This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Investment In Energy Efficiency: Do The Characteristics Of Firms Matter?

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Stephen J. Decanio
William E. Watkins

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The literature on energy efficiency provides numerous examples of apparently profitable technologies that are not universally adopted. Yet according to the standard neoclassical theory of investment, profit-maximizing firms should undertake all investments with a positive net present value. The standard theory also holds that the discount rate for computing the present value of a project should be the return available on other projects in the same risk class, and therefore should not depend on characteristics of the firm. This model as applied to energy-saving investments is tested by examining whether firms'characteristics influence their decision to join the Environmental Protection Agency's voluntary Green Lights program. A discrete choice regression is estimated over a large sample of participating and nonparticipating firms. Missing values in the data matrix are replaced with multiple imputations from a distribution estimated using the expectation-maximization algorithm. The results show that (1) substantial improvements in the power of hypothesis tests can be achieved through maximum-likelihood imputation of missing data, and (2) contrary to the conventional theory, the characteristics of firms do affect their decision to join Green Lights and commit to a program of investments in lighting efficiency. © 2000 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.catchword.com/cgi-bin/cgi?ini=bc&body=linker&reqidx=0034-6535(19980201)80:1L.95;1-
File Format: text/html
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Article provided by MIT Press in its journal The Review of Economics and Statistics.

Volume (Year): 80 (1998)
Issue (Month): 1 (February)
Pages: 95-107
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:80:y:1998:i:1:p:95-107

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://mitpress.mit.edu/journals/

Order Information:
Web: http://mitpress.mit.edu/journal-home.tcl?issn=00346535

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)
  1. Pizer, William A. & Morgenstern, Richard & Shih, Jhih-Shyang, 2008. "Evaluating Voluntary Climate Programs in the United States," Discussion Papers dp-08-13, Resources For the Future. [Downloadable!]
  2. Benjamin Sovacool, 2007. "Coal and nuclear technologies: creating a false dichotomy for American energy policy," Policy Sciences, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 101-122, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Paroma Sanyal, 2005. "Powering a Green Progress: The Effect of Electricity Deregulation on Environmental Research," Industrial Organization 0504015, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  4. Catherine Norman, 2009. "Rule of Law and the Resource Curse: Abundance Versus Intensity," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 43(2), pages 183-207, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Facundo Albornoz & Matthew A Cole & Robert J R Elliott & Marco G Ercolani, 2008. "In Search of Environmental Spillovers," Discussion Papers 08-03, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Nogareda, Jazmin Seijas & Ziegler, Andreas, 2006. "Green management and green technology - exploring the causal relationship," ZEW Discussion Papers 06-40, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  7. Newell, Richard & Anderson, Soren, 2002. "Information Programs for Technology Adoption: The Case of Energy-Efficiency Audits," Discussion Papers dp-02-58, Resources For the Future. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Anton, Wilma Rose Q., 2005. "The Choice of Management Practices: What Determines the Design of an Environmental Management System?," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19503, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association). [Downloadable!]
  9. R. Bracke & T. Verbeke & V. Dejonckheere, 2007. "What distinguishes EMAS participants? An exploration of company characteristics," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 07/459, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Rennings, Klaus & Ziegler, Andreas, 2004. "Determinants of Environmental Innovations in Germany : Do Organizational Measures Matter? ; A Discrete Choice Analysis at the Firm Level," ZEW Discussion Papers 04-30, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  11. Isamu Matsukawa, 2005. "The Benefits of Information on the Efficient Usage of Consumer Durables," Others 0501005, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  12. Matthew Cole, Robert Elliott and Kenichi Shimamoto, 2005. "Globalization, Firm-Level Characteristics and Environmental Management: A Study of Japan," Discussion Papers 05-17, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Roeland Bracke & Tom Verbeke & Veerle Dejonckheere, 2008. "What Determines the Decision to Implement EMAS? A European Firm Level Study," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 41(4), pages 499-518, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Rob Aalbers & Eline van der Heijden & Jan Potters & Daan van Soest & Herman Vollebergh, 2007. "Technology Adoption Subsidies: An Experiment with Managers," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 07-082/3, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? About 1000 archives contribute their bibliographic data to RePEc.

This page was last updated on 2009-12-12.


This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.