The Porter Hypothesis Revisited: A Literature Review of Theoretical Models and Empirical Tests

Marcus Wagner

Public Economics from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: The debate on the relationship between environmental regulation and competitiveness has been a topic of discussion for a number of years now. As early as 1991, the American economist Michael E. Porter proposed that stringent environmental regulation (under the condition that it is efficient) can lead to win-win situations, in which social welfare as well as the private net benefits of firms operating under such regulation can be increased. This paper analyses the Porter hypothesis with regard to two aspects. Firstly, it will analyse the theoretical reasoning behind the hypothesis by discussing and analyzing the arguments brought forward in favour of and against the hypothesis based on the discussion of different theoretical analyses and models by various authors in the field. Secondly, the paper reviews influential empirical studies trying to test the Porter hypothesis. The analysis of empirical work will allow (at least to some degree) to assess whether theoretical conclusions about the Porter hypothesis are confirmed by empirical research.

Keywords: Porter Hypothesis; Empirical Testing; Theoretical Hypothesis; Environment; Economy; Innovation; Regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C30 D62 L73 Q25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 50 pages
Date: 2004-07-25
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-mic and nep-reg
Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 50
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wpa:wuwppe:0407014

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