This paper applies nonparametric estimators to examine the effect of regional quality of government on the environmental performance in the NUTS 1 regions in France, Germany, and the UK. A novel measure on governance is used, gauging the partiality, corruption and effectiveness of government...

Profit-seeking firms can be induced to internalise the environmental damages caused by production via several policy instruments, a widely used one being emission permits. In a very influential paper, Laffont and Tirole (J Public Econ 62:127-140, 1996) point out that the allocation of pollution...