CENTRAL PLANNING, INTERNAL SECURITY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

This article examines the economic and political factors that have led to low levels of environmental quality in centrally planned economies . A mathematical model is presented that juxtaposes several of the mos t plausible explanations: (a) low income levels, (b) highly polluted r esource bases, (c) systemic inefficiency in production, (d) the diffic ulty of incorporating complex environmental considerations into the pl anning process, (e) the insensitivity of leaders to the welfare of the ir citizens, (f) high expenditures on internal security as a fraction of gross national product, and (g) the ability of leaders to supress e nvironmental awareness through the control of environmental informatio n. The resulting framework clarifies the distinctions among these expl anations, offering insight into this extreme case of government failur e.