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coarse theorem
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The proposition that if property rights are well defined and if bargaining is costless, then the private market can achieve an efficient outcome regardless of which of the affected parties holds the property rights.
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command-and- control approach
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Approach in which a government agency specifies how much or by what method a polluting agent must adjust its emission
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incentive approach
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Approaches to pollution regulation that create market-like incentives to encourage reductions in pollution but allow individual decision makers to decide how much to pollute
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Least-Cost Reduction In Emissions
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Situation in which emissions are reduced so that the marginal benefit of an additional unit of pollution is the same for all polluters.
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moral suasion
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An effort to change people's behavior by appealing to their sense of moral values
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pollution
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Situation that exists when human activity produces a sufficient concentration of a substance in the environment to cause harm to people or to resources valued by people.
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gini coefficient
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A measure of inequality expressed as the ratio of the area between the Lorenz curve and a 45° line and the total area under the 45° line.
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Lorenz Curve
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A curve that shows cumulative shares of income received by individuals or groups
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Absolute Income Test
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Income test that sets a specific income level and defines a person as poor if his or her income falls below that level.
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Cash Assistance
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A money payment that an aid recipient can spend as he or she wishes
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Discrimination
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When people with similar economic characteristics experience different economic outcomes because of their race, sex, or other noneconomic characteristic
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Noncash Assistance
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The provision of specific goods and services, such as food or medical services, job training, or subsidized child care rather than cash
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poverty line
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Amount of annual income below which the federal government defines a household as poor
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poverty rate
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The percentage of the population that falls below the poverty line
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Relative Income Test
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Income test in which people whose incomes fall at the bottom of the income distribution are considered poor.
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Welfare Programs
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The array of programs that government provides to alleviate poverty