Description
Book SynopsisDo environmental regulations harm international competitiveness? In answer to this question, this book focuses on the impact of regulatory policies on competitiveness and employment at the firm level. It investigates the trade-off between environmental regulations and competitiveness across countries and regions throughout Europe, using the food processing industry as a case study.
The authors compare and contrast the experiences of similar firms across Europe to examine the different costs firms face in applying environmental regulations and the different levels of competitiveness they achieve as a result. The investigation includes a detailed and thorough comparison of the European food processing industries using 67 company case studies. The results show that firms can achieve national or international levels of competitiveness even when they face a relatively unfavourable level of regulatory costs. These important findings will almost certainly have general application to small and medium sized firms in other industries.
This book will be welcomed by policymakers, practitioners, researchers and academics interested in industrial economics, environmental management and environmental economics.
Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. Systems of Regulation of Effluent Discharge: International Comparisons 3. Structural Background of the Meat and Dairy Processing Sectors 4. Environmental Regulation – Negative and Positive Impacts on Cost Competitiveness: A Theoretical and Empirical Consideration 5. Research Method 6. Description of the Sample 7. Company Performance and Characteristics 8. Waste and Effluent Costs and Abatement Initiatives 9. Environmental Initiatives, Quality of Effluent, Waste Inspection and Environmental Compliance 10. The Relationship between Economic Performance and Environmental Performance 11. Productivity and Employment Effects of Waste Regulation 12. Environmental Regulation, Costs and Company Competitiveness 13. Conclusions References
