Redesign of the 2005 Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditure Survey

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Gallaher, Michael P.^a | Morgan, Cynthia L.^b | Shadbegian, Ronald J.^{b; *}

Affiliations: [a] RTI International, P.O. Box 13194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. E-mail: mpg@rti.org | [b] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Economics, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW (MC 1809T), Washington, DC 20460, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 202 566 2280; Fax: +1 202 566 2373; E-mail: Shadbegian.ron@epa.gov

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a comprehensive redevelopment and evaluation effort led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess the accuracy of the responses to the Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditures (PACE) survey. The data collected by the PACE survey is important because it is the only comprehensive source of pollution abatement costs and expenditures related to environmental protection in the U.S. manufacturing sector. The PACE Survey has been administered over twenty times since 1973, yet until now, the accuracy of the survey responses has never been formally evaluated. The methods used to evaluate the survey include one-on-one interviews and site visits with manufacturing facilities to develop independent cost estimates which were compared to reported survey responses. Overall this study finds, assuming a reasonable margin of error, that the PACE survey responses reflect actual pollution abatement capital expenditures and operating costs. In addition, these interactions with facilities had a major impact on the design of the 2005 PACE survey and are also discussed in this paper.

Keywords: Pollution abatement costs, survey design, survey evaluation, manufacturing

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-2008-0309

Journal: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 309-360, 2008