Transparency and toxics: policy tool interactions in environmental regulation

Abstract Toxics information disclosure programs have been hailed by some as being among the most successful environmental programs in history. Yet critics have argued that these policies may invite abuse by reducing traditional regulatory monitoring and enforcement, leading to poorer policy outcomes. Leveraging variation in U.S. state toxics transparency programs, we assess these conflicting claims. We find that information disclosure policies are associated with differences in agency monitoring and enforcement actions as well as with emission levels, but that these relationships are conditioned by the severity of the pollution problem. Overall, our evidence suggests that public information policies and traditional forms of regulation are imperfect substitutes, and successfully reducing toxic emissions requires both policy tools working in concert.