Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Jenkins, Rhys
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia
Title: Environmental Regulation and International Competitiveness: A Review of Literature and Some European Evidence
Abstract: The impact of environmental regulation on competitiveness is a major issue of
	 concern to policy makers. It has also been the subject of considerable academic
	 debate in the last few years between those who see an inherent conflict between the
	 protection of the environment and international competitiveness, and those who
	 believe that environmental regulation can in fact improve economic performance. The
	 efforts to clarify the linkages between environmental regulation and
	 competitiveness are still rudimentary, and it has not been possible to determine
	 conclusively which are the main variables which intervene in the relationship. The
	 evidence presented in this paper illustrate that environmental regulation is only
	 one of a number of factors which may have an impact on competitiveness and a full
	 analysis would require a much more detail consideration of the impact of other
	 factors. It is suggested that this reflects the differing impact which
	 environmental regulation may have on economic performance under different
	 circumstances. For instance at the firm level the impact on profitability may be
	 different between large firms, which can take advantage of economies of scale in
	 waste treatment, and small firms where large cost increases may result. Similarly
	 at the industry level there is apparently no general relationship between
	 environmental regulation and competitiveness. Some industries which have high
	 pollution abatement costs appear to be losing competitiveness within the European
	 Union, while others have been able to maintain or even gain competitiveness. The
	 impact of environmental regulation on competitiveness may differ according to
	 certain structural or market characteristics of the industries concerned.
Keywords: Environmental Legislation, Conpetitiveness
Series: Discussion Paper
Creation-Date: 1998
Number: 1998-01
File-URL: https://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/discussion-papers/9801.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 99.4 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unuint:199801