TY - JOUR
T1 - Do E-Waste Laws Create Behavioral Spillovers? Quasi-Experimental Evidence from California
AU - Dhanorkar, Suvrat
AU - Muthulingam, Suresh
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank April Gomez and Andrew Hurst of CalRecycle for the valuable insights about California's EWRA policy and its implementation. We thank Lynn Rubinstein from Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) and Amanda Cotton from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for their constructive suggestions. The data collection effort was supported by the Smeal College of Business Small Research Grant. We thank Prof. Nitin Joglekar, the Senior Editor, and the three reviewers for their constructive suggestions, which significantly enhanced the study.
Funding Information:
We thank April Gomez and Andrew Hurst of CalRecycle for the valuable insights about California's EWRA policy and its implementation. We thank Lynn Rubinstein from Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) and Amanda Cotton from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for their constructive suggestions. The data collection effort was supported by the Smeal College of Business Small Research Grant. We thank Prof. Nitin Joglekar, the Senior Editor, and the three reviewers for their constructive suggestions, which significantly enhanced the study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Production and Operations Management Society
PY - 2020/7/1
Y1 - 2020/7/1
N2 - Many governing bodies have launched efforts to shape the operations of manufacturers, administration of civic entities, and behavior of individuals to limit waste generation. Typically, such efforts commence with the enactment of targeted legislations that create operational changes (e.g., recycling fees, collection centers) to the waste collection and disposal processes. For example, over 25 states in the United States have enacted legislations that aim to properly dispose used electronic and electrical goods (i.e., e-waste) and divert such waste away from landfills. We argue that such legislations can have an impact that extends beyond just reducing e-waste. This is because such laws may not only motivate individuals to restrict e-waste but also induce broader behavioral spillovers that can prompt individuals to reduce waste in general. To explore this idea, we exploit a quasi-experimental setup that arises from California's enactment of the Electronic Waste Recycling Act (EWRA). Specifically, a difference-in-differences analysis reveals that the introduction and implementation of the EWRA resulted in at least 4.93% reduction in municipal solid waste (MSW). A plausibility analysis illustrates that these MSW reductions are much larger than what can be attributed purely to the decline of e-waste. Furthermore, we show that the effect of e-waste laws is stronger when consumers have increased market access through (i) online connectivity and (ii) offline proximity. Our study informs policy makers on the effects of e-waste legislation and the critical role of market access in enhancing the impact of such legislation.
AB - Many governing bodies have launched efforts to shape the operations of manufacturers, administration of civic entities, and behavior of individuals to limit waste generation. Typically, such efforts commence with the enactment of targeted legislations that create operational changes (e.g., recycling fees, collection centers) to the waste collection and disposal processes. For example, over 25 states in the United States have enacted legislations that aim to properly dispose used electronic and electrical goods (i.e., e-waste) and divert such waste away from landfills. We argue that such legislations can have an impact that extends beyond just reducing e-waste. This is because such laws may not only motivate individuals to restrict e-waste but also induce broader behavioral spillovers that can prompt individuals to reduce waste in general. To explore this idea, we exploit a quasi-experimental setup that arises from California's enactment of the Electronic Waste Recycling Act (EWRA). Specifically, a difference-in-differences analysis reveals that the introduction and implementation of the EWRA resulted in at least 4.93% reduction in municipal solid waste (MSW). A plausibility analysis illustrates that these MSW reductions are much larger than what can be attributed purely to the decline of e-waste. Furthermore, we show that the effect of e-waste laws is stronger when consumers have increased market access through (i) online connectivity and (ii) offline proximity. Our study informs policy makers on the effects of e-waste legislation and the critical role of market access in enhancing the impact of such legislation.
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U2 - 10.1111/poms.13182
DO - 10.1111/poms.13182
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85085687424
VL - 29
SP - 1738
EP - 1766
JO - Production and Operations Management
JF - Production and Operations Management
SN - 1059-1478
IS - 7
ER -