scholarly journals Escalation of Scrutiny: The Gains from Dynamic Enforcement of Environmental Regulations

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (8) ◽  
pp. 2558-2585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesley Blundell ◽  
Gautam Gowrisankaran ◽  
Ashley Langer

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses a dynamic approach to enforcing air pollution regulations, with repeat offenders subject to high fines and designation as high priority violators (HPV). We estimate the value of dynamic enforcement by developing and estimating a dynamic model of a plant and regulator, where plants decide when to invest in pollution abatement technologies. We use a fixed grid approach to estimate random coefficient specifications. Investment, fines, and HPV designation are costly to most plants. Eliminating dynamic enforcement would raise pollution damages by 164 percent with constant fines or raise fines by 519 percent with constant pollution damages. (JEL Q52, Q53, Q58)

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Ram Vijayagopal ◽  
Aymeric Rousseau

The benefits of electrified powertrains for light-duty vehicles are well understood, however sufficient published information is not available on the benefits of advanced powertrains on the various types of medium and heavy duty vehicles. Quantifying the benefits of powertrain electrification will help fleet operators understand the advantages or limitations in adopting electrified powertrains in their truck fleets. Trucks vary in size and shape, as they are designed for specific applications. It is necessary to model each kind of truck separately to understand what kind of powertrain architecture will be feasible for their daily operations. This paper examines 11 types of vehicles and 5 powertrain technology choices to quantify the fuel saving potential of each design choice. This study uses the regulatory cycles proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for measuring fuel consumption.


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