THE REVEALED PREFERENCES OF STATE EPAS - STRINGENCY, ENFORCEMENT, ANDSUBSTITUTION

The EPA suggests states inspect polluters at least once a year and use sampling and nonsampling inspections equally. States face two separat e pressures in their attempts to comply with these mandates: political and budgetary. Budgetary considerations arise because inspections are costly while political pressures arise because the stringency of enfo rcement, in part, determines the cost abatement. This study estimates the relative importance of political and budgetary pressures in the st ringency with which the Clean Water Act is enforced. The results sugge st that inspections determined by budgetary concerns and the stringenc y of inspections is determined, in part, by political factors. (C) 199 8 Academic Press.