Drawing on prior work on corporate environmentalism, Thomas Lyon and John Maxwell argue that corporate environmentalism is the result of firms attempting to anticipate public policy changes and influence the legislative process in their best interests. Presenting a general framework that highlights the links between corporate environmentalism and public policy, they use analytical tools of positive political economy and game theory to provide insights into corporate strategy and the effects of corporate and government policies on overall social welfare.

John W. Maxwell and Jiirgen von Hagen Kelley School of Business, Indiana University; ZEI, University of Bonn, Indiana University, and CEPR Prior to the 1970's, economic studies of the natural environment were chiefly concerned with the optimal extraction of natural resources such as oil, coal, and timber. This focus reflected the commonly held belief that the natural environmental was sufficient to sustain the world's population in relative comfort (at least in developed nations) and was "there for the taking." By the late 1960's, however, the spectacular levels of economic growth that had...

John W. Maxwell and Jiirgen von Hagen Kelley School of Business, Indiana University; ZEI, University of Bonn, Indiana University, and CEPR Prior to the 1970's, economic studies of the natural environment were chiefly concerned with the optimal extraction of natural resources such as oil, coal, and timber. This focus reflected the commonly held belief that the natural environmental was sufficient to sustain the world's population in relative comfort (at least in developed nations) and was "there for the taking." By the late 1960's, however, the spectacular levels of economic growth that had...