We make four main contributions in this paper related to the theory and practice of benefit cost analysis (BCA). First, we show that most BCAs of policy interventions do not consider the welfare consequences in secondary markets, where goods or services can be complements or substitutes to those...

Regulators attest that tightened energy efficiency standards save consumers money. Efficient light bulbs, appliances, and vehicles cost more upfront but reduce energy expenses by more than enough to compensate. We use survey data on American cars and their drivers to examine whether individual...

This paper considers the treatment of co-benefits in benefit-cost analysis of federal air quality regulations. Using a comprehensive data set on all major Clean Air Act rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency over the period 1997-2019, we show that (1) co-benefits make up a...

Evidence suggests that some pollutants follow an inverse-U-shaped pattern relative to countries' incomes. This relationship has been called the "environmental Kuznets curve." This paper lays out a simple and straight-forward static model of the microfoundations of the pollution-income...

Construction codes that regulate the energy efficiency of new buildings have been a centerpiece of US environmental policy for 40 years. California enacted the nation's first energy building codes in 1978, and they were projected to reduce residential energy use—and associated pollution—by...

The question posed by the title of this article has been at the heart of debates about pollution havens, industrial flight to developing countries, and now carbon “leakage.” Is the United States increasingly importing goods whose production generates relatively more pollution, rather than...