The Political Economy of Environmental Policy

Abstract

This paper provides a review and assessment of the extensive literature on the political determination of environmental regulation. A promising theoretical literature has emerged relatively recently that provides models of the political interaction of government with various interest groups in the setting of environmental standards and the choice of regulatory instruments. A large empirical literature supports such models, finding evidence of the influence of interest groups but also evidence that net social benefits are often an important determinant of environmental policy choices. We then take up the issue of environmental federalism and the large and growing theoretical literature that addresses the competitive "race to the bottom." The paper concludes with a brief look at the evolution of environmental policy and finds that economics has come to play a growing role both in the setting of standards for environmental quality and in the design of regulatory measures.

Strategic Voting for Noncooperative Environmental Policies in Open Economies

“…3 For a review and assessment of the extensive literature on the political determination of environmental regulation, see Oates and Portney (2003). Furthermore, using the modern tools of economics and public choice, Congleton (1996) examines the political and economic factors that generate environmental policy.…”

The political economy of international environmental agreements: a survey

“…Political economy models can be interpreted as extensions of conventional economic models of collective decision making. For our purpose we adopt a broad definition as proposed by Oates and Portney (2003) who define "political economy" as:…”

Frontiers of Climate Change Economics

“…1 The theoretical literature on the political economy of environmental policy implementation typically emphasizes lobbying by the fossil sector (cf. Oates and Portney 2003). The Special Issue contains two contributions that approach political economy considerations from a different perspective.…”