Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Yale Economic Review

The Causes and Consequences of Industry Self-Policing

By: Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Innovative regulatory programs are encouraging firms to police their own regulatory compliance and voluntarily disclose, or "confess," the violations they find. Despite the "win-win" rhetoric surrounding these government voluntary programs, it is not clear why companies would participate and whether the programs themselves do anything to enhance regulatory effectiveness. Tasked with monitoring the legality of its own operations, why would a firm that identifies violations turn itself in to regulators rather than quietly fix the problem? And why would regulators entrust regulated entities to monitor their own compliance and enforce the law against themselves? This paper addresses these questions by investigating the factors that lead organizations to self-disclose violations, the effects of self-policing on regulatory compliance, and the effects of self-disclosing on the relationship between regulators and regulated firms. We investigate these research questions in the context of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Audit Policy.

Keywords

Corporate Disclosure; Governance Compliance; Law Enforcement; Policy; United States

Citation

Short, Jodi L., and Michael W. Toffel. "The Causes and Consequences of Industry Self-Policing." Yale Economic Review 4, no. 2 (Summer 2008).
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now

About The Author

Michael W. Toffel

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Do Management System Standards Indicate Superior Performance? Evidence from the OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Standard

    By: Kala Viswanathan, Matthew S. Johnson and Michael W. Toffel
    • December 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI

    By: Michael W. Toffel and Youssef Abdel Aal
    • December 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI – PowerPoint Supplement

    By: Michael W. Toffel and Youssef Abdel Aal
More from the Authors
  • Do Management System Standards Indicate Superior Performance? Evidence from the OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Standard By: Kala Viswanathan, Matthew S. Johnson and Michael W. Toffel
  • Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI By: Michael W. Toffel and Youssef Abdel Aal
  • Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI – PowerPoint Supplement By: Michael W. Toffel and Youssef Abdel Aal
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College