2014/01/01 by Klara Zwickl, Mathias Moser, Zwickl, Klara +1
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Economic and Environmental Valuation #Environmental Justice and Health Disparities #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
paper · doi:10.57938/df9a69a9-5feb-443b-8644-393c11481e2f
openalex publication_date 2014/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
This paper analyzes if neighborhood income inequality has an effect on informal regulation of environmental <br/>quality, using census tract - level data on industrial air pollution exposure from EPA's Risk Screening Environmental <br/>Indicators and income and demographic variables from the American Community Survey and EPA's Smart Location Database. Estimating a spatial lag model and controlling for formal regulation at the states level, we nd evidence that overall neighborhood inequality - as measured by the ratio between the fourth and the second income quintile or the neighborhood Gini coefficient - increases local air pollution exposure, whereas a concentration of top incomes reduces local exposure. The positive coefficient of the <br/>general inequality measure is driven by urban neighborhoods, whereas the negative coefficient of top incomes is stronger in rural areas. We explain these findings by two contradicting effects of inequality: On the <br/>one hand, overall inequality reduces collective action and thus the organizing capacities for environmental <br/>improvements. On the other hand, a concentration of income at the top enhances the ability of rich residents <br/>to negotiate with regulators or polluting plants in their vicinity.