Environmental Governance

Co-Director: Colin Provost, Department of Political Science/School of Public Policy

Regulations designed to protect the environment are enormously complex, come in a variety of institutional forms and have a significant impact on environmental outcomes. While the strictest form of government regulation, known as command-and-control, has received some bad press, it is still endemic throughout the United States, whereas more flexible systems of regulation exist in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. Policy instruments championed by economists, such as carbon taxes and cap-and-trade systems are also being implemented and have their own impacts on existing regulatory structures. Finally, many firms are taking it upon themselves to implement green production processes, but here too, the effects of voluntary regulation depend largely on how such programs are designed and implemented. In this sub-group, we seek to determine how these different arrangements of environmental governance affect the environment itself.

Contact Details

Email: Colin Provost


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