Enforcement and over-compliance

Economists generally view environmental enforcement as a tool to secure compliance with regulations. This paper demonstrates that credible enforcement significantly increases statutory over-compliance with regulations as well. We find that many plants with discharges typically below legally permitted levels reduce discharges further when regulators issue fines, even on other plants. Also, non-compliant plants often respond to sanctions by reducing discharges well beyond reductions required by law. Thus, increased enforcement generates substantial discharge reductions above and beyond those expected from simply deterring violations.Over-compliance; Fines; Compliance; Enforcement; Regulation; Pollution Policy; Environmental economics; Environmental enforcement; Water pollution; Beyond compliance

Enforcement and Environmental Compliance: A Statistical Analysis of the Pulp and Paper Industry

This paper explores empirically the impact of changes of enforcement efforts on environmental compliance. Our strategy is to link observed fines and other enforcement actions to subsequent compliance behavior. We find that, on the margin, the impact of a fine for water pollutant violations is about a two-thirds reduction in the statewide violation rate in the year following a fine. This surprisingly large result obtains through the regulator’s enhanced reputation. We find that the deterrence impact on other firms in a state is almost as strong as the impact on the sanctioned firm. In contrast to fines, non-monetary sanctions contribute no detected impact on compliance.Fines, Reputation, Pollution, Compliance, Enforcement

Enforcement and Over-Compliance

Economists generally view environmental enforcement as a tool to secure compliance with regulations. This paper demonstrates that credible enforcement significantly increases statutory overcompliance with regulations as well. We find that many plants with discharges typically below legally permitted levels reduce discharges further when regulators issue fines, even on other plants. Also, likely non-compliant plants often respond to sanctions by reducing discharges well beyond reductions required by law. Thus, increased enforcement generates substantial discharge reductions above and beyond those expected from simply deterring violations.Over-compliance; Fines; Compliance; Enforcement; Regulation; Pollution Policy

Dealing with confounding when investigating time-space clustering of animal disease

A one-dimensional scan statistic has been used to study disease clusters in time, and a two-dimensional scan statistic has been proposed for spatial disease clusters. Kulldorf et al have proposed extending the use of the scan statistic, defined by a cylindrical window with a circular geographic base and height corresponding to time, for time-space clustering. By assuming the number of disease cases within the scanning window to be Poisson distributed, confounders can be controlled through indirect standardisation. This statistic also accommodates the uneven distribution of most populations. Multiple testing can be resolved by Monte Carlo simulation. Blowfly strike is a major economic disease in Australian sheep flocks. Breech and body strike are the most important types of flystrike. Risk factors for breech strike include diarrhoea and urine soiling, and weaner sheep and ewes are therefore more susceptible. Management procedures (eg. mulesing, crutching, tail docking, intestinal parasites control) are used to reduce susceptibility. Body strike appears to be strongly determined by climatic factors. Body and breech strike data were used in this study to assess application of the scan statistic to detect time-space clustering whilst controlling the potential confounding of flock structure

The summertime plankton community at South Georgia (Southern Ocean): comparing the historical (1926/27) and modern (post 1995) records.

The earliest comprehensive plankton sampling programme in the Southern Ocean was 32 undertaken during the early part of last century by Discovery Investigations to gain a 33 greater scientific understanding of whale stocks and their summer feeding grounds. An 34 initial survey was carried out around South Georgia during December 1926 and January 35 1927 to describe the distribution of plankton during the summer, and to serve as a 36 baseline against which to compare future surveys. We have reanalysed phytoplankton and 37 zooplankton data from this survey and elucidated patterns of community distribution and 38 compared them with our recent understanding of the ecosystem based on contemporary 39 data. Analysis of Discovery data identified five groups of stations with characteristic 40 phytoplankton communities which were almost entirely consistent with the original 41 analysis conducted by Hardy and Gunther (1935). Major groupings were located at the 42 western end of the island and over the northern shelf where Corethron spp. were 43 dominant, and to the south and east where a more diverse flora included high abundances 44 of Nitzschia seriata. Major zooplankton-station groupings were located over the inner 45 shelf which was characterised by a high abundance of Drepanopus forcipatus and in 46 oceanic water >500 m deep that were dominated by Foraminifera, Oithona spp., 47 Ctenocalanus vanus, and Calanoides acutus. Stations along the middle and outer shelf 48 regions to the north and west, were characterised by low overall abundance. There was 49 some evidence that groupings of stations to the north of the island originated in different 50 water masses on either side of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front, the 51 major frontal system in the deep ocean close to South Georgia. However, transect lines 52 during 1926/27 did not extend far enough offshore to sample this frontal region 53 3 adequately. Interannual variability of zooplankton abundance was assessed from stations 54 which were sampled repeatedly during 7 recent British Antarctic Survey cruises (1995-55 2005) to the region and following taxonomic harmonization and numerical 56 standardization (ind. m-3), a subset of 45 taxonomic categories of zooplankton (species 57 and higher taxa) from 1926/27, were compared with similar data obtained during the 58 BAS cruises using a linear model. Initially comparisons were restricted to BAS stations 59 that lay within 40 km of Discovery stations although a comparison was also made using 60 all available data. Despite low abundance values in 1926/27, in neither comparison did 61 Discovery data differ significantly from BAS data. Calculation of the percentage 62 similarity index across cruises did not reveal any systematic differences in species 63 composition between 1926/27 and the present. In the light of ocean warming trends, the 64 existence of more subtle changes in species composition is not ruled out, but an absence 65 of finely resolved time-series data make this impossible to determine

