The effect of environmental regulation on plant-level product mix: A study of EPA's Cluster Rule |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Economics, Sewanee: The University of the South, 735 University Avenue, Sewanee, TN 37383, USA;2. Department of Economics and Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, The George Washington University, 2115 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA;1. Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, 1315 E 10th St, Rm 231, Bloomington, IN 47405-1701, United States;2. Indiana University Kelley School of Business, 1309 E 10th St, Rm 456, Bloomington, IN 47405-1701, United States;1. School of Economics, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;2. Erudite, University of Paris-Est Créteil. 61 av du Général de Gaulle, 94010 Créteil Cedex, France;1. The World Bank, United States;2. Georgetown University, United States;1. Department of Economics, Wake Forest University, USA;2. Department of Economics, East Carolina University, USA |
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| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Cluster Rule on the product-mix decisions of plants in the pulp, paper, and paperboard industries. The Cluster Rule combines regulatory requirements from the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act that are based on plants altering their production processes away from chlorine-based bleaching agents. In addition to, or instead of, altering production processes, plants may plausibly comply with the regulation by reducing output of bleached products or dropping some of these products entirely. Using a difference-in-difference-in-differences approach, we find evidence that plants facing both air and water Cluster Rule regulation (treatment group) are more likely to drop bleached products relative to unbleached products compared to plants facing only air Cluster Rule regulation (control group). Furthermore, we find evidence that plants in the control group alter their product mixes toward bleached products. |
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| Keywords: | Environmental regulation Plant-level product mix Cluster Rule Difference-in-differences Pulp and paper |
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