Rights statement: This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in American Journal of Agricultural Economics following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Dakshina G. De Silva, Timothy P. Hubbard, and Anita R. Schiller Entry and Exit Patterns of “Toxic” Firms Am. J. Agr. Econ. (2016) 98 (3): 881-909 first published online February 29, 2016 doi:10.1093/ajae/aaw012 is available online at: http://http://ajae.oxfordjournals.org/content/98/3/881
Accepted author manuscript, 1.15 MB, PDF document
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Entry and exit patterns of "toxic" firms
AU - De Silva, Dakshina Garfield
AU - Hubbard, Timothy
AU - Schiller, Anita
N1 - This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in American Journal of Agricultural Economics following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Dakshina G. De Silva, Timothy P. Hubbard, and Anita R. Schiller Entry and Exit Patterns of “Toxic” Firms Am. J. Agr. Econ. (2016) 98 (3): 881-909 first published online February 29, 2016 doi:10.1093/ajae/aaw012 is available online at: http://http://ajae.oxfordjournals.org/content/98/3/881
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - We pair an establishment-level dataset from Texas with public information available in the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) to evaluate the standing of dirty industries in Texas census tracts with a focus on environmental justice concerns. The share of nonwhite residents in a tract is positively correlated with the number of TRI-reporting firms and an inverse-U-shaped relationship characterizes the number of TRI-reporting firms and a tract's median income. Even after controlling for factor prices and other covariates which might drive firm location decisions, entrants that report to the TRI are more likely to locate in areas with a higher share of nonwhite residents. Firms that report to the TRI are also more likely to enter areas with a low share college graduates. In contrast, the number of entrants from industries which do not have TRI reporters is negatively related to the percent of nonwhite residents in a tract. Firms in these non-reporting industries are also more likely to enter areas with a high share of college graduates. Polluters appear to agglomerate, raising concerns about both chemical releases being concentrated in certain tracts and also affecting nonwhite-dense areas disproportionately. The strength of these effects often depend on an urban/rural classification, with rural areas experiencing the most pronounced concerns. Moreover, TRI-reporting firms are less likely to exit the market relative to their peers which operate in the same industry but do not need to file TRI reports, suggesting releases may affect a region in the long-run.
AB - We pair an establishment-level dataset from Texas with public information available in the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) to evaluate the standing of dirty industries in Texas census tracts with a focus on environmental justice concerns. The share of nonwhite residents in a tract is positively correlated with the number of TRI-reporting firms and an inverse-U-shaped relationship characterizes the number of TRI-reporting firms and a tract's median income. Even after controlling for factor prices and other covariates which might drive firm location decisions, entrants that report to the TRI are more likely to locate in areas with a higher share of nonwhite residents. Firms that report to the TRI are also more likely to enter areas with a low share college graduates. In contrast, the number of entrants from industries which do not have TRI reporters is negatively related to the percent of nonwhite residents in a tract. Firms in these non-reporting industries are also more likely to enter areas with a high share of college graduates. Polluters appear to agglomerate, raising concerns about both chemical releases being concentrated in certain tracts and also affecting nonwhite-dense areas disproportionately. The strength of these effects often depend on an urban/rural classification, with rural areas experiencing the most pronounced concerns. Moreover, TRI-reporting firms are less likely to exit the market relative to their peers which operate in the same industry but do not need to file TRI reports, suggesting releases may affect a region in the long-run.
KW - environmental justice
KW - environmental Kuznets curve
KW - rm entry and exit
U2 - 10.1093/ajae/aaw012
DO - 10.1093/ajae/aaw012
M3 - Journal article
VL - 98
SP - 881
EP - 909
JO - American Journal of Agricultural Economics
JF - American Journal of Agricultural Economics
SN - 0002-9092
IS - 3
ER -