ABSTRACT

This study investigates the effects of environmental stringency on the productivity in Korea. Previous studies have focused on the effects of environmental regulations on productivity at either the firm or industry level. In this study, the effects that the environmental protection expenditure have on the total factor productivity (TFP) are analysed using a firm- and industry-level panel dataset for 2006–2014. A dynamic panel data model was used for the industry-level analysis of the panel data from 2006–2014, and a multilevel linear model was used for the firm-level analysis of the data from 2010–2014. The results indicate that the environmental protection expenditure has a negative correlation with the TFP, including a lag variable of environmental research and development. The multilevel linear model analysis shows similar results for the environmental protection expenditure and environmental research and development. These findings suggest that the Porter hypothesis, which suggests that well-designed environmental policies may enhance productivity, is not applicable for Korea.

摘要

本研究调查了环境严格性对韩国生产力的影响。以前的研究集中在环境法规对企业或行业层面生产力的影响。本研究使用 2006-2014 年企业和行业层面的面板数据集分析了环保支出对全要素生产率 (TFP) 的影响。2006-2014年面板数据采用动态面板数据模型进行行业层面分析，2010-2014年数据采用多层次线性模型进行企业层面分析。结果表明，环保支出与全要素生产率呈负相关，包括环境研发的滞后变量。多层次线性模型分析表明，环保支出和环保研发的结果相似。这些发现表明，波特假说认为精心设计的环境政策可以提高生产力，但不适用于韩国。