Environmental Policy and Technological Innovation

Why Do Firms Adopt or Reject New Technologies?

Author: Carlos Montalvo Corral Series: New Horizons in the Economics of Innovation series

Environmental Policy and Technological Innovation comprehensively explores the factors which can influence a firm’s behavioural approach towards developing clean technologies. Unlike many other studies on environmental policy, it addresses the origin of the problems and not just the symptoms.

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Summary

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For over 30 years environmental policy has developed under the assumption that self-interest explains firms' environmental behaviour and that the problem of pollution can be rectified by technological fixes. This policy paradigm has been proved wrong: entrenched anatagonism between firms and regulators, and greater environmental harm, have proved to be the dominant outcomes. This text re-focuses environmental policy analysis by demonstrating how behavioural models can be applied within the field to better understand the propensity of firms to engage in pro-environmental, innovative activities. The book develops a tool for environmental policy analysis in the context of technical change. A rigorous theoretical and methodological framework is applied to identify sources of firms' willingness (or resistance) to engage in cleaner production and to evaluate under which conditions the firm's pro-environmental, innovative behaviour may be fostered. The author undertakes extensive research through a case study of the In-Bond industry in Mexico and assesses the significance and relationship of individual factors relating to a firm's innovative behaviour towards "greener" production.

Critic Reviews

“'. . . this book can be recommended for those who want to explore fresh ground concerning the theoretical and empirical analysis of environmental innovations. Not only does it illustrate the frutility of a behavioral foundation for economic analysis, but it also shows the possibilities of empirically examining these determinants of behavior.'”

-- Frank Beckenbach, Journal of Evolutionary Economics
'Inducing firms to adopt radical solutions for cleaner production is a key challenge for environmental and innovation policy. Adopting a behavioural approach, this book demonstrates rigorously that environmental standards are not enough; it is absolutely essential to communicate environmental risk to managers and reinforce capabilities within firms. Dealing with the 'In-Bond' industry in the US-Mexico border zone, the conclusions here are relevant in any part of the world. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in environmental policy for industry.' -- Jim Skea, Policy Studies Institute, London, UK

About the Author

Carlos Montalvo Corral, Senior Adviser, Institute of Strategy, Technology and Policy, TNO, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Delft, The Netherlands