How to comply with environmental regulations? the role of information

Abstract

The effectiveness of environmental regulation can be viewed as conditioned by the action of two main agents: regulated firms and public agency. Using a questionnaire on the pulp and paper industry in Portugal, this article finds that firms' decision to comply with environmental regulations is strongly influenced by firms' information on its legal obligations; this effect is stronger for smaller firms. Moreover larger/younger firms are less likely to comply with environmental regulations than smaller/older firms. Regarding the public agency's behavior, the authors find that greater monitoring efforts are directed toward larger/younger firms and toward those firms most likely to cause higher pollution levels.