Environmental Economics Seminar: Two Birds, One Stone? Local Pollution Regulation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Date and Time
Tuesday 10/17/2017 2:00PM to 3:30PM EDTLocation
Details
Contact: Carl Pasurka, 202-566-2275
Presenter: Claire Brunel (School of International Service, American University)
Description: In most countries, environmental regulation focuses on local pollution, which causes damages near the emission source, while regulation on global pollutants such as greenhouse gases (GHG) has been slow. Theoretically, local and global pollutants can either be substitutes or complements in production, implying that local pollution regulation may either intensify or reduce global warming concerns. We exploit new data on US GHG emissions and variation in local pollution regulation across US counties to estimate this relationship. We find no evidence that more stringent local pollution regulation changes GHG emissions from manufacturing sectors. Therefore, local pollution regulation will not suffice to address global warming.