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Estimating the Hidden Costs of Environmental Regulation

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  • Satish Joshi
  • Ranjani Krishnan
  • Lester Lave

Abstract

This paper examines whether accounting systems identify all the costs of environmental regulation. We estimate the relation between the “visible” cost of regulatory compliance, i.e., costs that are correctly classified in firms’ accounting systems, and “hidden” costs i.e., costs that are embedded in other accounts. We use plant-level data from 55 steel mills to estimate hidden costs, and we follow up with structured interviews of corporate-level managers and plant-level accountants. Empirical results show that a $1 increase in the visible cost of environmental regulation is associated with an increase in total cost (at the margin) of $10-11, of which $9-10 are hidden in other accounts. The findings suggest that inappropriate identification and accumulation of the costs of environmental compliance are likely to lead to distorted costs in firms subject to environmental regulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Satish Joshi & Ranjani Krishnan & Lester Lave, 2002. "Estimating the Hidden Costs of Environmental Regulation," Working Papers 02-10, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    • Handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:02-10
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    Cited by:

    1. Collins C. Ngwakwe, 2009. "Justifying Environmental Cost Allocation in a Multiple Product Firm: A Case Study," Managing Global Transitions, University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper, vol. 7(4), pages 403-420.
    2. Shadbegian, Ronald J. & Gray, Wayne B., 2005. "Pollution abatement expenditures and plant-level productivity: A production function approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2-3), pages 196-208, August.
    3. Simon Alcouffe & Nicolas Berland & Benjamin Dreveton & Moez Essid, 2010. "An empirical study of environmental cost drivers," Post-Print halshs-00530528, HAL.
    4. Söderholm, Kristina & Söderholm, Patrik & Helenius, Heidi & Pettersson, Maria & Viklund, Roine & Masloboev, Vladimir & Mingaleva, Tatiana & Petrov, Viktor, 2015. "Environmental regulation and competitiveness in the mining industry: Permitting processes with special focus on Finland, Sweden and Russia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 130-142.
    5. David Pearce & Charles Palmer, 2001. "Public and private spending for environmental protection: a cross-country policy analysis," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 22(4), pages 403-456, December.
    6. Kevin Baird & Sophia Su & Amy Tung, 2018. "Organizational Culture and Environmental Activity Management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 403-414, March.
    7. Eliška Vejchodská & Lenka Slavíková & Vítězslav Malý, 2016. "Evaluating the Regulatory Burden: Pollutant Release and Transfer Reporting Costs," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2016(6), pages 671-685.
    8. Catherine Ragasa & Suzanne Thornsbury & Satish Joshi, 2017. "Dynamics of EU food safety certification: a survival analysis of firm decisions," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-25, December.
    9. Gray, Wayne B. & Shadbegian, Ronald J., 2003. "Plant vintage, technology, and environmental regulation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 384-402, November.
    10. Rich Iovanna & Kelly Maguire & Al McGartland, 2003. "The Pace of PACE at the Environmental Protection Agency," NCEE Working Paper Series 200307, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised Aug 2003.
    11. Ragasa, Catherine & Thornsbury, Suzanne & Joshi, Satish, 2013. "Sustainability of EU Food Safety Certification: A survival analysis of firm decisions:," IFPRI discussion papers 1296, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Vanassche, Stella & Vranken, Liesbet & Vercaemst, Peter, 2009. "The impact of environmental policy on industrial sectors: empirical evidence from 14 European Countries," Working Papers 2009/20, Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Faculteit Economie en Management.
    13. Dennis M. Patten, 2013. "Lessons from the Third Wave: A reflection on the rediscovery of Corporate Social Responsibility by the mainstream accounting research community," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2013(2), pages 9-26.
    14. Žiga Kotnik & Maja Klun & Renata Slabe-Erker, 2020. "Identification of the Factors That Affect the Environmental Administrative Burden for Businesses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-15, August.
    15. Matthew Wegener & Réal Labelle, 2017. "Value Relevance of Environmental Provisions Pre‐ and Post‐IFRS," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 139-168, September.
    16. Ki‐Hoon Lee, 2011. "Motivations, barriers, and incentives for adopting environmental management (cost) accounting and related guidelines: a study of the republic of Korea," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), pages 39-49, January.
    17. Ranjani Krishnan & Deepa Mani, 2020. "Uncertainty and Compensation Design in Strategic Interfirm Contracts†," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(1), pages 542-574, March.
    18. Mian Yang & Yining Yuan & Fuxia Yang & Dalia Patino-Echeverri, 2021. "Effects of environmental regulation on firm entry and exit and China’s industrial productivity: a new perspective on the Porter Hypothesis," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(4), pages 915-944, October.
    19. Alina-Mihaela Babonea & Andreea Paula Dumitru, 2012. "Performance Indicators In Csr In Romania - A Link To The Green Economy," Anale. Seria Stiinte Economice. Timisoara, Faculty of Economics, Tibiscus University in Timisoara, vol. 0, pages 410-416, November.
    20. Hoch, Felix & Lohwasser, Todor S., 2019. "The influence of institutions on venture capital: How transaction costs, uncertainty, and change affect new ventures," Discussion Papers of the Institute for Organisational Economics 9/2019, University of Münster, Institute for Organisational Economics.
    21. Eliška Vejchodská & Lenka Slavíková & Vítězslav Malý, . "Evaluating the Regulatory Burden: Pollutant Release and Transfer Reporting Costs," Prague Economic Papers, University of Economics, Prague, vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    22. Michael Gallaher & Cynthia Morgan & Ronald J. Shadbegian, 2008. "Redesign of the 2005 Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditure Survey," NCEE Working Paper Series 200801, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised Jan 2008.
    23. Teresa Eugénio & Isabel Costa Lourenço & Ana Isabel Morais, 2010. "Recent developments in social and environmental accounting research," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(2), pages 286-305, June.

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