Looking Back at Fifty Years of the Clean Air Act

56 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2020

See all articles by Joseph E. Aldy

Joseph E. Aldy

Harvard Kennedy School; National Bureau of Economic Research; Resources for the Future; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)

Max Auffhammer

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics; University of California, Berkeley - Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics

Maureen Cropper

University of Maryland - Department of Economics; Resources for the Future

Arthur G. Fraas

Resources for the Future

Richard D. Morgenstern

Resources for the Future

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Date Written: February 20, 2020

Abstract

Since 1970, transportation, power generation, and manufacturing have dramatically transformed as air pollutant emissions have fallen significantly. To evaluate the causal impacts of the Clean Air Act on these changes, we synthesize and review retrospective analyses of air quality regulations. The geographic heterogeneity in regulatory stringency common to many regulations has important implications for emissions, public health, compliance costs, and employment. Cap-and-trade programs have delivered greater emission reductions at lower cost than conventional regulatory mandates, but policy practice has fallen short of the cost-effective ideal. Implementing regulations in imperfectly competitive markets have also influenced the Clean Air Act’s benefits and costs.

Suggested Citation

Aldy, Joseph E. and Auffhammer, Maximilian and Auffhammer, Maximilian and Cropper, Maureen L. and Fraas, Arthur G. and Morgenstern, Richard D., Looking Back at Fifty Years of the Clean Air Act (February 20, 2020). HKS Working Paper No. RWP20-003, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3544266 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3544266

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Maximilian Auffhammer

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Maureen L. Cropper

University of Maryland - Department of Economics ( email )

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Arthur G. Fraas

Resources for the Future ( email )

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Richard D. Morgenstern

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