Economics

When and why do plants comply? Paper mills in the 1980s

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This paper uses census data for 116 pulp and paper mills over the period 1979-1990 to examine the determinants of compliance with air pollution regulations. Several plant characteristics are significant: large plants, old plants, and pulp mills comply less frequently, as do plants with water pollution or OSHA violations, but firm characteristics generally are not significant. Enforcement activity increases compliance, but in a heterogeneous way: pulp mills are less sensitive to inspections, while plants owned by larger firms are less sensitive to inspections and more sensitive to "other" enforcement actions, consistent with the authors' expectations and prior research results. © 2005 UB Foundation Activities Inc., for and on behalf of the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Publication Title

Law and Policy

Publication Date

4-2005

Volume

27

Issue

2

First Page

238

Last Page

261

ISSN

0265-8240

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-9930.2005.00199.x

Keywords

paper mills, OSHA, pollution regulations, air pollution

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