Balancing competitiveness and conditionality: environmental policy-making in low-regulating countries

This article scrutinizes the effects of economic competition on environmental standard levels in low-regulating states that intensify their economic interlinkage with high-regulating countries. In doing so, it pursues two objectives. First, we provide a detailed empirical account of the impact of ec...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Knill, Christoph (Author) , Tosun, Jale (Author) , Heichel, Stephan (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 09 Sep 2008
In: Journal of European public policy
Year: 2008, Volume: 15, Issue: 7, Pages: 1019-1040
ISSN:1466-4429
DOI:10.1080/13501760802310512
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760802310512
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Author Notes:Christoph Knill, Jale Tosun and Stephan Heichel
Description
Summary:This article scrutinizes the effects of economic competition on environmental standard levels in low-regulating states that intensify their economic interlinkage with high-regulating countries. In doing so, it pursues two objectives. First, we provide a detailed empirical account of the impact of economic integration on the development of environmental standards in Hungary and Mexico. Second, we offer a theoretical argument in order to explain why low-regulating countries avoid problems of remaining ‘stuck at the bottom’, although regulatory competition is effective. We argue that missing races to the bottom or stuck at the bottom effects in low-regulating countries are the result of conditionality pressures exerted by high-regulating countries. At the same time, however, low-regulating countries attempt to preserve their comparative advantage ‘through the back door’ by cultivating a lax enforcement practice.
Item Description:Gesehen am 22.11.2023
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1466-4429
DOI:10.1080/13501760802310512