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Environmental performance of state-owned and privatized eastern European energy utilities

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  • Meyer, Andrew
  • Pac, Grzegorz

Abstract

Privatization in Eastern Europe has helped in the transition of the region's economies from planned to free market. However, the effects of privatization on the environment are relatively unknown and many firms remain under state ownership today. We compare the environmental performance of state-owned and privatized energy utility plants in Eastern Europe utilizing a novel panel data that includes reported sulfur dioxide emissions, energy input, and ownership status. We find that state-owned plants emit more sulfur dioxide than privately owned plants; this is environmentally significant as privatization is associated with a reduction in emissions of about 55%.

Suggested Citation

  • Meyer, Andrew & Pac, Grzegorz, 2013. "Environmental performance of state-owned and privatized eastern European energy utilities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 205-214.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:36:y:2013:i:c:p:205-214
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2012.08.019
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Raquel Garde-Sanchez & María Victoria López-Pérez & Antonio M. López-Hernández, 2018. "Current Trends in Research on Social Responsibility in State-Owned Enterprises: A Review of the Literature from 2000 to 2017," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-21, July.
    3. Piwowar, Arkadiusz & Dzikuć, Maciej, 2016. "Outline of the economic and technical problems associated with the co-combustion of biomass in Poland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 415-420.
    4. Clò, Stefano & Ferraris, Matteo & Florio, Massimo, 2017. "Ownership and environmental regulation: Evidence from the European electricity industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 298-312.
    5. Meyer, Andrew & Pac, Grzegorz, 2017. "Analyzing the characteristics of plants choosing to opt-out of the Large Combustion Plant Directive," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 61-68.
    6. Johan Graafland, 2020. "When Does Economic Freedom Promote Well Being? On the Moderating Role of Long-Term Orientation," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(1), pages 127-153, May.
    7. Yang, Zhenbing & Hao, Chunyan & Shao, Shuai & Chen, Zhuo & Yang, Lili, 2022. "Appropriate technology and energy security: From the perspective of biased technological change," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    8. Du, Lizhao & Wei, Mianjin & Zhang, Shaoxin & Pan, Junyu, 2023. "Unveiling the policy intervention effects of natural resource regulation on firm-level pollution emissions: Evidence from China's restrained land supply," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Privatization; State-owned enterprises; Electricity industry; Environmental quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P31 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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