Explaining the choice of air‐pollution control strategies in the United States: Some evidence of institutional bias

Abstract

Although most economists advocate use of economic instruments to control air pollution, the US Congress has tended to rely upon command‐and‐control regulatory methods to achieve its ends. Previous explanations of the shape of air‐pollution policy in the United States have tended to emphasise cultural or subsystem features. Such explanations have their merits, but their lack of attention to institutional arrangements means that they are incomplete. Institutional arrangements in Congress can be shown to be an important component in explaining the choice of regulatory strategy to control air pollution. The congressional venues where the choice of regulatory strategy tend to be made are dominated by a small group of legislators with close links to organisations that have traditionally advocated command‐and‐control as a means to control air pollution.