ABSTRACT

Many governments face the predicament of how best to allocate resources between economic development and environmental protection. This article explores the relationships between political influence, regulatory stringency, and economic growth. Drawing from data measuring the stringency of state energy regulations in the United States, the analysis finds that political ideology and the organizational form of state environmental agencies are significantly associated with the degree of regulatory stringency. Also, more stringent regulations and a super agency or a combined environmental agency structure predict an increase in economic growth, while a more Traditionalist political culture predicts a decrease in economic growth. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the importance of political factors in the design of governmental regulations. Moreover, the findings suggest that greater regulatory stringency may not be necessarily detrimental to economic development and that properly designed regulations may promote economic growth in the long run.

摘要

许多政府面临着如何在经济发展和环境保护之间最好地分配资源的困境。本文探讨了政治影响、监管严格度和经济增长之间的关系。从衡量美国各州能源法规严格程度的数据中，分析发现，政治意识形态和各州环保机构的组织形式与监管严格程度显着相关。此外，更严格的法规和超级机构或合并的环境机构结构预测经济增长会增加，而更传统的政治文化预测经济增长会下降。本研究通过强调政治因素在政府法规设计中的重要性为文献做出了贡献。此外，研究结果表明，更严格的监管可能不一定对经济发展有害，而设计合理的监管可能会从长远来看促进经济增长。