caa a22 4500 388099712 CHVBK 20180307125314.0 cr unu---uuuuu 161130s1999 xx s 000 0 eng 10.2307/3116129 doi S0007680500062450 pii (NATIONALLICENCE)cambridge-10.2307/3116129 Uekoetter Frank FRANK UEKOETTER is currently completing a Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Bielefeld entitled "Air Pollution Control in Germany and the United States of America, 1880-1970.” Divergent Responses to Identical Problems: Businessmen and the Smoke Nuisance in Germany and the United States, 1880-1917 [Elektronische Daten] [Frank Uekoetter] This article counters a common misconception that business was universally opposed to air pollution control at the beginning of the twentieth century. In comparing the reaction of German and American businessmen to smoke abatement efforts before World War I, it shows that behavior was primarily shaped by national culture, rather than by a general desire to "externalize costs.” German smoke abatement did not meet significant resistance from industrialists, with regulation being based on a general consensus of all parties involved—a process which turned out to be as much a chance for abatement as it was an impediment for reforms. The American business community was split into two factions: those opposed to smoke abatement because they feared additional costs and the intrusion of factories by officials, and others, frequently organized in Chambers of Commerce or similar civic associations, who took a broader perspective and argued that the economic prospects of their city were at stake. The ultimate success of the latter group was largely due to changes in strategy, which allowed businessmen to develop a more positive attitude toward smoke abatement while simultaneously increasing the effectiveness of regulation. Business, therefore, should not be viewed as an inevitably "negative force” in environmental regulation. Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1999 Business History Review Cambridge University Press 73/4(1999), 641-676 0007-6805 73:4<641 1999 73 BHR https://doi.org/10.2307/3116129 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.2307/3116129 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Uekoetter Frank FRANK UEKOETTER is currently completing a Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Bielefeld entitled "Air Pollution Control in Germany and the United States of America, 1880-1970.” NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Business History Review Cambridge University Press 73/4(1999), 641-676 0007-6805 73:4<641 1999 73 BHR CC0 http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0 nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-cambridge