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Environmental Justice: Establishing Causal Relationships

Publication ,  Journal Article
Banzhaf, HS; Ma, L; Timmins, C
Published in: Annual Review of Resource Economics
October 5, 2019

The environmental justice literature has found that the poor and people of color are disproportionately exposed to pollution. This literature has sparked a broad activist movement and several policy reforms in the United States and internationally. In this article, we review the literature documenting correlations between pollution and demographics and the history of the related movement, focusing on the United States. We then turn to the potential causal mechanisms behind the observed correlations. Given its focus on causal econometric models, we argue that economics has a comparative advantage in evaluating these mechanisms. We consider (a) profit-maximizing decisions by firms, (b) Tiebout-like utility-maximizing decisions by households in the presence of income disparities, (c) Coasean negotiations between both sides, (d) political economy explanations and governmental failures, and (e) intergenerational transmission of poverty. Proper identification of the causal mechanisms underlying observed disproportionate exposures is critical to the design of effective policy to remedy them.

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Published In

Annual Review of Resource Economics

DOI

EISSN

1941-1359

ISSN

1941-1340

Publication Date

October 5, 2019

Volume

11

Start / End Page

377 / 398

Related Subject Headings

  • 3803 Economic theory
  • 3802 Econometrics
  • 3801 Applied economics
 

Citation

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Banzhaf, H. S., Ma, L., & Timmins, C. (2019). Environmental Justice: Establishing Causal Relationships. Annual Review of Resource Economics, 11, 377–398. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-100518-094131
Banzhaf, H. S., L. Ma, and C. Timmins. “Environmental Justice: Establishing Causal Relationships.” Annual Review of Resource Economics 11 (October 5, 2019): 377–98. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-100518-094131.
Banzhaf HS, Ma L, Timmins C. Environmental Justice: Establishing Causal Relationships. Annual Review of Resource Economics. 2019 Oct 5;11:377–98.
Banzhaf, H. S., et al. “Environmental Justice: Establishing Causal Relationships.” Annual Review of Resource Economics, vol. 11, Oct. 2019, pp. 377–98. Scopus, doi:10.1146/annurev-resource-100518-094131.
Banzhaf HS, Ma L, Timmins C. Environmental Justice: Establishing Causal Relationships. Annual Review of Resource Economics. 2019 Oct 5;11:377–398.

Published In

Annual Review of Resource Economics

DOI

EISSN

1941-1359

ISSN

1941-1340

Publication Date

October 5, 2019

Volume

11

Start / End Page

377 / 398

Related Subject Headings

  • 3803 Economic theory
  • 3802 Econometrics
  • 3801 Applied economics