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Multinational corporations and the EU emissions trading system: Asset erosion and creeping deindustrialization?

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  • aus dem Moore, Nils
  • Großkurth, Philipp
  • Themann, Michael

Abstract

This study investigates the causal effect of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) on firms' holdings of fixed assets as an early indicator of industrial relocation, exploiting installation level inclusion criteria of the regulation. To single out companies with particularly low relocation costs, global multinational enterprises (MNEs), we identify ownership structures for the full sample of EU ETS-firms. Matched difference-indifferences estimates provide robust evidence that contradicts the idea of an erosion of European asset bases. Baseline results indicate that the EU ETS led on average to an increase of treated firms' asset bases of 11,1%. However, for a particular subgroup of MNEs, this increase is a mere 1.3%. For these companies, the EU ETS may have induced a shift in investment priorities. While the positive overall effect is very robust, the differential effect for the subgroup cannot be extended to all samples.

Suggested Citation

  • aus dem Moore, Nils & Großkurth, Philipp & Themann, Michael, 2017. "Multinational corporations and the EU emissions trading system: Asset erosion and creeping deindustrialization?," Ruhr Economic Papers 719, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:719
    DOI: 10.4419/86788839
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Nippa & Sanjay Patnaik & Markus Taussig, 2021. "MNE responses to carbon pricing regulations: Theory and evidence," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(5), pages 904-929, July.
    2. Grosskurth, Philipp, 2019. "MNE and where to find them: An intertemporal perspective on the global ownership network," Ruhr Economic Papers 825, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    3. Themann, Michael & Koch, Nicolas, 2021. "Catching up and falling behind: Cross-country evidence on the impact of the EU ETS on firm productivity," Ruhr Economic Papers 904, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    4. Hubertus Bardt, 2021. "Uneinheitliche Vermeidungskosten und Preissignale im Klimaschutz," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 101(5), pages 339-342, May.
    5. Grosskurth, Philipp, 2019. "Dynamic structure - Dynamic results? Re-estimating profit shifting with historical ownership data," Ruhr Economic Papers 811, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    6. Svetlana V. Doroshenko & Anna D. Mingaleva, 2020. "Carbon Exchanges: European Experience in Developing the Mechanism of Emission Permit Trading," Finansovyj žhurnal — Financial Journal, Financial Research Institute, Moscow 125375, Russia, issue 4, pages 52-68, August.
    7. Themann, Michael, 2021. "At boiling point: Temperature shocks in global business groups," Ruhr Economic Papers 905, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    EU ETS; cap-and-trade; carbon leakage; multinational corporation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

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