RATIONALE AND HYPOTHESES
The 1972 US Federal Water Pollution Control Act had as one of its goals the elimination of discharge of pollutants into the nation's navigable waters by 1985 (Federal Water, 1972). To achieve this goal, effiuent standards for industrial discharges were set. Industries affected by these standards, including the pulp and paper industry, argued that imposition of these standards would have a negative impact on the economic performance of firms. Considering the industries' concern. President Nixon vetoed the original bill. The 1972 Act
700 JAGGI AND FREEDMAN
Amendments were, however, later passed over his veto. The arguments advanced by industries in opposing the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Act Amendments raise an important issue of an association between pollution and economic performance and of the market's reaction to this association. As discussed earlier, Bragdon-Marlin's (1972) as well as Spicer's (1978) studies indicated that the economic impact of pollution performance would be positive. A close scrutiny of these studies have, however, indicated that the results of these studies were questionable, especially because they were based on a data base which was developed even before the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments were legislated. Furthermore, ChristainsenHaveman's (1981) analyses of several studies on productivity indicated that an expectation of a positive association between pollution control and economic performance over a short period of time would not be realistic. It is obvious that heavy expenditures on pollution abatement activities would take away funds from productive investment activities, which will result in a negative impact on the net income as well as on cash flows of firms in the short run. It, however, needs to be recognized that the extent of negative association will be influenced by the materiality of pollution expenditures and the type of pollution abatement processes installed. For example, a stop-gap measure (e.g. catalytic converter) would have little payback impact. But the redesigning and renovating of a plant may have a considerable impact. In view of negative net income and cash flow effect, an expectation of a positive association between pollution and economic performance is not supportable; instead, this association is likely to be negative in the short run. However, over a long time, corporate pollution abatement activities may result in benefits which could counter-balance the short-term negative effects. Bowman (1973) argues that corporate expenditures to reduce externalities (sideeffects) will ultimately benefit the firm, and these benefits will manifest themselves in better productivity and reduced costs. For example, if as a result of pollution abatement activities, old equipment is replaced with modern sophisticated equipment, benefits will clearly be manifested in improved productivity. Furthermore, pollution abatement activities meeting pollution standards can be expected to reduce legal suits emanating from violation of environmental rules and regulations, which will reduce legal and liability costs. Since the measurment of pollution performance has only been generated for one year no attempt is made here to measure the long-term impact of pollution abatement. Therefore, this study examines the short-term effects of pollution performance on economic performance upon the following null hypothesis
النتائج (
العربية) 1:
[نسخ]نسخ!
الأساس المنطقي والفرضياتوكان 1972 "الولايات المتحدة القانون الاتحادي للمياه تلوث تحكم" كأحد أهدافها القضاء على تصريف الملوثات في المياه الصالحة للملاحة في البلاد بحلول عام 1985 (المياه الاتحادية، 1972). ولتحقيق هذا الهدف، تم وضع معايير افيوينت للتصريفات الصناعية. الصناعات المتأثرة بهذه المعايير، بما في ذلك صناعة لب الورق والورق، القول بأن فرض هذه المعايير سيكون له أثر سلبي على الأداء الاقتصادي للشركات. وتنظر في الاهتمام الصناعات. الرئيس نيكسون استخدمت حق النقض ضد مشروع القانون الأصلي. أن قانون عام 1972700 JAGGI وفريدمانAmendments were, however, later passed over his veto. The arguments advanced by industries in opposing the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Act Amendments raise an important issue of an association between pollution and economic performance and of the market's reaction to this association. As discussed earlier, Bragdon-Marlin's (1972) as well as Spicer's (1978) studies indicated that the economic impact of pollution performance would be positive. A close scrutiny of these studies have, however, indicated that the results of these studies were questionable, especially because they were based on a data base which was developed even before the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments were legislated. Furthermore, ChristainsenHaveman's (1981) analyses of several studies on productivity indicated that an expectation of a positive association between pollution control and economic performance over a short period of time would not be realistic. It is obvious that heavy expenditures on pollution abatement activities would take away funds from productive investment activities, which will result in a negative impact on the net income as well as on cash flows of firms in the short run. It, however, needs to be recognized that the extent of negative association will be influenced by the materiality of pollution expenditures and the type of pollution abatement processes installed. For example, a stop-gap measure (e.g. catalytic converter) would have little payback impact. But the redesigning and renovating of a plant may have a considerable impact. In view of negative net income and cash flow effect, an expectation of a positive association between pollution and economic performance is not supportable; instead, this association is likely to be negative in the short run. However, over a long time, corporate pollution abatement activities may result in benefits which could counter-balance the short-term negative effects. Bowman (1973) argues that corporate expenditures to reduce externalities (sideeffects) will ultimately benefit the firm, and these benefits will manifest themselves in better productivity and reduced costs. For example, if as a result of pollution abatement activities, old equipment is replaced with modern sophisticated equipment, benefits will clearly be manifested in improved productivity. Furthermore, pollution abatement activities meeting pollution standards can be expected to reduce legal suits emanating from violation of environmental rules and regulations, which will reduce legal and liability costs. Since the measurment of pollution performance has only been generated for one year no attempt is made here to measure the long-term impact of pollution abatement. Therefore, this study examines the short-term effects of pollution performance on economic performance upon the following null hypothesis
يجري ترجمتها، يرجى الانتظار ..
