Article "Structural change as the primary driver of water pollution reductions: Re-evaluating the role of command and control in the Swedish pulp and paper industry (1969–1989)"

Full article: Structural change as the primary driver of water pollution reductions: Re-evaluating the role of command and control in the Swedish pulp and paper industry (1969–1989)

Abstract

Business scholars have criticised the liberal environmental governance regime of recent decades and advocated a return to the ‘old road’ of strict command-and-control environmental regulation. It has been argued that well-designed environmental regulation will stimulate innovation and make it possible to achieve deep emission reductions while maintaining business competitiveness. The Swedish pulp and paper industry has been cited as a prominent example where ­regulation-induced ‘green’ innovation enabled a successful sustainability transition during the 1970s and 1980s. This article challenges this view by showing that most of the reduction in total pollution was not due to technological improvements, but to industry restructuring. This suggests that previous research may have overstated the role of environmental regulation and highlights the importance of considering broader economic and industrial dynamics when evaluating the effectiveness of environmental policy.