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Stretesky, Paul B.; Lynch, Michael J. --- "Does Self-Policing Improve Environmental Compliance?" [2011] ELECD 313; in Paddock, Lee; Qun, Du; Kotzé, J. Louis; Markell, L. David; Markowitz, J. Kenneth; Zaelke, Durwood (eds), "Compliance and Enforcement in Environmental Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Compliance and Enforcement in Environmental Law

Editor(s): Paddock, Lee; Qun, Du; Kotzé, J. Louis; Markell, L. David; Markowitz, J. Kenneth; Zaelke, Durwood

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848448315

Section: Chapter 9

Section Title: Does Self-Policing Improve Environmental Compliance?

Author(s): Stretesky, Paul B.; Lynch, Michael J.

Number of pages: 22

Extract:

9. Does Self-Policing Improve
Environmental Compliance?
Paul B. Stretesky* and Michael J. Lynch**


1. INTRODUCTION

In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a policy entitled
"Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction, and Prevention
of Violations." \ The idea of self-policing has interested researchers for some
time. 2 Despite this interest in self-regulation, few empirical studies have
examined whether self-policing increases levels of environmental compliance.
The purpose of this research is to determine whether self-policing is associated
with improvements in the level of environmental compliance. This study is
carried out on a sample composed of (1) all facilities operating in Standard
Industrial Classification (SIC) code 28 (chemical and allied products) that self-
reported their environmental violations to the EPA during the 1999 and 2000
fiscal years (that is between October 1, 1998 and September 30th 2000) and (2) a
random sample of facilities derived from a list of all facilities that operated in SIC
code 28 during the 1999 and 2000 fiscal years - some of which were discovered
by regulators to have violated environmental laws. Theoretically, we hypothesize
that facilities utilizing self-policing will have enhanced rates of environmental
compliance compared to facilities that do not self-police.


2. BACKGROUND

In a traditional enforcement system, the state determines the rules and regulations
and establishes punishment for administrative, civil, and criminal violations.
Kraft and Vig observe that the 1990s marked a shift in U.S. environmental policy
away from traditional enforcement structures toward forms of regulation ...