Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/289813 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
AWI Discussion Paper Series No. 745
Publisher: 
University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics, Heidelberg
Abstract: 
This paper investigates the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in advancing environmental justice through monitoring and enforcement efforts mandated by the Clean Air Act. Our analysis relies on a comprehensive dataset encompassing auditing information from all environmentally relevant plants between 2000 and 2018. Leveraging county-level variation in racial composition and environmental auditing, we find a substantial and persistent reduction in the proportion of inspected plants following increases in the share of non-White population. This decline coincides with a decrease in political activism, particularly among entities typically advocating for more stringent environmental protection.
Subjects: 
Environmental auditing
Racial demographic shifts
Environmental justice
Political activism
JEL: 
J15
K32
P18
Q52
Q53
Q58
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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