Improvements in the quality of the waterways of England and Wales are often argued to be attributable to the cooperation between Authorities and dischargers, and that such cooperation could be jeopardized if prosecution of dischargers became more frequent. This paper, by using an economic model of law enforcement, tests whether there is any evidence of an association between enforcement policies and changes in water quality. It demonstrates the difficulty of examining problems of enforcement in isolation and then outlines a new procedure, both for allocating and for enforcing consents, designed to improve economic efficiency whilst maintaining traditional British cooperation.
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