Michael A. Long

Does environmental enforcement slow the treadmill of production? The relationship between large monetary penalties, ecological disorganization and toxic releases within offending corporations

While treadmill of production theory is recognized as an important political economic explanation of environmental harms within sociology, it has not been examined in the context of green criminology. This research connects green criminology and treadmill of production by examining whether the state can limit the treadmill of production through enforcement. Specifically, this study asks whether large monetary penalties administered against corporations for environmental violations are negatively related to ecological additions. Fixed effects regression is used to examine the association between penalties and toxic releases. The models estimate within company variation before and after environmental penalties are assessed and holds constant any unchanging company attributes that may introduce significant specification error into the models. Results indicate that the relationship between penalties and toxic releases is weak at best, suggesting that penalties are more likely to legitimate the treadmill of production than to limit its environmental impacts.

Crime in the Coal Industry Implications for Green Criminology and Treadmill of Production

This research examines the connection between political donations, lobbying, levels of production, and state enforcement efforts in the coal industry. The authors draw on treadmill of production theory as developed by Schnaiberg to situate the analysis within green criminology. Specifically, based on treadmill of production theory the authors hypothesize that coal companies are more likely to increase political donations and lobbying efforts prior to the conclusion of any state enforcement effort (administrative, civil, or criminal violation). In addition, and consistent with treadmill of production theory, the authors hypothesize that the probability of environmental enforcement will be lower for coal companies that are more embedded in the treadmill of production and higher for companies less embedded in the treadmill. To test these hypotheses, a case-crossover design is used that allows for comparisons within companies by looking at treadmill-related characteristics at the time of the violation and at randomly chosen points in time before and after that violation. The authors discovered that while lobbying efforts and level of embeddedness in the treadmill were unrelated to state enforcement, political donations significantly increase for companies just prior to the conclusion of an enforcement event (odds ratio = 6.36). It is also discovered that corporate restructuring is related to environmental enforcement. The article concludes by offering insights into alternative analysis and uses of treadmill of production theory as it relates to green criminology.

Campaign Contributions, Post-War Reconstruction Contracts, and State Crime

This article presents a case-control study of the relationship between Federal-level campaign contributions, corporate political connections, and the awarding of post-war reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cases are 135 companies that received post-war contracts and controls are 135 randomly selected companies matched on industry. Results reveal that both campaign contributions and political connections significantly increase a companys odds of receiving a contract. Results are situated in the context of current theory on state crime. It is argued that awarding contracts on this basis may constitute a form of state crime, but alternative explanations for the findings are also discussed.

Campaign contributions, lobbying and post-Katrina contracts

This research explores the relationship between political campaign contributions, lobbying and post-Hurricane Katrina cleanup and reconstruction contracts. Specifically, a case-control study design is used to determine whether campaign contributions to national candidates in the 2000-04 election cycles and/or the employment of lobbyists and lobbying firms increased a companys probability of receiving a post-hurricane contract. Results indicate that both a campaign contribution dichotomous variable and the dollar amount of contributions are significantly related to whether a company received a contract, but that lobbying activity was not. These findings are discussed in the context of previous research on the politics of natural disasters, government contracting and governmental and corporate deviance.

Environmental justice: a criminological perspective

This article examines studies related to environmental justice in the criminological literature and from a criminological perspective. Criminologists have long been concerned with injustices in the criminal justice system related to the enforcement of criminal law. In the 1990s, following the emergence of green criminology, a handful of criminologists have drawn attention to environmental justice as an extension of more traditional criminological studies of justice and injustice. Relevant criminological studies of environmental justice are reviewed, and suggestions for future environmental justice research are offered.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POSTWAR RECONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AND POLITICAL DONATIONS: THE CASE IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ

This research examines the relationship between postwar reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan and subsequent federal – level election campaign contributions using a case control design. The cases represent all companies that received postwar contracts and are matched with a random sample of companies that did not receive postwar contracts. Regression results suggest that, even after controlling for previous federal-level election campaign contributions and company characteristics, postwar contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan that were awarded between 2002 and 2004 predict campaign contributions for the 2004 presidential and congressional elections. These results are discussed in the context of literature on the rationality of political donations and indicate that corporate donors appear to behave in a rational manner.

