The Environmental Regime in Developing Countries

This paper discusses the environmental externalities that are commonly found in the developing world (the environmental regime) along with the policy responses, if any, commonly used to deal with these. Included are the effects of industrial emissions, air and water quality impacts of untreated waste (industrial and human waste), congestion effects of traffic, soil erosion, and open access resource problems (including forests). We note the tendency in much literature of the last few years to equate environmental problems in developing countries with pollutants (or emissions). The paper argues that to discuss environmental problems in developing countries (or to compare with developed countries) without reference to degradation as well as pollutants is incomplete; the effects of the former are large and pervasive, and their severity and interaction with economic process often differs sharply from that of pollutants. The paper concludes with a discussion of how environmental policy in developing countries differs from that found in developed countries in light of our focus on degradation effects.