Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Productivity and environmental regulation: the effect of the nitrates directive in the French pig sector

  • Published:
Environmental and Resource Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper measures the ensuing changes in productivity in the French pig sector following the introduction of the European regulation addressing water pollution by nitrates from agriculture. Productivity is measured using the Malmquist–Luenberger index. The sources of changes in productivity observed are examined by breaking down this index into its technical progress and efficiency components. The results show that in the early stages, increases in productivity were stimulated by increased efficiency, before being driven by technical progress. The estimations regarding the sources of efficiency gains for the farms in the sample (technical efficiency, efficiency of scale and environmental efficiency) are then used to estimate the indirect costs and benefits (or negative costs) linked to the introduction of the environmental regulation controlling the disposal of organic manure and the management of nitrogen surplus from pig farms. The existence of a “win-win” effect as regards the Porter hypothesis relation between efficiency and environmental regulation is highlighted for the French pig sector.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ball E, Färe R, Grosskopf S, Zaim O (2005) Accounting for externalities in the measurement of productivity growth: the malmquist cost productivity measure. Struct Change Econ Dynam 16(3):374–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd GA, McClelland JD (1999) The impact of environmental constraints on productivity improvement in integrated paper plants. J Environ Econ Manage 38(2):121–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd GA, Tolley G, Pang J (2002) Plant level productivity, efficiency, and environmental performance of the container glass industry. Environ Resour Econ 23(1):29–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers RG, Chung YH, Färe R (1996) Benefit and distance functions. J Econ Theory 70(2):407–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung YH, Färe R, Grosskopf S (1997) Productivity and undesirable outputs: a directional distance function approach. J Environ Manage 51(3):229–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Färe R, Grosskopf S (2004) New directions: efficiency and productivity. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Färe R, Grosskopf S, Lovell CAK (1985) The measurement of efficiency of production. Kluwer-Nijhoff Publishing, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Färe R, Grosskopf S, Lovell CAK (1994) Production frontiers. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Färe R, Grosskopf S, Lovell CAK, Pasurka C (1989) Multilateral productivity comparisons when some outputs are undesirable: a nonparametric approach. Rev Econ Stat 71(1):90–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Färe R, Grosskopf S, Lovell CAK, Yaisawarng S (1993) Derivation of shadow prices for undesirable outputs: a distance function approach. Rev Econom Stat 75(2):374–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Managi S, Opaluch JJ, Jin D, Grigalunas TA (2005) Environmental regulations and technological change in the offshore oil and gas industry. Land Econo 81(2):303–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Murty MN, Kumar S (2003) Win-win opportunities and environmental regulation: testing of Porter Hypothesis for Indian manufacturing industries. J Environ Manage 67(2):139–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer K, Oates WE, Portney PR (1995) Tightening environmental standards: the benefit-cost or the no-cost paradigm. J Econ Perspectives 9(4):119–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Pizer WA, Kopp R, Karl G (2005) Calculating the costs of environmental regulation. In: Mäler KG, Vincent JR (eds) Handbook of environmental economics. Elsevier, North-Holland

  • Porter ME (1991) America’s green strategy. Scientific American 264(4):96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter ME, van der Linde C (1995) Green and competitive: ending the stalemate. Harvard Business Rev September–October 73(5):120–134

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA-UR122, 4 allée Adolphe Bobierre, CS 61103, Rennes cedex, 35011, France

    Isabelle Piot-Lepetit & Monique Le Moing

Authors
  1. Isabelle Piot-Lepetit
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Monique Le Moing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Isabelle Piot-Lepetit.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Piot-Lepetit, I., Moing, M.L. Productivity and environmental regulation: the effect of the nitrates directive in the French pig sector. Environ Resource Econ 38, 433–446 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-007-9086-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-007-9086-7

Keywords

JEL Classification

Search

Navigation