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Is cooperation the answer? Canadian environmental enforcement in comparative context

Author

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  • Kathryn Harrison

    (Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia)

Abstract

In recent years, a number of authors have been critical of the adversarial U.S. “regulatory style,” and have expressed interest in more cooperative regulatory approaches common in Western Europe. They have argued that the inflexible, deterrence-based approach that has characterized enforcement of U.S. health, safety, and environmental laws is not only inefficient in treating minor and significant violations equally, but counterproductive in fostering antagonistic relationships between regulators and the regulated. This article examines the effectiveness of the cooperative Canadian approach to enforcement of environmental regulations, using the pulp and paper industry as a case study. The resulting levels of compliance are compared with rates of compliance in the United States for the same industry. Significantly lower rates of compliance in Canada cast doubt on the growing consensus in favor of cooperative regulatory approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathryn Harrison, 1995. "Is cooperation the answer? Canadian environmental enforcement in comparative context," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(2), pages 221-244.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:14:y:1995:i:2:p:221-244
    DOI: 10.2307/3325151
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Arun Malik, 2008. "The Desirability of Forgiveness in Regulatory Enforcement," Working Papers 2008-14, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    2. Zach Raff & Dietrich Earnhart, 2018. "Effect Of Cooperative Enforcement Strategies On Wastewater Management," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1357-1379, April.
    3. Wang, Hua & Wheeler, David, 2005. "Financial incentives and endogenous enforcement in China's pollution levy system," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 174-196, January.
    4. Earnhart Dietrich & Harrington Donna Ramirez & Glicksman Robert, 2021. "The Effects of Enforcement on Corporate Environmental Performance: The Role of Perceived Fairness," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 71-118, March.
    5. Vibeke Lehmann Nielsen & Christine Parker, 2009. "Testing responsive regulation in regulatory enforcement," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 3(4), pages 376-399, December.
    6. John Kojiro Yasuda & Christopher Ansell, 2015. "Regulatory capitalism and its discontents: Bilateral interdependence and the adaptability of regulatory styles," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(2), pages 178-192, June.
    7. Blackman, Allen & Harrington, Winston, 1999. "The Use of Economic Incentives in Developing Countries: Lessons from International Experience with Industrial Air Pollution," RFF Working Paper Series dp-99-39, Resources for the Future.
    8. Sarah L. Stafford, 2011. "Do Environmental Audits Improve Long-term Compliance? Evidence from Manufacturing Facilities in Michigan," Working Papers 117, Economics Department, William & Mary.
    9. Holstein, Fredrik & Gren, Ing-Marie, 2013. "Violation of environmental regulations in Sweden: Economic motives, environmental attitudes, and social capital," Working Paper Series 2013:3, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department Economics.
    10. Rothenberg, Sandra, 2007. "Environmental managers as institutional entrepreneurs: The influence of institutional and technical pressures on waste management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(7), pages 749-757, July.
    11. Shui-Yan Tang & Carlos Wing-Hung Lo & Gerald E Fryxell, 2003. "Enforcement Styles, Organizational Commitment, and Enforcement Effectiveness: An Empirical Study of Local Environmental Protection Officials in Urban China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 35(1), pages 75-94, January.
    12. Boakye, Joseph, 2020. "Enforcement of logging regulations in Ghana: Perspectives of frontline regulatory officers," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    13. Alm, James & Shimshack, Jay, 2014. "Environmental Enforcement and Compliance: Lessons from Pollution, Safety, and Tax Settings," Foundations and Trends(R) in Microeconomics, now publishers, vol. 10(4), pages 209-274, December.
    14. Arun Malik, 2014. "The Desirability of forgiveness in regulatory enforcement," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 1-22, August.
    15. Sikina Jinnah & Abby Lindsay, 2016. "Diffusion Through Issue Linkage: Environmental Norms in US Trade Agreements," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(3), pages 41-61, August.
    16. Joaquín Cañón-de-Francia & Concepción Garcés-Ayerbe & Marisa Ramírez-Alesón, 2007. "Are More Innovative Firms Less Vulnerable to New Environmental Regulation?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 36(3), pages 295-311, March.
    17. Sanjay Sharma, 2001. "Different strokes: regulatory styles and environmental strategy in the North‐American oil and gas industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(6), pages 344-364, November.
    18. Marcio Iorio Aranha, 2016. "Telecommunications Regulatory Design in Brazil: Networking around State Capacity Deficits," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 83-105.
    19. Keith Brouhle & Donna Ramirez Harrington, 2009. "Firm strategy and the Canadian Voluntary Climate Challenge and Registry (VCR)," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(6), pages 360-379, September.
    20. Wayne B. Gray & Jay P. Shimshack, 2011. "The Effectiveness of Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement: A Review of the Empirical Evidence," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    21. Louie Rivers & Tamara Dempsey & Jade Mitchell & Carole Gibbs, 2015. "Environmental Regulation and Enforcement: Structures, Processes and the Use of Data for Fraud Detection," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(04), pages 1-29, December.
    22. Acheampong, Emmanuel & Maryudi, Ahmad, 2020. "Avoiding legality: Timber producers’ strategies and motivations under FLEGT in Ghana and Indonesia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    23. Earnhart, Dietrich H. & Glicksman, Robert L., 2015. "Coercive vs. cooperative enforcement: Effect of enforcement approach on environmental management," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 135-146.
    24. Kathryn Harrison & George Hoberg, 1996. "In Defence of Regulation: A Rejoinder to Benoît Laplante," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 22(2), pages 180-183, June.
    25. Anderson, C. Leigh & Kagan, Robert A., 2000. "Adversarial legalism and transaction costs:: The industrial-flight hypothesis revisited," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, March.

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