Do Voluntary Programs Reduce Pollution? Examining ISO 14001's Effectiveness across Countries

被引:75
作者
Potoski, Matthew
Prakash, Aseem
机构
关键词
voluntary regulation; ISO; 14001; environmental policy; effectiveness; ENVIRONMENTAL-MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS; SELF-REGULATION; AIR-POLLUTION; POLITICAL-ECONOMY; GREENER WHITER; PERFORMANCE; STANDARDS; ISO-14001; DEMOCRACY; PANEL;
D O I
10.1111/psj.12017
中图分类号
D0 [政治学、政治理论];
学科分类号
0302 ; 030201 ;
摘要
Voluntary environmental programs have emerged as important instruments of environmental policy. Despite considerable scholarly scrutiny, there remain debates about whether they reduce pollution among participants, and their overall impact at the country level. We present a cross-national analysis of the efficacy of ISO 14001, the most widely adopted voluntary environmental program in the world. While several single country studies have explored the effect of ISO 14001 participation on pollution reduction at the facility level, this is the first article to assess (i) national level pollution reduction effects of ISO 14001 participation levels, (ii) across a large number of countries, and (iii) across two pollutants. We examine whether all else equal, the national level uptakes of ISO 14001 are associated with reductions in air emissions (sulfur dioxide, SO2) and water pollution (biochemical oxygen demand, BOD). Because firms, regulators, and environmental groups tend to focus more on visible types of pollution than less visible ones, we hypothesize that ISO 14001 uptake will be associated with more pronounced reductions in air pollution (visible) in relation to water pollution (less visible). Our analyses of pollution levels for a panel of 138 (72 for BOD) countries for the 19912005 period suggest that a 1 percent increase in aggregate levels of ISO 14001 adoption is associated with about a 0.064 percent reduction in SO2 emissions, all else equal. In contrast, we do not find a statistically significant relationship between ISO 14001 adoption levels and changes in water pollution (BOD).
引用
收藏
页码:273 / 294
页数:22
相关论文
共 87 条
[41]  
International Organization for Standardization, 2006, ISO SURV CERT
[42]  
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 2009, ISO SURV CERT PRINC
[43]  
Iyengar S., 1991, Is Anyone Responsible? How Television Frames Political Issues
[44]  
Kettl D.F., 2002, Environmental Governance: A Report on the Next Generation of Environmental Policy
[45]   EPA's voluntary 33/50 Program: Impact on toxic releases and economic performance of firms [J].
Khanna, M ;
Damon, LA .
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT, 1999, 37 (01) :1-25
[46]   Non-mandatory approaches to environmental protection [J].
Khanna, M .
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, 2001, 15 (03) :291-324
[47]   Industry self-regulation without sanctions: The chemical industry's Responsible Care Program [J].
King, AA ;
Lenox, MJ .
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 2000, 43 (04) :698-716
[48]   The effectiveness of voluntary environmental programs - A policy at a crossroads? [J].
Koehler, Dinah A. .
POLICY STUDIES JOURNAL, 2007, 35 (04) :689-722
[49]  
Kolk A., 2000, The economies of environmental management
[50]  
Lange Ian, 2008, 0812 US EPA