Document Type
Unpublished Paper
Publication Date
2020
First Page
1
Last Page
56
Abstract
We address the issue of optimal investment in "preventative capital" to mitigate episodic, mobile-source air pollution events in Utah's Wasatch Front region. We calibrate Berry et al.'s (2015) endogenous-risk model using a unique dataset related to the region's "red air day" episodes occurring over the past decade. Our analysis demonstrates that, under a wide range of circumstances, the optimal steady-state level of preventative capital stock – raised through the issuance of a municipal "clean air bond" that can be used to fund more aggressive mitigation efforts – meets the standard for PM2.5 concentrations with positive social net benefits. We estimate benefit-cost ratios ranging between 5.1:1 and 8.1:1, depending upon trip-count elasticity with respect to the preventative capital stock. These ratios are larger than those reported in Acharya and Caplan (2019) for northern Utah, but still lower than the range generally estimated for the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.
Recommended Citation
Acharya, Ramjee and Caplan, Arthur J., "Control of Episodic Air Pollution in Utah's Wasatch Front Region Through Investment in Preventative Capital" (2020). Applied Economics Faculty Publications. Paper 1311.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/appecon_facpub/1311
