Environmental Enforcement: An Exploration of Latino Political Representation

This paper examines whether there are disparities in environmental enforcement. It contributes to the extant literature by examining if the political representation of Latinos influences levels of inspections for Hispanic populations. Using data from the Integrated Database for Enforcement Analysis (IDEA), the U.S. Census Bureau, and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), this paper examines patterns of state enforcement of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) nationwide from 2005 to 2011 to determine if there are disparities in levels of inspections. Using zero-inflated negative binomial models, results indicate minimal evidence of ethnic or class-based disparities in enforcement of the RCRA during this time period. However, there is evidence indicating weaker enforcement efforts in African American counties.