Testing Theories of Social Regulation: Hazardous Waste Regulation in the American States

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Abstract
Much current debate over "the new social regulation" results from failure to test empirically differing assertions about three critical relationships that underlie its politics: (1) the relationship between market failure and social regulation; (2) the impact of the economic strength of regulated industries on the regulatory process; and (3) the effect of organized public interest groups on the regulatory process. This paper empirically tests competing positions about these relationships with data on hazardous waste regulation in the American states. We find that regulatory effort is not determined by market failure, polluting industries are successful at socializing the costs of hazardous waste pollution, and environmental groups exert a strong influence on public but not private spending on regulation.

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