Effects of the private-label invasion in food industries

Using supermarket scanner data, we test a variety of hypotheses from trade journals about the invasion of private-label food products. According to conventional industry wisdom, name-brand firms defended their brands against new private-label products by lowering their prices, engaging in additional promotional activities, and increasingly differentiating their products. Our empirical evidence is inconsistent with these beliefs.private label; entry; price; promotional activity; differentiation; supermarket

Mercury advisories: Information, education, and fish consumption

This paper examines responses to a national FDA advisory that urged at-risk individuals to limit store-bought fish consumption due to the dangers of methyl-mercury. We investigate consumer response using both parametric and nonparametric methods. Some targeted consumers significantly reduced canned fish purchases as a result of the advisory, suggesting that information-based policies can achieve the issuing agency’s goals. Education and newspaper readership were important determinants of response, suggesting that information acquisition and assimilation are key factors for risk avoidance. While some groups reduced consumption as a result of the advisory, we do not find a response among the relatively large group of at-risk households which met neither the education nor readership criteria. The advisory also had unintended spillover effects; some consumers not considered at-risk reduced consumption in response to the advisory.mercury; health information; health advisory; environmental health; fish consumption; children’s health; environmental risk; pollution;

Monitoring trends in pesticide use and residues on Queensland wool

Pesticides are applied to sheep during the wool-growing season to control louse infestation and blowfly strike. Pesticides used in Australia belong to organophosphorous (OP), synthetic pyrethroid (SP) or insect growth regulator (IGR) classes. To maintain market access, the Australian wool industry has resolved to reduce the amount of pesticide residues on wool by a strategy of best management practices that minimise the need for pesticide application late in the wool-growing season. This paper reports the results of a program to monitor trends in pesticide use by Queensland woolgrowers and amounts of OP, SP and IGR pesticides on Queensland wool during the period 1993 to 1999

Logistic regression models to evaluate inspection of wool lots for lice

The body louse (Bovicola ovis) is associated with reduced wool production and economic loss in sheep flocks. Although it can be controlled by pesticides (organophosphorous, OP, synthetic pyrethroid, SP and insect growth regulator, IGR), pesticide use has several disadvantages (residues on wool and market restrictions, occupational health and safety, environmental affects, development of resistance). Most pesticide applied to Queensland sheep flocks is for louse control. Although most woolgrowers consider their flocks uninfested, >90% still use pesticides, presumably as an ‘insurance policy’ against reinfestation.2,3 To develop and measure the success of louse-control and pesticide-reduction extension programs, tests to estimate the prevalence of louse infestation are required. To interpret results, test characteristics must be known and the study population used for test evaluation and its characteristics must be considered. We describe a study to evaluate visual inspection of wool lots at sale for lice as a test, and to investigate flock and management characteristics that influence test performance

Regulator reputation, enforcement, and environmental compliance

This paper explores empirically the impact of enforcement efforts on environmental compliance, focusing on the role of regulator reputation spillover effects. We find that, on the margin, the impact of a fine for water pollutant violations is about a two-thirds reduction in the statewide violation rate in the year following a fine. This large result obtains through the regulator’s enhanced reputation; the deterrence impact on other plants in a state is almost as strong as the impact on the sanctioned plant. Focusing only on the response of the sanctioned plant, as in previous studies, may therefore seriously underestimate the efficacy of fines and other sanctions. This paper also examines the relative effectiveness of monitoring and enforcement instruments. Non-monetary sanctions contribute no detected impact on compliance, and the marginal fine induces substantially greater compliance than the marginal inspection