Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Environmental Accounting for Pollution in the United States Economy

http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/aer.101.5.1649
Abstract: This study presents a framework to include environmental externalities into a system of national accounts. The paper estimates the air pollution damages for each industry in the United States. An integrated-assessment model quantifies the marginal damages of air pollution emissions for the US which are multiplied times the quantity of emissions by industry to compute gross damages. Solid waste combustion, sewage treatment, stone quarrying, marinas, and oil and coal-fired power plants have air pollution damages larger than their value added. The largest industrial contributor to external costs is coal-fired electric generation, whose damages range from 0.8 to 5.6 times value added.

by Nicholas Z. Muller 1, Robert Mendelsohn 2 and William Nordhaus 2
American Economic Review http://www.aeaweb.org/
Volume 101, Number 5, August 2011 pages 1649-1675
1. Middlebury College
2. Yale University

1 comment:

  1. Making the citizen accountable for their impact on the environment should be a serious study for all countries. There may be environmental services that can lessen the overall impact, but knowing how much needs to be cleaned up makes the process more efficient.

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