Static and dynamic efficiency of pollution control strategies

A great deal of the economic literature on pollution control strategies concentrates on the efficiency of environmental policy instruments. Most analytical studies in this field show that market instruments are more efficient with respect to the cost of pollution abatement of a given number of polluters than non-market instruments. According to several analytical studies, market instruments should also be more efficient with respect to innovation in pollution abatement equipment than non-market instruments. In the empirical literature a great number of case studies exist with estimations of the savings of abatement costs of market instruments in a situation without technological progress. Empirical studies about the impact of environmental policy market instruments on the abatement costs in situations with technological progress are lacking.The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap. The paper deals with an empirical estimation of abatement costs for the emission of SO₂ of coal-fired electricity units in the Netherlands from 1985 to 2000. First, the working of market instruments and non-market instruments (the existing environmental policy of the Dutch government) is simulated in a static situation. Second, we analyse the learning effects of flue gas desulphurization. The efficiency advantage of market instruments turns out to be larger in a situation of technological progress than in a static situation.     

Technology-forcing through environmental regulation

This paper analyzes the demand characteristics of innovation in pollution abatement and the interaction between a regulator and a polluter under a technology-forcing policy. Important demand-driven determinants of innovation in pollution control are examined, such as uncertainties surrounding unexplored technologies, the length of the compliance period and the maximum abatement costs the regulator is willing to accept. We derive the formal condition that the regulator balances the marginal utility of emissions reduction against the marginal disutilities of a longer compliance time and the increased uncertainty about the feasibility of a more stringent standard.     

An exploratory study of relative and incremental information content of two non-financial performance measures: Field study evidence on absence frequency and on-time delivery

In this exploratory field study, I test the relative and incremental information content of two non-financial performance measures compared to financial performance measures for future financial performance. The proprietary database used is from the contracts of the managers of 27 responsibility centers of a large Dutch service firm. Three years of monthly observations are used for the analysis.The accounting literature is ambiguous about whether non-financial measures have relative or incremental information content, or both, beyond lagged financial measures for future financial performance. Although it is often stated that non-financial performance measures are better indicators for future financial performance than lagged financial performance, the empirical accounting research evaluates the incremental contribution of non-financial measures beyond lagged financial measures.I find that in my research context the two non-financial measures absence frequency and on-time delivery do not have more relative information content than lagged financial measures. However, the non-financial measures have incremental information content beyond the lagged financial measures for both future costs and future revenues. In addition, the individual non-financial measures have different lags for costs and revenues.     

Inefficiencies in Public Environmental Services

The paper discusses efficiency issues in the public provision of environmental services, in particular waste water treatment. It is shown that in the face of increasing, respectively decreasing returns to scale the zero profit constraint of a cost minimizing public firm induces underinvestment, respectively overinvestment in public capacity compared with efficient allocation between public purification and effluent control by private polluters. X-inefficiency of the public firm counter-acts the inefficiency in allocation arising from overinvestment, and it reinforces the inefficiency in allocation in case of underinvestment in public purification capacity. As subsidy can bring down the user's charge imposed on sources, but it will also increase X-inefficiency. The subsidy counteracts underinvestment but reinforces overinvestment in public capacity.     

For which purposes do managers use Balanced Scorecards?: An empirical study

The accounting literature frequently publishes articles that establish the adoption rates of accounting information systems, such as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) or Activity-Based Costing, and subsequently examines the factors that drive this adoption. However, much less is known about the specific purposes for which these systems are used.In this paper, I examine the purposes for which managers use the Balanced Scorecard. Data was collected from a survey administered in 19 Dutch firms which had indicated that they used a BSC. The survey resulted in 224 responses from individual managers. Using exploratory factor analysis on Doll and Torkzadeh's [Doll, W.J., Torkzadeh, G., 1998. Developing a multidimensional measure of system-use in an organizational context. Information and Management 33, 171–185.] instrument of multidimensional MIS usage, I find that managers use the BSC for: (1) decision-making and decision-rationalizing; (2) coordination; and (3) self-monitoring.In the second step, I consider drivers of BSC usage for the three different purposes. These drivers are dimensions of evaluation style, alternative controls that are used in the organizational unit, and the receptiveness of managers to new types of information. I find that BSC usage for decision-making and decision-rationalizing purposes is driven by the degree of action controls used and manager's receptiveness to new information types. BSC usage for coordination purposes is driven by the emphasis placed on managerial evaluation of subordinates and the manager's receptiveness to new types of information. Finally, BSC usage for self-monitoring purposes is driven by the emphasis placed on managerial evaluation.     

The Five Paradoxes of Meaningful Work: Introduction to the special Issue ‘Meaningful Work: Prospects for the 21st Century’

In this introduction to the Journal of Management Studies Special Issue on Meaningful Work, we explain the imperative for a deeper understanding of meaningfulness within the context of the current sociopolitical environment, coupled with the growing use of organizational strategies aimed at ‘managing the soul’. Meaningful work remains a contested topic that has been the subject of attention in a wide range of disciplines. The focus of this Special Issue is the advancement of theory and evidence about the nature, causes, consequences, and processes of meaningful work. We summarize the contributions of each of the seven articles that comprise the Special Issue and, in particular, note their methodological and theoretical plurality. In conclusion, we set forth a future research agenda based on five fundamental paradoxes of meaningful work.     

Evaluation of Nature Conservation

Recent literature shows a lively debate on how tocapture ecological and environmental aspects indifferent evaluation methods and the closely relatedissue of the (im)possibilities of monetization ofthese aspects. Although economists in general tend tofavour Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) aboveMulti-Criteria Analysis (MCA), part of the literaturesuggests that CBA falls short of being the onlydecision-making device for environmental problems,both for theoretical and practical reasons. This paperdiscusses both evaluation methods and the main resultsof a major, publicly-financed nature conservationproject in The Netherlands.The evaluation method combines the straightforwardnessof CBA with the flexibility of MCA. Conceptually, itconsists of a MCA, the net result of a CBA beingintegrated as one of the criteria. The differentaspects of the nature conservation project that can bemonetized are incorporated into the CBA. Otheraspects such as changes in biodiversity or scenicbeauty are analysed in their own dimension,provided (cardinal) quantification is possible. Infact, the analysis consists of a very simple MCA, withtwo criteria: social costs and a quantitative measureof nature.Quantifying the amount of nature in its own,non-monetary dimension is a key element of theempirical analysis. A detailed quantitative estimateis made of the improvement of nature, based upon 564species and 131 different ecosystems. The result ofthe evaluation is a trade-off at the national levelbetween ecological improvements (plus 18 percent) andsocial costs (DFl. 3.4 billion net present value). Dueto the detailed quantification of the effect on naturethe evaluation also yields results about thecost-effectiveness of four different instruments tocreate and to preserve nature. That part of theanalysis shows that complete withdrawal ofagricultural land for nature purposes in the projectin general is more cost-effective than subsidizingnature-friendly farming, although the former is moreexpensive.     

Weight-based pricing in the collection of household waste: the Oostzaan case

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the effects of weight-based pricing in the collection of household waste. Using a comprehensive panel data set on all households in a Dutch municipality we estimate short-run as well as long-run price effects for the amounts of both compostable and non-recyclable household waste. We find significant and sizeable price effects, with the elasticity for compostable waste being four times as large as the elasticity for non-recyclable waste. Long-run elasticities are about 30% larger than short-run elasticities.