Since the early 1990s, the validity of the Porter Hypothesis has been the focus of intense research to establish whether well-designed environmental regulation may enhance -rather than reduce -competitiveness. However, little consensus exists on the extent to which environmental regulation might generate profitability enhancing innovation offsets. This paper reports on a meta-analysis of 103 publications which estimate the relationship between environmental regulation and firm or country-level productivity or competitiveness. We find considerable heterogeneity in both the sign and significance level of over 2,000 estimated "effect sizes" in these studies. A positive effect of environmental regulation is more likely at the state, region or country level, compared to facility, firm or industry levelalthough in both cases the most likely scenario is statistical insignificance. These findings are consistent with the strong version of the Porter Hypothesis whereby strict but flexible environmental regulations induce innovation and over time increase country-level competitiveness.
Since the early 1990s, the validity of the Porter Hypothesis has been the focus of intense research to establish whether well-designed environmental regulation may enhance-rather than reduce-competitiveness. However, little consensus exists on the extent to which environmental regulation might generate profitability enhancing innovation offsets. This paper reports on a meta-analysis of 103 publications which estimate the relationship between environmental regulation and firm or country-level productivity or competitiveness. We find considerable heterogeneity in both the sign and significance level of over 2,000 estimated "effect sizes" in these studies. A positive effect of environmental regulation is more likely at the state, region or country level, compared to facility, firm or industry levelalthough in both cases the most likely scenario is statistical insignificance. These findings are consistent with the strong version of the Porter Hypothesis whereby strict but flexible environmental regulations induce innovation and over time increase country-level competitiveness.
Human societies derive economic benefit from marine systems, yet these benefits may be modified as humans drive environmental change. Here, we conducted the first systematic review of literature on the potential economic effects of ocean acidification. We identified that while there is a growing literature discussing this topic, assessments of the direction and magnitude of anticipated economic change remain limited. The few assessments which have been conducted indicate largely negative economic effects of ocean acidification. Insights are, however, limited as the scope of the studies remains restricted. We propose understanding of this topic will benefit from using standard approaches (e.g. timescales, emissions scenarios) to consider an increasing range of species/habitats and ecosystem services over a range of spatial scales. The resulting understanding could inform decisions such that we maintain, or enhance, economic services obtained from future marine environments.
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