Elements of air pollution policy analysis

The National Research Council has pointed out that more ways need to be explored to link scientific research effectively with policy and environmental decision-making. One approach would be to promote interdisciplinary efforts designed to give science graduate students an opportunity to work in a collaborative effort, such as with economists and political scientists, to fulfill a project situating new environmental research within a broader social context. This appendix summarizes the results of work done in collaboration with Profs. Ingela Alger and Frank Gollop in the Economics Department at Boston College. In it we consider elements of air pollution policy analysis, leading to a novel perspective on the effect of permit trading (a popular market mechanism of pollution control) on polluting firms competing imperfectly.