Law and Regulation

Policy Process

History of US Environmental Regulation

Regulation in Theoretical Perspective

Background: Geissinger, LBJ Online Photo Archive, Wikimedia, 1967

The Policy Process

Most policies go through a relatively

similar series of steps:

Agenda Setting

Introducing a new environmental concern

to political discussion

Background: Wikimedia, 1970

POlicy Formulation

Designing policy goals and methods

Background: Harris & Ewing, Library of Congress, Wikimedia, 1927

Policy Legitimation

Getting political support

Formal establishment of policy

Policy implementation

Background: EPA, National Archives, Wikimedia, 1974

Policy Evaluation

Monitoring and evaluating implementation and effects

Background: Souza, White House, Wikimedia, 2013

Policy Change

Right back where we started

History of US Environmental Regulation

Background: Underwood and Underwood, Wikimedia, 1906

Preservationist/Conservationist Movement

The Environmental Decade (1970s)

National Environmental Policy Act (1969)

Clean Air Act (1970)

Clean Water Act (1972)

Endangered Species Act (1973)

The Reagan Years

Background: Reagan Library, Wikimedia, 1984

After Reagan: THe Regulation

Debate

Background: Wikimedia, 2006

Thinking about Regulation

The big tradeoff:

Mandate that the externality be stopped

versus:

Government information problem

Background: Breugel the Younger, Wikimedia, 1621

Why Regulate? (Salzman and Thompson, 2007)

Stop problems before they happen, unlike court action
Avoid information problem of who caused pollution
Simplicity: regulated individuals either adhered to regulations or not

Ways to Regulate (Bennear and Coglianese, 2013)

Means standards: require a specific technique when doing something

Easy to monitor, but no incentive to innovate or reduce output
Best when monitoring costs are high and there is clearly superior available tech (Sterner and Coria, 2012)

Performance standards: set a goal but allow those regulated to figure out how to achieve it

Encourages innovation/output reduction, but hard to monitor (Sterner and Coria, 2012)

Meta-means standards: require specific fact-finding/management procedures early in a decision making process

Background: Monet, Wikimedia, 2011