In a groundbreaking new study in the B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, Matthew A. Cole and Rob J. Elliott find that:
Environmental regulation costs are not found to have a statistically significant effect on employment whether such costs are treated as being exogenous or endogenous. We therefore find no evidence of a trade-off between jobs and the environment.
I wonder what they mean by “the environment”? Also, in Econ 101 we teach that there are literally hundreds of other margins to be moved upon, not just employment. It will be interesting to see how many people now believe there is a consensus that environmental quality is costless.
