This paper explores empirically the impact of enforcement efforts on environmental compliance, focusing on the role of regulator reputation spillover effects. We find that, on the margin, the impact of a fine for water pollutant violations is about a two-thirds reduction in the statewide...

This paper examines responses to a national FDA advisory that urged at-risk individuals to limit store-bought fish consumption due to the dangers of methyl-mercury. We investigate consumer response using both parametric and nonparametric methods. Some targeted consumers significantly reduced...

Economists generally view environmental enforcement as a tool to secure compliance with regulations. This paper demonstrates that credible enforcement significantly increases statutory over-compliance with regulations as well. We find that many plants with discharges typically below legally...

The conventional economic wisdom is that improving consumer information will enhance welfare. Yet, some scientists speculate that the Food and Drug Administration's prominent 2001 mercury in fish advisory may have harmed public health. Lower mercury intakes reduce neurological toxicity risks....

Using supermarket scanner data, we test a variety of hypotheses from trade journals about the invasion of private-label food products. According to conventional industry wisdom, name-brand firms defended their brands against new private-label products by lowering their prices, engaging in...