The Human Firm in the Natural Environment: A Socio-Economic Analysis of Its Behavior
Author(s)
Tomer, John F.
Abstract
Firms are developing new managerial approaches to deal with the growing public alarm over environmental degradation, as well as the regulatory, consumer and technological challenges that result from this degradation. The neoclassical model of the firm that underlies the environmental thinking of most economists cannot adequately explain firm behavior. This paper develops a socio-economic model of the “human firm” that incorporates managerial, social, environmental and ethical realities not found in the neoclassical model. The paper focuses on the pollution aspects of environmental problems that are by-products of the production and consumption of firms’ goods and services.
