - a public goods framework applied to Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1961, The World Bank.
    12. Ger Klaassen, 1996. "Acid Rain and Environmental Degradation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1165.
    13. Tietenberg, T H, 1990. "Economic Instruments for Environmental Regulation," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 6(1), pages 17-33, Spring.
    14. Kathryn Harrison, 1995. "Is cooperation the answer? Canadian environmental enforcement in comparative context," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(2), pages 221-244.
    15. Dallas Burtraw, 1996. "The So2 Emissions Trading Program: Cost Savings Without Allowance Trades," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 14(2), pages 79-94, April.
    16. Eskeland, Gunnar S. & Jimenez, Emmanuel & Lili Liu & DEC, 1994. "Energy pricing and air pollution : econometric evidence from manufacturing in Chile and Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1323, The World Bank.
    17. Adamson, S. & Bates, R. & Laslett, R. & Pototschning, A., 1995. "Energy Use, Air Pollution, and Environmental Policy in Krakow. Can Economic Incentives Really Help," Papers 308, World Bank - Technical Papers.
    18. Harford Jon D., 1993. "Improving on the Steady State in the State-Dependent Enforcement of Pollution Control," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 133-138, March.
    19. Eric Helland, 1998. "The Enforcement Of Pollution Control Laws: Inspections, Violations, And Self-Reporting," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(1), pages 141-153, February.
    20. Harrington, Winston, 1988. "Enforcement leverage when penalties are restricted," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 29-53, October.
    21. Robert N. Stavins, 1998. "What Can We Learn from the Grand Policy Experiment? Lessons from SO2 Allowance Trading," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 69-88, Summer.
    22. Dasgupta, Susmita & Hua Wang & Wheeler, David, 1997. "Surviving success : policy reform and the future of industrial pollution in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1856, The World Bank.
    23. Atkinson, Scott & Tietenberg, Tom, 1991. "Market failure in incentive-based regulation: The case of emissions trading," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 17-31, July.
    24. Eskeland, Gunnar S & Jimenez, Emmanuel, 1992. "Policy Instruments for Pollution Control in Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 7(2), pages 145-169, July.
    25. Bohm, Peter & Russell, Clifford S., 1985. "Comparative analysis of alternative policy instruments," Handbook of Natural Resource and Energy Economics, in: A. V. Kneese† & J. L. Sweeney (ed.), Handbook of Natural Resource and Energy Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 10, pages 395-460, Elsevier.
    26. Richard Schmalensee & Paul L. Joskow & A. Denny Ellerman & Juan Pablo Montero & Elizabeth M. Bailey, 1998. "An Interim Evaluation of Sulfur Dioxide Emissions Trading," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 53-68, Summer.
    27. Roberts, Marc J. & Spence, Michael, 1976. "Effluent charges and licenses under uncertainty," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(3-4), pages 193-208.
    28. Reid, Walter V & Goldemberg, Jose, 1998. "Developing countries are combating climate change : Actions in developing countries that slow growth in carbon emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 233-237, February.
    29. Bates, R. & Cofala, J. & Toman, M., 1994. "Alternative Policies for the Control, of Air Pollution in Poland," Papers 7, World Bank - The World Bank Environment Paper.
    30. Stavins, Robert, 1998. "Market-Based Environmental Policies," RFF Working Paper Series dp-98-26, Resources for the Future.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Allen Blackman, 2010. "Alternative Pollution Control Policies in Developing Countries," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 4(2), pages 234-253, Summer.
    2. Kruger, Joseph & Pizer, William A., 2004. "The EU Emissions Trading Directive: Opportunities and Potential Pitfalls," Discussion Papers 10679, Resources for the Future.
    3. Coria, Jessica & Sterner, Thomas, 2008. "Tradable Permits in Developing Countries: Evidence from air pollution in Santiago, Chile," Working Papers in Economics 326, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    4. Blackman, Allen, 2009. "Alternative Pollution Control Policies in Developing Countries: Informal, Informational, and Voluntary," RFF Working Paper Series dp-09-10, Resources for the Future.
    5. Stavins, Robert N., 2003. "Experience with market-based environmental policy instruments," Handbook of Environmental Economics, in: K. G. Mäler & J. R. Vincent (ed.), Handbook of Environmental Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 9, pages 355-435, Elsevier.
    6. Coria, Jessica, 2008. "Environmental Policy, Fuel Prices, and the Switch to Natural Gas in Santiago, Chile," RFF Working Paper Series dp-08-28-efd, Resources for the Future.
    7. Raufer, Roger & Li, Shaoyi, 2009. "Emissions trading in China: A conceptual ‘leapfrog’ approach?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 904-912.
    8. Daniel A. Brent & Lata Gangadharan & Anca Mihut & Marie Claire Villeval, 2019. "Taxation, redistribution, and observability in social dilemmas," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 21(5), pages 826-846, October.
    9. Blackman, Allen, 2000. "Informal Sector Pollution Control: What Policy Options Do We Have?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 2067-2082, December.
    10. Blackman, Allen, 1999. "The Economics of Technology Diffusion: Implications for Climate Policy in Developing Countries," Discussion Papers 10574, Resources for the Future.
    11. David Parker & Colin Kirkpatrick, 2005. "Privatisation in Developing Countries: A Review of the Evidence and the Policy Lessons," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 513-541.
