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Introduction to the Political Economy of Environmental Regulations Robert N. Stavins February 2004 • Discussion Paper 04–12 Resources for the Future 1616 P Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20036 Telephone: 202–328–5000 Fax: 202–939–3460 Internet: © 2004 Resources for the Future. All rights reserved. No portion of this paper may be reproduced without permission of the authors. Discussion papers are research materials circulated by their authors for purposes of information and discussion. They have not necessarily undergone formal peer review or editorial treatment. Draft INTRODUCTION TO THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION Robert N. Stavins John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and Resources for the Future Prepared as Chapter 1 (Introduction) for The Political Economy of Environmental Regulation Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc. January 26, 2004 Send Comments to: Prof. Robert N. Stavins John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University 79 John F. Kennedy Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Phone: 617-495-1820 Fax: 617-496-3783 E-Mail: robert_stavins@ ABSTRACT This paper introduces a volume of collected papers on the political economy of environmental regulation: economic analyses of the processes through which political decisions regarding environmental regulation are made, principally in the institutional context found in the United States. Despite this geographic focus, many of the papers contain analytical models that are methodologically of interest and/or have lessons that are relevant in other pa