Working Paper Cnr-Ceris, N° 09/2012

Comparing green performances of Italian and German firms

Alessandro Manello

CNR-CERIS
National Research Council of Italy,
via Real Collegio, n. 30, 10024 Moncalieri (To), Italy
Tel.: +39 011 68 24 946
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Abstract: This paper analyses the environmental efficiency of a sample of chemical firms located in Italy and Germany, which are included in the European Pollution Emission and Transfer Register (E-PRTR). The adoption of a common set of standards can open important way to compare economical and ecological performances of firms which must follow the same formal rule, but operating in different countries. The Directional Distance Function (DDF) approach is here applied to obtain global efficiency scores able to consider pollution in computations: emissions generally increase between 2004 and 2007, with a worse performance of Italian firms. Eco-efficiency indicators partially slim down that evidence considering both turnover and input usage, underlining a reduction of average inefficiencies over time. From a dynamic viewpoint empirical findings shows a most favourable trends in environmental TFP growth for German firms.

Keywords: Environmental Efficiency, Porter’s Hypothesis, Chemical industry

JEL Codes: D24, O33, Q50, Q52.

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