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Triggering business responses to climate policy in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Raymond Markey
  • Joseph McIvor

    (Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia)

  • Martin O’Brien

    (University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia)

  • Chris F Wright

    (The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia)

Abstract

The ‘Porter hypothesis’ predicts that well-designed environmental regulations will stimulate businesses to innovate to reduce their environmental impact for efficiency reasons. This article analyses the impacts and anticipation effects of Australia’s carbon price on firms’ carbon reduction activities, through survey data on 466 medium-to-large Australian businesses. We build upon the Porter hypothesis by demonstrating that the anticipated impact of regulation may be as important as its implementation in triggering environmental innovation, thus developing the notion of a ‘signal’ effect. JEL Classification: D22 and 033

Suggested Citation

  • Raymond Markey & Joseph McIvor & Martin O’Brien & Chris F Wright, 2021. "Triggering business responses to climate policy in Australia," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 46(2), pages 248-271, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:46:y:2021:i:2:p:248-271
    DOI: 10.1177/0312896220976750
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Carbon pricing; climate policy; environmental regulation; porter hypothesis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis

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