This Misum Academic Insight is based on the upcoming research article "Addressing Environmental Justice through In-Kind Court Settlements" forthcoming in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy.

In the US, approximately 5,000 administrative cases are brought against individuals, firms, or local governments annually for violating federal environmental statutes, such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Typically, around 56% of these cases result in cash settlements and around 4% of them also include an in-kind environmentally beneficial project.

The implications of these in-kind settlements are not straightforward yet policies on their use are being made in the absence of any quantitative analysis. This academic insight takes an in-depth look at public perception on in-kind settlements, guiding future use of them in addressing environmental justice issues.

Read the Misum Academic Insight here.

Research article authors:

• Pamela Campa, Research Affiliate in the Human Capital and Sustainable Development Platform, and Assistant Professor of Economics at SITE - Stockholm School of Economics.
• Lucija Muehlenbachs, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Calgary.