ERIC Number: EJ759393
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 22
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0276-8739
EISSN: N/A
Should You Turn Yourself in? The Consequences of Environmental Self-Policing
Stafford, Sarah L.
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, v26 n2 p305-326 Spr 2007
Facilities that self-police under the Environmental Protection Agency's Audit Policy are eligible for reduced penalties on disclosed violations. This paper investigates whether self-policing has additional consequences; in particular, whether self-policing reduces future enforcement activity. Using data on U.S. hazardous waste enforcement and disclosures, I find that facilities that self-police are rewarded with a lower probability of inspection in the future, although facilities with good compliance records receive a smaller benefit than facilities with poor records. Additionally, facilities that are inspected frequently are more likely to disclose than facilities that face a low probability of inspection. The results suggest that facilities may be able to strategically disclose in order to decrease future enforcement.
Descriptors: Inspection, Hazardous Materials, Environmental Standards, Audits (Verification), Institutional Research, Self Disclosure (Individuals), Quality Control, Benchmarking, Policy Analysis, Negative Reinforcement, Compliance (Legal), Probability
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A