Productivity Growth and Environmental Regulation in Mexican and U.S. Food Manufacturing
通过利润函数分析，发现墨西哥食品制造业的生产率增长快于美国，且墨西哥环境标准提高促进了生产率增长，支持波特假说，而美国污染法规无显著影响。
Abstract Many argued during the NAFTA debate that trade liberalization would favor Mexican over U.S. food processors, especially because of lax environmental laws south of the border. We find through an examination of profit functions that productivity growth in Mexico has outstripped that in the United States, suggesting free trade indeed will benefit Mexican suppliers. U.S. pollution regulations have had no impact on the profitability or productivity of U.S. food manufacturing. In contrast, Mexico's swiftly rising environmental standards have enhanced food processors' productivity growth, corroborating the Porter hypothesis. Pollution law, therefore, has favored Mexican over U.S. food processing, but for reasons few had anticipated.