Do Voluntary Pollution Reduction Programs (VPRs) Spur Innovation in Environmental Technology

Carmen Carrion-Flores, Robert Innes () and Abdoul G. Sam

No 21124, 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA from American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association)

Abstract: In the context of the EPA's 33/50 program, we study whether a VPR can prompt firms to develop new environmental technologies that yield future emission reduction benefits. Because pollutant reductions generally require costly reformulations of products and/or production processes, environmental over-compliance induced by a VPR may potentially spur environmental innovation that can reduce these costs. Conversely, a VPR may induce a participating firm to divert resources from environmental research to environmental monitoring and compliance activities that yield short-term benefits in reduced emissions. We find evidence that higher rates of 33/50 program participation are associated with significant reductions in the number of successful environmental patent applications four to six years after the program ended; these results suggest a negative relationship between the 33/50 program and longer-run environmental innovation.

Keywords: Research; and; Development/Tech; Change/Emerging; Technologies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 19
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aaea06:21124

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.21124

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