Transboundary environmental problems with a mobile population: Is there a need for central policy?

It is a widely held view that efficient environmental policies regulating transboundary pollution will be adopted only if there is interjurisdictional coordination. Efficient policies can be adopted as a result of interstate treaties or mandated by a central authority. However, if the policies of states are chosen to maximize the same function of own citizen welfare, and if individuals migrate freely between states, constrained-efficient environmental regulatory policies are a non-cooperative equilibrium. The policies are constrained-efficient in equilibrium, the policy choices are the same as those found by maximizing the social welfare function subject to a policy feasibility constraint.