RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Technological Change for Sulfur Dioxide Scrubbers under Market-Based Regulation
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 546
OP 556
DO 10.3368/le.81.4.546
VO 81
IS 4
A1 Lange, Ian
A1 Bellas, Allen
YR 2005
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/81/4/546.abstract
AB The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) introduced tradable permits for controlling sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from coal-burning power plants and forced scrubbers to compete with other SO2 abatement options. While the flexibility of permits reduced overall compliance costs, a secondary benefit would exist if there were resulting advances in scrubber technology. A hedonic model is used to estimate the effect of changing regulatory regimes on scrubber costs. While scrubbers installed under the 1990 CAAA are cheaper to purchase and operate than older scrubbers, these cost reductions seem to be a one-time drop rather than a continual decline. (JEL Q52, Q55)