Pollution in the Garden of the Argentine Republic: Building State Capacity to Escape from Chaotic Regulation
Environmental regulation in middle-income and developing countries is often viewed with high degrees of pessimism. Although many countries have adopted protective laws, violations are widespread and institutions are weak. This paper analyzes the puzzle of shifting patterns of environmental regulatio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Sage Publications
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87559 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6024-1920 |
| _version_ | 1826217238767599616 |
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| author | Amengual, Matthew |
| author2 | Sloan School of Management |
| author_facet | Sloan School of Management Amengual, Matthew |
| author_sort | Amengual, Matthew |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Environmental regulation in middle-income and developing countries is often viewed with high degrees of pessimism. Although many countries have adopted protective laws, violations are widespread and institutions are weak. This paper analyzes the puzzle of shifting patterns of environmental regulation in Argentina, a country with widespread institutional weakness. Most regulators in Argentina take a firefighting approach, acting only when skirmishes emerge between communities and firms. Amidst regulatory chaos, improvements in the environmental performance of firms are few, and noncompliance remains the norm. However, in the province of Tucumán, the pattern of regulation shifted, and officials began to systematically enforce regulations. This paper traces shifts in patterns of enforcement back to broad pressures that provoked industry and environmentalists to support increases in the internal and external components of state regulatory capacity. The analysis uncovers political dynamics that can contribute to strengthening the institutions necessary for sustainable development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T17:00:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/87559 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T17:00:11Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Sage Publications |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/875592022-10-03T09:43:01Z Pollution in the Garden of the Argentine Republic: Building State Capacity to Escape from Chaotic Regulation Amengual, Matthew Sloan School of Management Amengual, Matthew Environmental regulation in middle-income and developing countries is often viewed with high degrees of pessimism. Although many countries have adopted protective laws, violations are widespread and institutions are weak. This paper analyzes the puzzle of shifting patterns of environmental regulation in Argentina, a country with widespread institutional weakness. Most regulators in Argentina take a firefighting approach, acting only when skirmishes emerge between communities and firms. Amidst regulatory chaos, improvements in the environmental performance of firms are few, and noncompliance remains the norm. However, in the province of Tucumán, the pattern of regulation shifted, and officials began to systematically enforce regulations. This paper traces shifts in patterns of enforcement back to broad pressures that provoked industry and environmentalists to support increases in the internal and external components of state regulatory capacity. The analysis uncovers political dynamics that can contribute to strengthening the institutions necessary for sustainable development. Ford Foundation Latin American Studies Association 2014-05-28T19:55:28Z 2014-05-28T19:55:28Z 2013-11 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0032-3292 1552-7514 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87559 Amengual, M. “Pollution in the Garden of the Argentine Republic: Building State Capacity to Escape from Chaotic Regulation.” Politics & Society 41, no. 4 (December 1, 2013): 527–560. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6024-1920 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0032329213507551 Politics & Society Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ application/pdf Sage Publications MIT web domain |
| spellingShingle | Amengual, Matthew Pollution in the Garden of the Argentine Republic: Building State Capacity to Escape from Chaotic Regulation |
| title | Pollution in the Garden of the Argentine Republic: Building State Capacity to Escape from Chaotic Regulation |
| title_full | Pollution in the Garden of the Argentine Republic: Building State Capacity to Escape from Chaotic Regulation |
| title_fullStr | Pollution in the Garden of the Argentine Republic: Building State Capacity to Escape from Chaotic Regulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pollution in the Garden of the Argentine Republic: Building State Capacity to Escape from Chaotic Regulation |
| title_short | Pollution in the Garden of the Argentine Republic: Building State Capacity to Escape from Chaotic Regulation |
| title_sort | pollution in the garden of the argentine republic building state capacity to escape from chaotic regulation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87559 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6024-1920 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT amengualmatthew pollutioninthegardenoftheargentinerepublicbuildingstatecapacitytoescapefromchaoticregulation |