A cross-national study of the association between natural resource rents and homicide rates, 2000–12

Countries that rely on natural resource rents (that is, the revenue generated from the sale of natural resources) may suffer from a variety of social problems. This exploratory study reviews the natural resource extraction literature to derive a ‘natural resource rents–homicide’ hypothesis. Data for 173 countries for the years 2000 to 2012 are examined to determine if there is a correlation between natural resource rents and homicide rates. Multilevel growth models suggest that natural resource rents are positively correlated with homicide rates within countries (level 1) but not between them (level 2). Importantly, the correlation between natural resource rents and homicide is strongest when natural resource rents are lagged. We conclude by suggesting that increasing natural resource rents may be counterproductive over the long run and sow the seeds for a future increase in homicide.

school holiday Food Provision in the UK: a Qualitative investigation of needs, Benefits, and Potential for Development

Access to an adequate supply of nutritious food has been recognized as a basic human right. However, many families across the UK face food insecurity, which is thought to be exacerbated during school holidays. To address this issue, some schools and community groups have chosen to roll out holiday clubs, though research into the effectiveness of such interventions is limited and no studies to date have evaluated holiday clubs being organized through schools. In an effort to address some of the limitations in the research literature, the current qualitative investigation utilized semi-structured interviews with staff involved in holiday clubs in school and community venues with the aim of gaging their views on the need for and benefits of holiday food provision in addition to potential areas for development. The investigation revealed that staff perceived many families to be facing food insecurity and isolation during the school holidays, which may be alleviated through holiday club provision. Holiday clubs were viewed as a valuable source of support for children and adults, providing food, activities, and learning experiences. Staff were keen to see them implemented on a wider scale in future but suggested some areas that require attention in any future development of such provision. Findings are discussed in relation to current research, policy, and practice surrounding the health and wellbeing of children and families.

Does the Modernization of Environmental Enforcement Reduce Toxic Releases? An Examination of Self-policing, Criminal Prosecutions, and Toxic Releases in the United States, 1988–2014

ABSTRACT According to modernization theory, enforcement schemes that rely on end-of-the-pipe regulation are not as effective at achieving improved environmental performance as market-based approaches that encourage pollution prevention. Consistent with that observation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency transitioned to the use of self-policing to encourage pollution prevention. Other studies note that environmental compliance is significantly affected by traditional “command-and-control” strategies. Using Prais Winston regression we examine these contrasting views by estimating the relationship between toxic releases, self-policing, and criminal prosecutions from 1988 through 2014. Initial correlations suggest that (1) self-policing is not associated with toxic releases but that (2) criminal prosecutions may reduce toxic releases through general deterrence signals. Subsequent analyses controlling for gross domestic product revealed that neither self-policing nor criminal enforcement correlate with toxic releases but that gross domestic product was the strongest predictor of emissions. The implications of these findings for the control of toxic emissions are discussed.

Trends in the Formation of Environmental Enforcement International Non-Governmental Organizations, 1950–2010

Abstract Recent research highlights the importance of non-governmental organizations in environmental enforcement. These studies largely describe the operations of enforcement organizations locally. The present study offers an alternative perspective by considering environmental enforcement by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs). We employ the treadmill of production thesis to investigate the formation of environmental enforcement INGOs between 1950 and 2010. Prais–Winsten estimation techniques are used to investigate whether the formation of environmental enforcement INGOs is correlated with the global ecological footprint, gross world product, and/or organization density. Results confirm that there is no correlation between the ecological footprint and INGO formation. There is, however, considerable evidence of an inverted-U association between density and founding (p < .05). This discovery is important because it provides strong empirical support for the hypothesis that the global environmental enforcement culture is shaped by competitive neoliberal tendencies.