Little empirical research has been done on monitoring and enforcement issues in environmental economics, especially to analyze the impact of monitoring and enforcement on polluters' environmental performance. No studies have been done in developing economies. The authors explore the impact of inspections, and the potential impact of pollution charges and citizen's complaints, on the environmental performance of polluters in China. Their analysis of plant-level data from the city of Zhenjiang shows that: 1) Inspections have a statistically significant impact on firm's environmental performance. 2) Pollution charges do not have a statistically significant effect on firms' performance - although the lack of variation in pollution charges in Zhenjiang precludes effectively capturing their impact. 3) Complaints have a significant impact on inspections and therefore on pollution control. Currently available data do not allow analysis of whether the cost of additional inspections is justified, but it is reasonable to speculate that additional inspections would improve social welfare in Zhenjiang, and that information and education campaigns are probably a good way to encourage citizen complaints.
Details
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Author
Dasgupta, Susmita Laplante, Benoit Namingi, Nlan
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Document Date
2000/02/29
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Document Type
Policy Research Working Paper
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Report Number
WPS2285
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Volume No
1
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Total Volume(s)
1
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Country
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Region
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Disclosure Date
2010/07/01
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Doc Name
Industrial environmental performance in China - the impact of inspections
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Keywords
Industrial pollution; Pollution control; Inspection; Environmental performance indicators; Enforcement powers; Environmental economics; Monitoring techniques; Developing countries; Statistical data; Pollution control costs; Environmental impact; Social benefits; Information dissemination; Educational delivery
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Citation
Dasgupta, Susmita Laplante, Benoit Namingi, Nlan
Industrial environmental performance in China - the impact of inspections (English). Policy, Research working paper ; no. WPS 2285 Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/215211468770472356/Industrial-environmental-performance-in-China-the-impact-of-inspections