摘要：The paper investigates the potential for selective enforcement of a federal emissions standard in the context of a transboundary pollution problem. The theoretical results show that selective enforcement arises in the equilibrium of a game between state agencies responsible for the enforcement of the federal standard. In particular, facilities close to state borders are shown greater leniency in response to non-compliance. This leads to an outcome where near-border facilities have a higher incidence of non-compliance. The paper, then, tests for this selective enforcement effect using data on compliance rates under the US Clean Air Act. The results indicate the presence of a significant border effect: ceteris paribus, non-compliance rates are higher for facilities located closer to state borders. These results suggest that states are indeed more lenient towards facilities whose emissions are likely to flow into neighboring states.
关键词：environmental policy; enforcement; transboundary pollution; Clean Air Act
