Nature of conflict in the regulatory process: a study of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1982

Thesis/Dissertation · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:5552782

Kane, H S

The Clean Air Act Amendments were selected as a vehicle for this analysis because they are currently active within the legislative system; the 97th Congress has again taken up the Clean Air Act, most recently amended in 1977. Whether Congress actually amended the Act was not nearly so important as the issue being active for study: positions being formulated, lobbying being conducted, perspectives being modified, Congressional committees meeting, and testimony being taken. The first purpose of this dissertation was to understand the nature of conflict - agreement and disagreement over the broad range of issues - within the regulatory system. The purpose was not to describe how conflict is resolved, but to determine what variables give rise to conflict. Four variables were selected to describe the dimensions of conflict in the public policy arena: specificity, extent of change, complexity, and benefit/cost. A research study was designed and conducted to measure these variables across the key provisions of the Clean Air Act Amendments. The second purpose of the dissertation was to describe and assess the nature of the feelings of the organizations studied toward each other. These organizations were drawn from four groups representing those with a primary stake in the Clean Air Act Amendments: Congress, government agencies, and two interest groups (environmental and business, including allied trade associations).

• OSTI ID: 5552782
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
CLEAN AIR ACT
ADVERSARIES
AMENDMENTS
REGULATIONS
LAWS
POLLUTION LAWS
500600* - Environment
Atmospheric- Regulations- (-1989)
290300 - Energy Planning & Policy- Environment
Health
& Safety
293000 - Energy Planning & Policy- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation