1. Introduction -- 2. Agency Rulemaking -- 3. Informal rulemaking in practice : BPT standards -- 4. Rulemaking theories and hypotheses -- 5. Methodological issues -- 6. Analysis and findings -- 7. Further implications of the research findings.

Some public utility commissions use monetary place-holders to reflect externality values in the financial evaluation of utility investments. This approach can be justified as a "second-best" policy tool if existing environmental regulation can be taken as given. This paper addresses two possible...

In this paper we estimate the cost-effectiveness, in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, of increasing the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard to 38 miles per gallon and substituting methanol, compressed natural gas (CNG), and reformulated gasoline for conventional gasoline....

This working paper is being published with the objective of contributing to the debate on a topic of importance to the region, and to elicit comments and suggestions from interested parties. This paper has not undergone consideration by the SDS Management Team. As such, it does not reflect the...

This paper presents a decision-analytic model for ranking the social burden of foodborne illness. The availability a consistent, transparent model allowing use of alternative ranking criteria and data assumptions will facilitate discussions between agencies committed to different criteria. By...

This paper estimates the impact on Delhi’s air quality of a number of policy measures recently implemented in the city to curb air pollution using monthly time-series data from 1990 to 2005. The best known of these measures is the court-mandated conversion of all commercial passenger...

This paper outlines recent developments in U.S. climate policies. Although the United States does not participate in the Kyoto Mechanism, a number of climate policies are being implemented at state level as well as at the federal level. First, we report and compare the federal cap and trade...

Health problems due to poor air quality have been among the main environmental concerns in Mexico City, Santiago, Bogotá, Sao Paulo, Lima, Quito among other cities in the region. This study provides quantitative estimates of key air pollution concentrations, health impacts, and the monetary...

Health problems due to poor air quality have been among the main environmental concerns in Mexico City, Santiago, Bogotá, Sao Paulo, Lima, Quito among other cities in the region. This study provides quantitative estimates of key air pollution concentrations, health impacts, and the monetary...

This paper provides (for the nonspecialist) a highly streamlined discussion of the main issues, and controversies, in the design of climate mitigation policy. The first part of the paper discusses how much action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the global level is efficient under both the...