Delay and dilution in the implementation of environmental norms: business groups and the regulation of car emissions in Switzerland in the 1970s–1980s

Sabine Pitteloud

No unige:141483, Working Papers from University of Geneva, Paul Bairoch Institute of Economic History

Abstract: During the last decade, we have witnessed increased public concern about vehicle emissions and growing frustration with political inaction and businesses' preference for the status quo. This paper offers a historical perspective on this debate by shedding light on the political struggle that occurred around the implementation of new regulations reducing air pollution caused by motor vehicles in Switzerland in the 1970s. Relying on archival material from the Swiss Federation of Commerce and Industry and the Federal Archives, the paper analyzes the processes of dilution and delay that characterized these regulations, and the complex interplay of various influences both in Switzerland and at the European level that contributed to this political outcome.

Keywords: Environmental norms; Vehicle emissions; Lobbying; Business history; Switzerland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 F64 K32 N54 N84 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 14 p.
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-ene, nep-env, nep-his, nep-pol and nep-tre
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gnv:wpaper:unige:141483

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