Exercising property rights to pollute: Do cancer risks and politics affectplant emission reductions?

This paper examines whether firms' decisions about reductions in toxic emis sions depend on the magnitude of dangers arising from their pollution and o n who bears pollutant risks. Controlling for the quantity of air toxics rel eased in 1988, this article finds that plants whose emissions generated hig her numbers of expected cancer cases did reduce their emissions more betwee n 1988 and 1991. The nature of the community bearing the pollution risk als o affected firm decisions. The higher the voter turnout in the area, a prox y for residents' likelihood of collective action, the greater the reduction s in a plant's release of air carcinogens.