under what circumstances would it be efficient to impose a higher abatement standard for a psd region than for a non-attainment region

Impose a higher abatement standard for a PSD region if marginal social cost equals marginal social benefit at the higher abatement level in the PSD region.

What Are Marginal Social Costs and Benefits of Abatement?

The marginal social cost of abatement is the change in society's total cost of reducing one more unit of pollution.

The marginal social benefit of abatement is the change in benefits associated with reducing one more unit of pollution.

Both the marginal social cost and benefit of abatement are considred as an incentive for the reduction of polluting emissions.

When imposing an abatement standard for a PSD region versus a non-attainment region, it would be more efficient to impose a higher abatement standard for the PSD region than for the non-attainment region if marginal social cost equals marginal social benefit at the PSD region's higher abatement level.

Learn more about an efficient distribution of pollution abatement here: ,