    12. Blackman, Allen & Sisto, Nicholas, 2005. "Muddling Through while Environmental Regulatory Capacity Evolves: What Role for Voluntary Agreements?," Discussion Papers 10570, Resources for the Future.
    13. Blackman, Allen & Nelson, Per-Kristian & Mathis, Mitchell, 2001. "The Greening of Development Economics: A Survey," RFF Working Paper Series dp-01-08, Resources for the Future.
    14. Kruger, Joseph, 2005. "From SO2 to Greenhouse Gases: Trends and Events Shaping Future Emissions Trading Programs in the United States," RFF Working Paper Series dp-05-20, Resources for the Future.
    15. Coria, Jessica & Villegas-Palacio, Clara & Cárdenas, Juan Camilo, 2011. "Should we tax or let firms trade emissons? An experimental analysis with policy implications for developing countries," Working Papers in Economics 516, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    16. Blackman, Allen, 2005. "Colombia's Discharge Fee Program: Incentives for Polluters of Regulators?," Discussion Papers 10869, Resources for the Future.
    17. Coria, Jessica, 2009. "Environmental policy, fuel prices and the switching to natural gas in Santiago, Chile," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 2877-2884, September.
    18. Kahn, James Randall & Franceschi, Dina, 2006. "Beyond Kyoto: A tax-based system for the global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 778-787, July.
    19. repec:dau:papers:123456789/5272 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Juan C. Belausteguigoitia & Gustavo Merino & Ricardo Samaniego, 2002. "La Inserción de la Gestión Ambiental en las Políticas Sectoriales de Latinoamérica y el Caribe: El Caso de los Sectores Energético e Industrial en México," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 9064, Inter-American Development Bank.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Blackman, Allen & Harrington, Winston, 1998. "Using Alternative Regulatory Instruments to Control Fixed Point Air Pollution in Developing Countries: Lessons from International Experience," RFF Working Paper Series dp-98-21, Resources for the Future.
    2. Hahn, Robert W., 2000. "The Impact of Economics on Environmental Policy," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 375-399, May.
    3. Revesz, Richard & Stavins, Robert, 2004. "Environmental Law and Policy," Working Paper Series rwp04-023, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    4. Solomon, Barry D., 1999. "New directions in emissions trading: the potential contribution of new institutional economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 371-387, September.
    5. Stavins, Robert, 2003. "Market-Based Environmental Policies: What Can We Learn from U.S. Experience and Related Research?," Working Paper Series rwp03-031, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    6. Lehmann, Paul, 2008. "Using a policy mix for pollution control: A review of economic literature," UFZ Discussion Papers 4/2008, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    7. Stavins, Robert, 2001. "Lessons From the American Experiment With Market-Based Environmental Policies," RFF Working Paper Series dp-01-53, Resources for the Future.
    8. Richard Schmalensee & Robert N. Stavins, 2019. "Policy Evolution under the Clean Air Act," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 27-50, Fall.
    9. Stavins, Robert & Hahn, Robert & Cavanagh, Sheila, 2001. "National Environmental Policy During the Clinton Years," RFF Working Paper Series dp-01-38, Resources for the Future.
    10. Robert W. Hahn & Robert N. Stavins, 2011. "The Effect of Allowance Allocations on Cap-and-Trade System Performance," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(S4), pages 267-294.
    11. Cropper, Maureen L & Oates, Wallace E, 1992. "Environmental Economics: A Survey," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 30(2), pages 675-740, June.
    12. Zach Raff & Dietrich Earnhart, 2018. "Effect Of Cooperative Enforcement Strategies On Wastewater Management," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1357-1379, April.
    13. Wang, Hua & Wheeler, David, 2005. "Financial incentives and endogenous enforcement in China's pollution levy system," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 174-196, January.
    14. Alm, James & Shimshack, Jay, 2014. "Environmental Enforcement and Compliance: Lessons from Pollution, Safety, and Tax Settings," Foundations and Trends(R) in Microeconomics, now publishers, vol. 10(4), pages 209-274, December.
    15. Bovenberg, A. Lans & Goulder, Lawrence H., 2002. "Environmental taxation and regulation," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 23, pages 1471-1545, Elsevier.
    16. Helfand, Gloria E. & Berck, Peter & Maull, Tim, 2003. "The theory of pollution policy," Handbook of Environmental Economics, in: K. G. Mäler & J. R. Vincent (ed.), Handbook of Environmental Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 6, pages 249-303, Elsevier.
    17. Earnhart Dietrich & Harrington Donna Ramirez & Glicksman Robert, 2021. "The Effects of Enforcement on Corporate Environmental Performance: The Role of Perceived Fairness," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 71-118, March.
    18. Anna Alberini & Kathleen Segerson, 2002. "Assessing Voluntary Programs to Improve Environmental Quality," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 22(1), pages 157-184, June.
    19. Lu Xiao & Huacong Ding & Yu Zhong & Chaojie Wang, 2023. "Optimal Control of Industrial Pollution under Stochastic Differential Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.
    20. Brookshire, David S & Burness, H Stuart, 2001. "The Informational Role of the EPA SO2 Permit Auction," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 43-60, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental Economics and Policy;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:rffdps:10601. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rffffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.