Do Pollution Markets Harm Low Income and Minority Communities? Ranking Emissions Distributions Generated by California's RECLAIM Program

Erin Mansur and Glenn Sheriff

No 25666, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We compare the spatial distribution of emissions from Southern California’s pollution-trading program with that of a counterfactual command-and-control policy. We develop a normatively significant metric with which to rank the various distributions in a manner consistent with an explicit well-behaved preference structure. Results suggest trading benefited all demographic groups and generated a more equitable overall distribution of emissions even after controlling for its lower aggregate emissions. Upper-income and white demographics had more desirable distributions relative to low-income and some minority groups under the RECLAIM trading program, however, and population shifts over time may have undermined anticipated gains for African Americans.

JEL-codes: D63 Q52 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-env
Note: EEE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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