The Shadow of the Politics of Deservedness? The Implications of Group-Centric Policy Context for Environmental Policy Implementation Inequalities in the United States

What is it about?

Despite considerable evidence indicating that racial minorities are more likely to reside in communities surrounding the sources of environmental risks or live with higher levels of pollutant emissions, relatively little research focuses on how broader political and institutional contexts pertaining to people of color impacts routine environmental policy implementation at the state level in the post-facility-siting period. Drawing on theories of group-centric, degenerative policy, and the politics of group recognition, this study explores the effects of the minority group-specific policy context on administrative outputs for the vulnerable African American communities. Examining the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program of the Clean Water Act from 1996 to 2010, findings from a multilevel modeling analysis show that generosity of welfare benefits is positively related to state agencies’ regulatory inspection and enforcement activities for predominantly black counties, while stringent welfare eligibility and sanctions are negatively associated with those efforts from government for those counties. Implications are then derived for the essential role of public administration in shaping the entitlements of the marginalized members of society to public services in an era within which social equity has emerged on government’s policy agenda.

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