The relative advantages of criminal versus administrative environmental enforcement actions in Israel
Abstract
Most environmental enforcement programs have separate criminal and administrative procedures for addressing violations. Pitting “criminal” versus “administrative” enforcement as mutually exclusive alternatives constitutes a “false dilemma”. Clearly, the government response should be influenced by the severity of pollution and the specific circumstances of the polluter. Yet, policy makers seeking to improve environmental compliance need to have a clearer picture about the merits of each approach and their relative effectiveness. This research empirically assesses the effectiveness of criminal versus administrative enforcement activities in Israel. After considering the philosophical implications associated with each regulatory approach, the results of a year-long study are presented. A series of performance