A policy considered in isolation may be ineffective because of the countervailing impact of other factors. And the success of a policy may itself lead to perverse incentives. Thus it is important to design complementary policies that support the original goal. Controlling air pollution from...

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...

The costs attributable to complying with environmental regulation are not as important as other determinants of where Indian businesses locate new plants. The level of existing business activity overwhelms all other factors affecting location decisions. The cost of complying with environmental...

This World Bank review, Governance of Indian State Power Utilities: An Ongoing Journey, is a first attempt to systematically examine the quality of corporate and regulatory governance in the Indian power sector. Considering that much of the poor performance of utilities reflected internal and...

This paper presents an analysis of the economic impact of electricity price increases in Bangladesh. A computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is developed and used to trace through the impact of an increase in the price of electricity on GDP, household consumption, economy-wide investment,...

As in many countries around the world, subsidies to energy in Bangladesh impose a significant fiscal burden, with benefits that disproportionately accrue to high-income households. Any reforms of energy subsidies should benefit the overall economy rather than those who use energy the most. Using...

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...