Has Surface Water Quality Improved Since the Clean Water Act? / V. Kerry Smith, Carlos Valcarcel Wolloh.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, V. Kerry.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Valcarcel Wolloh, Carlos.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w18192.

NBER working paper series no. w18192

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2012.

Summary:

On the fortieth anniversary of the Clean Water Act this paper reports the first quantitative assessment of the aggregate trends in water quality in the U.S. using a single standard over the years 1975 to 2011. The analysis suggests that fresh water lakes for the nation as a whole are about at the same quality levels as they were in 1975. In short, viewed in the aggregate, nothing has changed. An assessment of the factors influencing the aggregates also suggests that water quality appears to be affected by the business cycle. This result calls into question the simple descriptions of the change in environmental quality with economic growth that are associated with the Environmental Kuznets Curve.

Notes:

Print version record

June 2012.