随便写点
Environmental regulations mean government uses various means of economic instruments, i.e. tax, loans, finance, to direct firm to be more environmental friendly, resolving external diseconomies. On the one hand, the thumb-up opinion represented by Peter and Vand der Linde (1995) believe that, those regulations motivate green innovation. The rationality is that by developing environmentally friendly products and exploring new market, the input cost can be traded-off. On the other hand, neo-classical economists like Gray and Shadbegian (1995) argue that strict environmental regulations not only add burdens to firms, but also increase the risk of future investment, weakening their productivity and competitiveness.

Nishijima (1993) researches some firms in Japan and concludes that regulations can force firms to promote the effectiveness of energy use and cut their costs.

Beers (1997) tests the relationship between environmental regulations and working enthusiasm of local labors. The result shows positive relationship.

A study by Robinson (1988) finds that environmental regulations have negative impact on the export of most goods.