Environmental regulation induced foreign direct investment

The last decade has witnessed a renewed interest in the relationship between environmental regulations and international capital flows. However, empirical studies have so far failed to find conclusive evidence for this so-called pollution haven or race to the bottom effect where foreign direct investment (FDI) is assumed to be attracted to low regulation countries, regions or states. In this paper we present a simple theoretical framework to demonstrate that greater stringency in environmental standards can lead to a strategic increase in capital inflows which we refer to as environmental regulation induced FDI. Our result reveals a possible explanation for the mixed results in the empirical literature and provides an illustration of the conditions under which environmental regulations in the host country can affect the location decision of foreign firms.

Going green: prospects for SME's to attain ISO 14001 and the challenges they face in the process

This research aimed to identify any common factors that have enabled and/or motivated SMEs to successfully implement ISO 14001 whilst the majority have not. It also identified what challenges and barriers SMEs face in doing so and how some have overcome these. The existing literature suggests that the majority of SMEs perceive their environmental impacts to be proportional to their size; have a poor understanding of environmental issues; have a poor awareness of environmental regulations; do that have the necessary expertise or leadership to address environmental issues and that SMEs with an environmental management system such as ISO 14001 are very much the minority. The main factors that influenced whether an SME had implemented ISO 14001 were: competitive advantage, regulatory compliance, supply chain pressures, leadership, expertise, resources and external support. This research used qualitative analysis of interviews with managers and directors from 8 SMEs with ISO 14001 and 4 without. All of the SMEs were based in the West Midlands or Staffordshire. Interviews were also conducted with 3 organisations offering support to businesses on environmental issues and with 1 large business who was engaging their suppliers (which included SMEs within this sample) on environmental issues. The research found that there were four main factors that enabled or motivated the SMEs to implement ISO 14001, these were: leadership, supply chain pressures, external support and SMEs' history and experience of accredited management systems. The main challenges that these business had to overcome and that prevented the other SMEs from achieving ISO 14001 were: achieving regulatory compliance, perceived financial cost, lack of perceived competitive advantage, access to relevant and affordable support and for those SMEs without ISO 14001 there was very little perceived external pressure or need for them to do so.

Competition, competitive advantage, and clusters:the ideas of Michael Porter

Comprehensive coverage of all aspects of Michael Porter's works Contributions from leading authorities across the disciplines Contains response from Porter Harvard professor, Michael Porter has been one of the most influential figures in strategic management research over the last three decades. He infused a rigorous theoretical framework of industrial organization economics with the then still embryonic field of strategic management and elevated it to its current status as an academic discipline. Porter's outstanding career is also characterized by its cross-disciplinary nature. Following his most important work on strategic management, he then made a leap to the policy side and dealt with a completely different set of analytical units. More recently he has made a foray into inner city development, environmental regulations, and health care services. Throughout these explorations Porter has maintained his integrative approach, seeking a road that links management case studies and the general model building of mainstream economics. With expert contributors from a range of disciplines including strategic management, economic development, economic geography, and planning, this book assesses the contribution Michael Porter has made to these respective disciplines. It clarifies the sources of tension and controversy relating to all the major strands of Porter's work, and provides academics, students, and practitioners with a critical guide for the application of Porter's models. The book highlights that while many of the criticisms of Porter's ideas are valid, they are almost an inevitable outcome for a scholar who has sought to build bridges across wide disciplinary valleys. His work has provided others with a set of frameworks to explore in more depth the nature of competition, competitive advantage, and clusters from a range of vantage points.

Transnational environmental policy:reconstructing ozone

Transnational Environmental Policy analyses a surprising success story in the field of international environmental policy making: the threat to the ozone layer posed by industrial chemicals, and how it has been averted. The book also raises the more general question about the problem-solving capacities of industrialised countries and the world society as a whole. Reiner Grundmann investigates the regulations which have been put in place at an international level, and how the process evolved over twenty years in the US and Germany.

Bottom-up risk regulation? How nanotechnology risk knowledge gaps challenge federal and state environmental agencies

Nanotechnologies have been called the "Next Industrial Revolution." At the same time, scientists are raising concerns about the potential health and environmental risks related to the nano-sized materials used in nanotechnologies. Analyses suggest that current U.S. federal regulatory structures are not likely to adequately address these risks in a proactive manner. Given these trends, the premise of this paper is that state and local-level agencies will likely deal with many "end-of-pipe" issues as nanomaterials enter environmental media without prior toxicity testing, federal standards, or emissions controls. In this paper we (1) briefly describe potential environmental risks and benefits related to emerging nanotechnologies; (2) outline the capacities of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act to address potential nanotechnology risks, and how risk data gaps challenge these regulations; (3) outline some of the key data gaps that challenge state-level regulatory capacities to address nanotechnologies' potential risks, using Wisconsin as a case study; and (4) discuss advantages and disadvantages of state versus federal approaches to nanotechnology risk regulation. In summary, we suggest some ways government agencies can be better prepared to address nanotechnology risk knowledge gaps and risk management.

Environmental liabilities in insolvency:an area ripe for reform?

Purpose: The paper examines the question whether legislative reform is the ‘silver bullet’ for the problems generated by the failure of a company which is exposed to claims arising from the non-fulfilment of its environmental obligations. The limited capacity of the United Kingdom insolvency regime to facilitate the fulfilment of a debtor company's environmental obligations is often illustrated with reference to some significant judicial decisions. However, no real picture has emerged of the frequency with which these issues arise, based on which firm proposals for reform could be advanced. This paper argues that greater regard should be paid to existing mechanisms which provide a means of enabling insolvency risks to be managed or minimised, as these point towards the scope for these issues to be resolved through the environmental protection framework rather than through reliance on company and/or insolvency law. Design/methodology/approach: Research was conducted into the statutory and non-statutory regulations (such as statutory guidance), and case law principles, which underpin the treatment of the claims against an insolvent (or potentially insolvent) company resulting from its environmental activities. This included research into policies which have a bearing on this area, developed through governmental and civic consultations and studies. Findings: The paper concludes that the likelihood of a case for legislative reform being made out is weak, and the focus should accordingly shift to strengthening the effectiveness of existing law, policy and practice. Originality/value: This paper is the first (in the United Kingdom context) to challenge the perceived need for reform in this area, engaging with recent examples of such corporate failures and the impact of recent legislative and policy developments.