Measuring State Environmental Policy

Review of Policy Research 29(4): 544-569, 2012

51 Pages Posted: 24 Dec 2015

See all articles by David Konisky

David Konisky

Indiana University Bloomington - School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA)

Neal Woods

University of South Carolina

Date Written: December 16, 2011

Abstract

Studies of environmental policy employ various empirical strategies for measuring state environmental effort. The majority of these strategies can be divided into four categories: indices of state programmatic indicators, government expenditures, pollution abatement costs, and regulatory enforcement actions. In this paper we argue that these measures are empirically distinct, capture different attributes of state environmental policy, and are correlated with different intrastate factors. Thus, the choice among environmental policy measures is substantively important for researchers to consider, and we conclude by providing advice to scholars about choosing among these measures.

Keywords: environment, U.S. States, pollution, methods, policy, measurement

Suggested Citation

Konisky, David and Woods, Neal, Measuring State Environmental Policy (December 16, 2011). Review of Policy Research 29(4): 544-569, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2707812

David Konisky (Contact Author)

Indiana University Bloomington - School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA) ( email )

1315 East Tenth Street
Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

Neal Woods

University of South Carolina ( email )

701 Main Street
Columbia, SC 29208
United States

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