Assessing the Empirical Impact of Environmental Federalism
研究了美国里根和老布什时期环境政策权力下放的实际效果，发现对污染治理支出在80年代中期后出现“向上竞争”，但对氮氧化物和二氧化硫排放无显著影响。
Abstract Many theoretical models analyze the effects of decentralized environmental policymaking. The predictions range from a race to the top, a race to the bottom, or no effect. However, little empirical evidence exists to resolve this ambiguity. This paper fills the void by examining the impact of decentralized environmental policymaking in the U.S. under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. For abatement expenditures, Reagan's decentralization had no discernible impact before the mid‐1980s, but by the mid‐1980s the data are consistent with decentralization leading to a race to the top. No statistically significant effect is found on nitrogen oxide or sulfur dioxide emissions.