Solving environmental problems with regional decision-making: A case study of ground-level ozone

For some environmental problems, the federal government is too large a scale for determining solutions; yet states are too small because the problem extends beyond individual states' borders. In those cases, regional decision-making may offer advantages. This paper examines two recent efforts to use regional decision-making to reduce the emissions that create ground-level ozone (a key ingredient in smog). We focus on the strengths and weaknesses of those regional approaches and highlight factors that would likely lead to their success or failure in other contexts.