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Corporate Environmentalism and Environmental Statutory Permitting

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  • Decker, Christopher S

Abstract

Studies have shown that despite infrequent inspections and low penalties for statutory violations, a large fraction of firms comply with environmental restrictions. What then motivates compliance? I investigate this question by focusing on the length of time it takes environmental agencies to process and issue new source construction permits pursuant to Clean Air Act regulations and new industrial discharge permits pursuant to Clean Water Act regulations. I find that plants (or firms) with fewer instances of noncompliance receive permits for major projects more quickly. In addition, I find that permit delays are sensitive to economic conditions as well, such as local area unemployment. As far as voluntary pollution control behavior is concerned, I find that regulators that issue permits for plant modifications focus primarily on statutory compliance, but when permitting new plant construction, where there is no plant compliance history to go on, voluntary pollutant releases do matter.

Suggested Citation

  • Decker, Christopher S, 2003. "Corporate Environmentalism and Environmental Statutory Permitting," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(1), pages 103-129, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlawec:y:2003:v:46:i:1:p:103-29
    DOI: 10.1086/345586
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Almer & Timo Goeschl, 2010. "Environmental Crime and Punishment: Empirical Evidence from the German Penal Code," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 86(4), pages 707-726.
    2. Blackman, Allen & Guerrero, Santiago, 2012. "What drives voluntary eco-certification in Mexico?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 256-268.
    3. Blackman, Allen, 2009. "Alternative Pollution Control Policies in Developing Countries: Informal, Informational, and Voluntary," RFF Working Paper Series dp-09-10, Resources for the Future.
    4. Wayne B. Gray & Jay P. Shimshack, 2011. "The Effectiveness of Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement: A Review of the Empirical Evidence," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    5. Lenntorp, Erik, 2009. "On the joint use of licensing and liability," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 244-251, September.
    6. Nicola Ulibarri & Bruce E. Cain & Newsha K. Ajami, 2017. "A Framework for Building Efficient Environmental Permitting Processes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, January.
    7. Kira R. Fabrizio & Eun-Hee Kim, 2019. "Reluctant Disclosure and Transparency: Evidence from Environmental Disclosures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(6), pages 1207-1231, November.
    8. Nicholas E. Powers, 2013. "Measuring The Impact Of The Toxics Release Inventory: Evidence From Manufacturing Plant Births," Working Papers 13-07, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    9. Calel, Raphael & Dechezlepretre, Antoine & Venmans, Frank, 2023. "Policing carbon markets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120565, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Lily Hsueh, 2019. "Voluntary climate action and credible regulatory threat: evidence from the carbon disclosure project," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 188-225, December.
    11. Markus Kitzmueller & Jay Shimshack, 2012. "Economic Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 51-84, March.
    12. Massimo Filippini & Suchita Srinivasan, 2020. "Voluntary adoption of environmental standards and limited attention: Evidence from the food and beverage industry in Vietnam," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 20/338, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    13. Allen Blackman & Sarah Darley & Thomas P. Lyon & Kris Wernstedt, 2010. "What Drives Participation in State Voluntary Cleanup Programs? Evidence from Oregon," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 86(4), pages 785-799.
    14. Toshihiro Uchida & Paul Ferraro, 2007. "Voluntary development of environmental management systems: motivations and regulatory implications," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 37-65, August.
    15. Qian, Xuesong & Ding, Hai & Ding, Zifang, 2023. "Governmental inspection and firm environmental protection expenditure: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    16. Eun-Hee Kim & Thomas P. Lyon, 2015. "Greenwash vs. Brownwash: Exaggeration and Undue Modesty in Corporate Sustainability Disclosure," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 705-723, June.
    17. Decker, Christopher S. & Pope, Christopher R., 2005. "Adherence to environmental law: the strategic complementarities of compliance decisions," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-5), pages 641-661, September.
    18. Blackman, Allen & Woodward, Richard T., 2010. "User financing in a national payments for environmental services program: Costa Rican hydropower," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 1626-1638, June.
    19. Thomas P. Lyon & John W. Maxwell, 2014. "Self-Regulation and Regulatory Flexibility: Why Firms May be Reluctant to Signal Green," Working Papers 2014-11, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Department of Business Economics and Public Policy.
    20. Karpoff, Jonathan M & Lott, John R, Jr & Wehrly, Eric W, 2005. "The Reputational Penalties for Environmental Violations: Empirical Evidence," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(2), pages 653-675, October.
    21. Nyborg, Karine & Telle, Kjetil, 2004. "A dissolving paradox: Firms’ compliance to environmental regulation," Memorandum 02/2004, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    22. Zifang Ding & Xiang Gao & Xuesong Qian & Huanhuan Wang, 2022. "Governmental inspection and local legislation on environmental protection: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 728-763, July.
    23. Robert Innes & Abdoul G. Sam, 2008. "Voluntary Pollution Reductions and the Enforcement of Environmental Law: An Empirical Study of the 33/50 Program," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(2), pages 271-296, May.
    24. Marisa Agostini & Giovanni Favero, 2012. "Accounting fraud, business failure and creative auditing: A micro-analysis of the strange case of Sunbeam Corp," Working Papers 12, Venice School of Management - Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, revised Mar 2013.
    25. Massimo Filippini & Suchita Srinivasan, 2022. "Adoption of environmental standards and a lack of awareness: evidence from the food and beverage industry in Vietnam," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 24(3), pages 307-340, July.

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