The Chemical Industry: Regulation, Innovation, and Competitiveness

The effect of environmental regulation on innovation by firms and on competitiveness by countries has been a source of theorizing and debate for more than half a century. In particular, the chemical industry, which arose in Europe and the US at the end of the 19 century together with the second industrial revolution, has been accused of causing numerous large-scale accidents, which have had significant impact on the environment. Indirectly, these accidents can be seen as responsible for the gradual growth of environmental consciousness and, beginning in the 1970s, the development of environmental regulations, first in the industrialized countries and later in developing economies.