Liability for Past Environmental Contamination and Privatization

This paper examines the role of liability for past environmental contamination in the privatization processes of Central and Eastern Europe. The theoretical section establishes a link between a risk-averse investor's amount of information regarding the extent of past environmental contamination (and its cleanup costs) and the investor's willingness to pay for a particular enterprise, i.e., bid. As the investor obtains a more precise estimate of the uncertain cleanup costs, the investor faces less risk; therefore, the investor's risk premium falls and the investor's bid rises. This link generates four hypotheses regarding a privatization agency's responses to the investor's knowledge of cleanup costs. The empirical section of this paper proposes to test these hypotheses with forthcoming analysis using data from the Czech Republic.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39686/3/wp302.pd

Effects of Ownership and Financial Status on Corporate Environmental Performance

This paper analyzes the effects of ownership structure on corporate environmental performance and examines the link from financial performance to environmental performance in a transition economy. In particular, it analyzes these ownership effects and this performance link using an unbalanced panel of Czech firms for the years 1993 to 1998. It considers state ownership and various types of private ownership, while contrasting concentrated and diffuse forms of private ownership. Additionally, it examines whether or not successful financial performance begets or undermines good environmental performance.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39877/3/wp492.pd

Does Better Environmental Performance Affect Revenues, Cost, or Both? Evidence From a Transition Economy

This study analyzes the effect of corporate environmental performance on financial performance in a transition economy. In particular, it assesses whether good environmental performance affects revenues, costs, or both, and if so, in which directions. As environmental performance improves, do revenues rise and costs fall so that profits unambiguously increase? Or vice versa? If both revenues and costs rise (or fall), does better environmental performance improve or undermine profitability? To answer these questions, our study analyzes the links from environmental performance to revenues, costs, and profits using an unbalanced panel of Czech firms from the years 1996 to 1998. The analytical results indicate strongly that better environmental performance improves profitability by driving down costs more than it drives down revenues, consistent with the substantial regulatory scrutiny exerted by environmental agencies and the primary pollution control approach implemented by firms during the sample period.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57236/1/wp856 .pd

The Effect of Corporate Environmental Performance on Financial Outcomes – Profits, Revenues and Costs: Evidence from the Czech Transition Economy

This empirical study analyzes the effect of corporate environmental performance on financial performance in a transition economy. In particular, it assesses whether good environmental performance affects profits, and if so, in which direction. Then the study decomposes profits into revenues and costs in order to identify the channel(s) of any identified effect of environmental performance on profits. For example, as environmental performance improves, do revenues rise and costs fall so that profits increase? For this assessment, our study analyzes the links from environmental performance to revenues, costs, and profits using an unbalanced panel of Czech firms from the years 1996 to 1998. The empirical results indicate strongly and robustly that better environmental performance improves profitability by driving down costs more than it drives down revenues. The strong reduction in costs is consistent with the substantial regulatory scrutiny exerted by environmental agencies during the sample period in the forms of prevalent monitoring (i.e., inspections) and enforcement and escalating emission charge rates.Czech Republic, environmental protection, pollution, financial performance

Effects of Ownership and Financial Status on Corporate Environmental Performance

This paper analyzes the effects of ownership structure on corporate environmental performance and examines the link between financial performance to environmental performance in a transition economy. In particular, it analyzes these ownership effects and this performance link using an unbalanced panel of Czech firms for the years 1993 to 1998. It considers state ownership and various types of private ownership, while contrasting concentrated and diffuse forms of private ownership. Additionally, it examines whether or not successful financial performance begets or undermines good environmental performance.Czech Republic; environmental protection; pollution; ownership; financial status

Does Better Environmental Performance Affect Revenues, Cost, or Both? Evidence From a Transition Economy

This study analyzes the effect of corporate environmental performance on financial performance in a transition economy. In particular, it assesses whether good environmental performance affects revenues, costs, or both, and if so, in which directions. As environmental performance improves, do revenues rise and costs fall so that profits unambiguously increase? Or vice versa? If both revenues and costs rise (or fall), does better environmental performance improve or undermine profitability? To answer these questions, our study analyzes the links from environmental performance to revenues, costs, and profits using an unbalanced panel of Czech firms from the years 1996 to 1998. The analytical results indicate strongly that better environmental performance improves profitability by driving down costs more than it drives down revenues, consistent with the substantial regulatory scrutiny exerted by environmental agencies and the primary pollution control approach implemented by firms during the sample period.Czech Republic, environmental protection, pollution, financial performance

Effects of Ownership and Financial Status on Corporate Environmental Performance

This paper analyzes the effects of ownership structure on corporate environmental performance and examines the link from financial performance to environmental performance in a transition economy. In particular, it analyzes these ownership effects and this performance link using an unbalanced panel of Czech firms for the years 1993 to 1998. It considers state ownership and various types of private ownership, while contrasting concentrated and diffuse forms of private ownership. Additionally, it examines whether or not successful financial performance begets or undermines good environmental performance.Czech Republic, environmental protection, pollution, ownership, financial status

Effluent limits, ambient quality, and monitoring

Effluent limits are frequently based on a uniform emission standard, which applies to all polluting facilities within in a single industry. However, the implementation of many environmental protection laws does not lead to uniform effluent limits due to considerations of local environmental conditions. In this paper, we theoretically examine the relationships among the stringency of effluent limits imposed on individual polluting facilities, environmental protection agencies’ monitoring decisions, and the ambient quality of the local environment. We then extend the theoretical analysis by exploring the establishment of effluent limits when (1) the national emission standard represents only an upper bound on the local issuance of limits and (2) negotiation efforts expended by both regulated polluting facilities and environmentally concerned citizens play a role. We find that the negotiated discharge limit depends on the political weight enjoyed and the negotiation effort costs faced by both citizens and the regulated facility, along with the stringency of the national standard and local ambient quality condition

Panel Data Analysis of Regulatory Factors Shaping Environmental Performance

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/003465304323023895#.U1q6GIUvDGI.This paper analyzes the regulatory factors shaping environmental performance at individual polluting facilities. In particular, it examines the influence of actual government interventions, namely, inspections and enforcement actions performed at specific facilities. This influence represents specific deterrence. This paper also examines general deterrence, that is, the threat of receiving an intervention. As important, it controls for differences in certain regulatory features of facility-specific pollution control permits. Unlike previous attempts to examine regulatory factors, this analysis uses panel data techniques to capture the heterogeneity across individual facilities, while exploring the dynamics of each facility; the analysis also captures heterogeneity across individual time periods

Enforcement of Environmental Protection Laws under Communism and Democracy

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/467377.Lax enforcement of environmental protection laws in the formerly communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe is offered as one contributing factor to the large‐scale environmental degradation that these countries have experienced. This article empirically examines enforcement responses to water‐damaging “accidents” (for example, an oil spill) in the Czech Republic for the year 1988–92, a time period that spans both the communist political regime and the democratic political regime. In particular, it focuses on ex post penalties: required remediation (for example, cleanup after an oil spill) and monetary fines. Empirical analysis reveals the factors driving enforcement strategies in each political period and contrasts their influence under the two regimes. In particular, it identifies the operative liability rules guiding remediation and monetary fine decisions