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Wayne B. Gray

Clark University, Boston Research Data Center, and NBER, USA

I’m happy to be contributing to the IZA World of Labor project. I consider it an excellent opportunity to reach an interested audience with a summary of the research being done in this area

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

John T. Croteau Professor of Economics, Clark University, USA; Executive Director, Boston Research Data Center, USA; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, USA

Research interest

Effectiveness and economic impact of government regulation of environmental and workplace hazards

Website

https://www.clarku.edu/faculty/profiles/wayne-gray/

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Member, EPA’s Environmental Economics Advisory Committee (2011–date); Member, EPA’s Advisory Council on Clean Air Compliance Analysis (2004–2010)

Qualifications

PhD Economics, Harvard University, 1984

Selected publications

  • “Do EPA regulations affect labor demand? Evidence from the pulp and paper industry.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 68:1 (2014): 188–202 (with R. Shadbegian, C. Wang, and M. Meral).

  • “Environmental justice: Do poor and minority populations face more hazards?” In: Jefferson, P. N. (ed.) Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Poverty. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012 (with R. Shadbegian and A. Wolverton).

  • “The effectiveness of environmental monitoring and enforcement: A review of the empirical evidence.” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 5:1 (2011): 3–24 (with J. Shimshack).

  • “Pollution abatement expenditures and plant-level productivity: A production function approach.” Ecological Economics 54:2-3 (2005): 196-208 (with R. Shadbegian).

  • "The cost of regulation: OSHA, EPA and the productivity slowdown." American Economic Review 77:5 (1987): 998–1006.

article(s)

  • Environmental regulations and business decisions

    Environmental regulations impose costs on firms, affecting productivity and location but providing significant health benefits

    Wayne B. Gray, September 2015
    Environmental regulations raise production costs at regulated firms, though in most cases the costs are only a small fraction of a firm’s total costs. Productivity tends to fall, and firms may shift new investment and production to locations with less stringent regulation. However, environmental regulations have had enormous benefits in terms of lives saved and illnesses averted, especially through reductions in airborne particulates. The potential health gains may be even greater in developing countries, where pollution levels are high. The benefits to society from environmental regulation hence appear to be much larger than the costs of compliance.
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