Data and Code for: Socioeconomic Disparities in Privatized Pollution Remediation: Evidence from Toxic Chemical Spills

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Justin Marion, University of California-Santa Cruz; Jeremy West, University of California-Santa Cruz

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  all_exhibits_latex 05/03/2023 12:54:AM
  bunching_estimates 05/03/2023 12:54:AM
  code 05/04/2023 03:08:AM
  compiled_data 05/03/2023 12:55:AM
  exhibits 05/03/2023 12:56:AM
  raw_data 05/03/2023 12:59:AM
  regression_discontinuity_estimates 05/03/2023 12:56:AM
README.pdf application/pdf 151.2 KB 05/04/2023 08:09:PM

Project Citation: 

Marion, Justin, and West, Jeremy. Data and Code for: Socioeconomic Disparities in Privatized Pollution Remediation: Evidence from Toxic Chemical Spills. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2023. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2023-10-13. https://doi.org/10.3886/E190721V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary
Replication code and data accompanying the research article.

Article Abstract: Governments often privatize the administration of regulations to third-party specialists paid for by the regulated parties. We study how the resulting conflict of interest can have unintended consequences for the distributional impacts of regulation. In Massachusetts, the party responsible for hazardous waste contamination must hire a licensed contractor to quantify the environmental severity. We find that contractors' evaluations favor their clients, exhibiting substantial score bunching just below thresholds that determine government oversight of the remediation. Client favoritism is more pronounced in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods and is associated with inferior remediation quality, highlighting a novel channel for inequities in pollution exposure.

Funding Sources:  View help for Funding Sources This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms Observational Study
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      D63 Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
      J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
      K32 Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
      L51 Economics of Regulation
      Q53 Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Massachusetts
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1984 – 2019


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V1 [2023-10-13]

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