The cost implications of waste reduction: factor demand, competitiveness and policy implications

Wendy Chapple (), Richard Ian Harris and Catherine Paul

Journal of Productivity Analysis, 2006, vol. 26, issue 3, pages 245-258

Abstract: Manufacturing produces both good and “bad” outputs, such as waste, which have negative environmental effects. Economic (e.g., tax) and non-economic (e.g., reputation) incentives encourage firms to reduce waste. However, such practices are costly because decreases in output produced or increases in inputs used may accompany waste reduction. We employ a cost function approach to evaluate patterns of output and waste production and capital, labor, and materials use, for UK manufacturing plants. We find that costs of waste reduction generally imply increasing materials use and capital and labor input saving, but vary by county, region, and industry. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2006

Keywords: Waste reduction costs; Input composition; Corporate social responsibility; Plant level data; D24; M14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jproda:v:26:y:2006:i:3:p:245-258

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