Capital Deepening and Technological Change: The Canadian Pulp and Paper Industry 1940–1960

1971 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H. Manning ◽  
G. Thornburn
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Production Function ◽  
Chemical Industry ◽  
Paper Industry ◽  
Pulp And Paper Industry ◽  
Plant Size ◽  
Pulp And Paper ◽  
Capital Deepening ◽  
Forest Industries ◽  
Pulp And Paper Industries

The pulp and paper industry is generally considered the most technologically progressive of the forest industries. A study employing Solow's method indicated a rise in the index of technological change of 50% between 1940 and 1960. This compares with a 547% increase for the chemical industry. Derivation of the capital production function for the pulp and paper industries shows that all increases in productivity, 1940–1960, were due to change in technology. There is also some indication that optimal plant size has been reached.

scholarly journals Environmental Regulation in the Pulp and Paper Industry: Impacts and Challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 185-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik Söderholm ◽  
Ann-Kristin Bergquist ◽  
Kristina Söderholm
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Environmental Regulations ◽  
Paper Industry ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Pulp And Paper Industry ◽  
Pulp And Paper ◽  
Emission Reductions ◽  
Compliance Costs ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Purpose of Review In this article, we review existing research addressing how environmental regulations have influenced the pulp and paper industry. These regulations appear in different forms and designs and address air and water pollution as well as climate change. The paper devotes particular attention to how various regulations have affected sustainable technological change and the prospects for inducing deep emission reductions without jeopardizing industrial competitiveness and future investments. Recent Findings Experiences from key pulp and paper regions, not least the Nordic countries, suggest that gradually tightening performance standards have contributed to radical reductions in emissions, e.g., chlorine compounds and biological oxygen demanding agents, and without imposing excessive compliance costs. This outcome can largely be attributed to how the regulations have been designed—and implemented—in practice, as well as to the presence of efficient and legitimate institutions. Long-term emission reduction targets, in combination with extended compliance periods and trustful firm-regulator relationships, contributed to radical technological innovation and permitted radical emission reductions without excessive compliance costs. The development of alternative bleaching technologies is an apt example. In contrast, the impact of carbon pricing schemes, including the EU emissions trading scheme, on carbon dioxide emissions reductions and related technological change in the pulp and paper industry has however been modest. Self-regulation, certification, and community pressure have exerted relatively modest influences on the environmental performance of the industry. Summary Important avenues for future research are identified. These include the following: (a) comparative research on how policy mixes in various countries have influenced environmental compliance and innovation; processes; (b) future studies of environmental regulations, their design and implementation, in emerging pulp and paper producing countries, not least China; and (c) research on how environmental regulations can affect ongoing restructurings in the industry towards a broader palette of products in biorefineries.

Comparative analysis of the production technologies of logging, sawmill, pulp and paper, and veneer and plywood industries in Ontario

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chander Shahi ◽  
Thakur Prasad Upadhyay ◽  
Reino Pulkki ◽  
Mathew Leitch
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Cost Function ◽  
Pulp And Paper ◽  
Annual Data ◽  
Production Structure ◽  
Technological Growth ◽  
Forest Industries ◽  
Production Technologies ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Pulp And Paper Industries

Technological growth in production and efficient utilization of input factors are the two biggest contributors to total factor productivity (TFP). TFP of the four major forest industries (logging, pulp and paper, sawmill, and veneer and plywood industries) of Ontario are compared by analyzing their production structures using duality theory in production and costs. The study uses annual data of output and four inputs — labour, capital, energy and materials — from 1967 to 2003. Different restrictions on the translog cost function are applied to each industry to determine the cost function that best describes each industry’s technology, which is further used to estimate Morishima elasticities of substitution, own-price and cross-price elasticities, rate of technological change, and TFP. The production structure of sawmill and veneer and plywood industries is found to be linear homogeneous and homothetic, and that of logging and pulp and paper industries is non-homothetic. Further, Hicks neutral technological change for all four industries is rejected, indicating that the production structure in all four industries is biased in favour of certain inputs and against others. This suggests that policies that improve the efficiency of each industry should focus on input-saving factors of that industry, thereby improving its competitive position.

scholarly journals The Ghost of Wesley Vale: Environmentalists' Influence on Innovation in Australia's Pulp and Paper Industry

1996 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Sonnenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Government Regulation ◽  
Paper Industry ◽  
Pulp Mill ◽  
Pulp And Paper Industry ◽  
Pulp And Paper ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Paper Mills ◽  
Elemental Chlorine ◽  
Pulp And Paper Industries ◽  
Archival Work

This paper analyzes how a key conflict in Australia's pulp and paper industry became generalized to other sites through environmental action, government regulation, and industry initiative. From 1987–91, Australians debated construction of a new, world-class, export-oriented pulp mill in Tasmania. Rural residents, fishermen, and environmentalists, allied with the Australian Labor Party, succeeded in scuttling the project. Subsequently, the national government launched a major research program, state governments tightened regulations, and industry reduced elemental chlorine use. Any new mills constructed in Australia today would be among the cleanest in the world. This paper is part of a larger, comparative study of technological innovation in the pulp and paper industries of Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The author interviewed industry officials, government regulators, research scientists, and environmentalists; visited pulp and paper mills; attended technical conferences; and conducted archival work in these countries during a 12-month period.

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