The environmental and human health damage associated with industrial waste has been an undeniable concern since the late 20th century environmental disaster at Love Canal, which had devastating effects on birth defect and miscarriage rates. Since this event, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been dedicated to the remediation of toxic waste through the Superfund program. There are Superfund sites across the country, in locations as varied as urban Tacoma, Washington and rural Evansville, Wyoming. Which toxic site should enjoy the advantages of faster cleanup? A range of factors could influence the remediation rate at these sites, yet a striking difference in site characteristics presents itself; These two sites are home to very different population densities. Population density, an emblematic proxy variable, can be used as an effective tool to investigate different aspects of socioeconomic site characteristics. Scholarly models of optimal remediation, however, often focus exclusively on the financial costs and environmental damage of cleanup. This project investigates how Superfund site remediation would change if the EPA were to incorporate specific socioeconomic criteria in its decision to remediate toxic sites. Particularly, it explores various aspects of the Superfund program and focuses on and extends a particular theoretical model for temporal remediation. Population density enters the model through its effects on costs, although other consequences of population density will be investigated. The results of the extension indicate that a higher population density corresponds to a decrease in the optimal toxic waste cleanup rate.

Economics connects to our daily lives. It is not only about the money in the market but also people in the society. Wealth and income inequality is one of the examples. In some countries, such as in the United States, differing levels of income lead to varied benefits. This phenomenon impacts not only the quality of people’s lives but also their happiness. However, having a large amount of money is not the most important reason to increase their happiness. In this literature review, economic principles can help to understand the relationship between happiness and money. Examining Jeremy Bentham’s idea of the greatest happiness of the greatest number, the paper explores the impact of utilitarianism. There is also recent economic research related to money and happiness that is considered. One significant finding is that people’s happiness can be increased by sharing their excess income and wealth. The study of happiness and money is complex, and there are many factors not included in this paper. But, the idea above is still important to be considered and can be one way to improve economic inequality. The solutions to the problems of economic inequality may be found in this research.