Replication data for: Where is Pollution Moving? Environmental Markets and Environmental Justice

Do US air pollution offset markets disproportionately relocate pollution to or from low-income or minority communities? Concerns about an equal distribution of environmental quality across communities – environmental justice – have growing policy influence. We relate prices and quantities of offset transactions to demographics of the communities surrounding polluting plants. We find little association of offset prices or offset-induced movements in pollution with the share of a community that is Black, Hispanic, or with mean household income. This analysis of twelve prominent offset markets suggests that they do not substantially increase or decrease the equity of environmental outcomes.<br><br>

美国空气污染抵消市场是否会不成比例地将污染转移至低收入或少数族裔社区，抑或自这些社区转移污染？对于社区间环境质量公平分配的关切——环境正义（environmental justice）——其政策影响力与日俱增。本研究将补偿交易的价格与交易量，与污染排放工厂周边社区的人口统计特征建立关联。研究发现，补偿交易价格或由补偿机制引发的污染迁移，与社区内黑人、西班牙裔人口占比及家庭平均收入水平几乎不存在显著关联。针对12个主流抵消市场的分析表明，这些市场并未显著改变环境结果的公平性。