Coping practices and the spatial dimension of authority design
基于德国巴登-符腾堡州2000多份检查报告，分析欧盟工业排放指令执行中的应对实践，发现检查员优先检查距离近、易到达且环境风险小的场所，表明执行者更关注工作数量而非质量，揭示了空间位置对政策执行的重要影响。
Abstract Frontline implementers develop coping practices to deal with implementation burdens. Unfortunately, we have only limited knowledge of how widespread and systematic these practices are applied. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the enforcement activities carried out in the context of the European Union Industrial Emission Directive, relying on a quantitative data set that summarizes the information from more than 2000 inspection reports published by the German state Baden‐Württemberg. Our analysis reveals that inspectors tend to give priority to sites that (1) are closer and easier to reach and (2) that pose only a small risk to their environment. These findings indicate that implementers are primarily guided by concerns over the quantitative rather than the qualitative aspects of their work. These insights highlight that public authorities' spatial location is a crucial, yet still unexplored factor in the study of policy implementation.