In both countries the higher the level of community income, the lower the pollution intensity of local plants. This paper provides support for the idea that community-based pressure on plants to abate pollution exists, even in the presence of formal regulation.Pargal, Hettige, Singh, and Wheeler...

When formal regulation is weak or absent, communities often use other channels to induce pollution abatement by local factories in a process of "informal regulation." The resulting "pollution equilibrium" reflects the relative bargaining power of the community and the plant. This note uses...