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Agricultural pollution of water, moral hazard and optimal audit policies
[Aléa moral et politiques d’audit optimales dans le cadre de la pollution d’origine agricole de l’eau]

Author

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  • Sandrine Spaeter

    (BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Alban Verchère

    (BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

When information on farmers' farming methods is incomplete, it is not optimal to fight water pollution due to their activities exclusively through a tax policy. Symmetrically, subsidies alone are not appropriate for some cereals which are already widely subsidized in the European Union. In this paper, we show that a contract between the farmer and the regulator with random audit, penalties or financial compensations depending on the environmental effort of the farmer, could be another alternative for Society. The relevance of such an audit policy depends on the reliability of the informations given by some indicators on the pedological, hydrological and agronomic characteristics of cultivated soils. From the practical point of view, we discuss the consistency and also the availability of such indicators in the case of the Alsatian groundwater pollution by agricultural activities. We also describe the main features of the audit system adopted in some water catchment areas in Germany (Baden-Wurttemberg).

Suggested Citation

  • Sandrine Spaeter & Alban Verchère, 2004. "Agricultural pollution of water, moral hazard and optimal audit policies [Aléa moral et politiques d’audit optimales dans le cadre de la pollution d’origine agricole de l’eau]," Post-Print hal-01201071, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01201071
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.202650
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01201071
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