Divergent Responses to Identical Problems

Businessmen and the Smoke Nuisance in Germany and the United States, 1880–1917

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9624790
AutoresFrank Uekoetter (autor correspondente)
Ano1999
Volume73
Fascículo4
Páginas641-676
Data de publicação1999-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Business History Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0007-6805 • E-ISSN: 2044-768X
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/3116129
PMID19459262
OpenAlexW2334138554
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas8
Referências citadas16

This article counters a common misconception that business was universally opposed to air pollution control at the beginning of the twentieth century. In comparing the reaction of German and American businessmen to smoke abatement efforts before World War I, it shows that behavior was primarily shaped by national culture, rather than by a general desire to “externalize costs.” German smoke abatement did not meet significant resistance from industrialists, with regulation being based on a general consensus of all parties involved—a process which turned out to be as much a chance for abatement as it was an impediment for reforms. The American business community was split into two factions: those opposed to smoke abatement because they feared additional costs and the intrusion of factories by officials, and others, frequently organized in Chambers of Commerce or similar civic associations, who took a broader perspective and argued that the economic prospects of their city were at stake. The ultimate success of the latter group was largely due to changes in strategy, which allowed businessmen to develop a more positive attitude toward smoke abatement while simultaneously increasing the effectiveness of regulation. Business, therefore, should not be viewed as an inevitably “negative force” in environmental regulation

Business · Economics · German · Intrusion · Political economy · Political science · Resistance (ecology · Smoke · Engineering · Financial Crisis of the 21st Century · History