Do environmental regulations disproportionately affect small businesses? Evidence from the Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditures survey

Abstract

The research program of the Center for Economic Studies (CES) produces a wide range of economic analyses to improve the statistical programs of the U.S. Census Bureau. Many of these analyses take the form of CES research papers. The papers have not undergone the review accorded Census Bureau publications and no endorsement should be inferred. Any opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Census Bureau. All results have been reviewed to ensure that no confidential information is disclosed. Republication in whole or part must be cleared with the authors. To obtain information about the series, see www.census.gov/ces or contact C.

Environmental Policy and the Size Distribution of Firms

“…However, when it comes to emission standards, the incidence of the regulatory costs across …rm size depends on the two counteracting e¤ects described above. In line with Becker et al (2013), our results indicate that emission standards create regulatory asymmetries as they distort the emission intensity of large …rms the most.…”

“…First, the studies by Pashigian 2 (1984), Dean et al (2000), and Sengupta (2010) indicate that due to economies of scale, environmental regulation modi…es the optimal scale of …rms and puts small …rms at a unit cost disadvantage. Second, Becker et al (2013) argue that there are statutory and/or enforcement asymmetries that favor smaller establishments. Hence, the …nal incidence of environmental regulations depends on whether these regulatory asymmetries outweigh any scale economies in regulatory compliance.…”

Environmental Regulation and Sustainable Competitiveness: Evaluating the Role of Firm-Level Green Investments in the Context of the Porter Hypothesis

“…There is also evidence that firms' responses to environmental regulation varies by their size. Becker, Pasurka & Shadbegian (2013) find that the cost intensity for pollution abatement increases with establishment size. A paper that investigates a different type of environmental regulation in the water sector is Rassier & Earnhart (2015).…”

Reductions in federal oversight of aquatic systems in Canada: implications of the new Navigation Protection Act

“…Environmental legislation has been accused of being overly bureaucratic and costly to industry (Becker et al 2013;Iraldo et al 2011;Ryan 2012;Dufour et al 1998) and to Canadian provinces and territories (Watson 2012), with the lengthy processes of environmental review suggested as a key factor of this (Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development 2012). However, this assertion is highly debated within the economic literature and is not necessarily well supported by evidence (Iraldo et al 2011;Dufour et al 1998).…”