This study examines the relationship between firm and facility characteristics and environmental compliance rates. A framework to help analyze this relationship is provided by deterrence theory which suggests that given the same level of government monitoring and enforcement, facilities with higher compliance costs will have lower compliance rates. The literature implies that firms and facilities with certain characteristics face higher costs to ensure compliance with regulations. For example, it has been proposed that plants that are part of large firms, multi-facility firms, or publicly traded firms will incur higher agency costs monitoring employees to make sure they are complying with regulations. Similarly, it is thought that large facilities and facilities located in a different state than the firms headquarters will also face higher agency costs. In addition, it is suggested that foreign-owned plants will confront higher costs developing the expertise to comply with domestic regulations. Understanding the nature of these costs and how they relate to firm and facility characteristics could assist policymakers with developing more targeted environmental compliance strategies.
The current study uses data collected on a sample of chemical facilities to analyze whether these characteristics affect facility violation rates, as measured by compliance with air permits. The results suggest that plants with more employees and plants that are part of multi-facility firms are more likely to be out of compliance. Plants that are part of firms with out-of- state headquarters were unexpectedly found to have lower violation rates. None of the other firm and facility characteristics were found to be significant predictors of facility violation rates.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-07072009-171521 |
| Date | 08 July 2009 |
| Creators | Recher, Marcella Andrea |
| Contributors | Mark Abkowitz, Georgine Pion, James Clarke, David Cordray, Mark Cohen |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-07072009-171521/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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