Trade and the environment : theory and evidence /

Nowhere has the divide between advocates and critics of globalization been more striking than in debates over free trade and the environment. And yet the literature on the subject is high on rhetoric and low on results. This book is the first to systematically investigate the subject using both econ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Copeland, Brian R.
Corporate Authors: De Gruyter.
Group Author: Taylor, M. Scott
Published: Princeton University Press,
Publisher Address: Princeton, N.J. :
Publication Dates: [2003]
©2003
Literature type: eBook
Language: English
Subjects:
Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781400850709
http://www.degruyter.com/doc/cover/9781400850709.jpg
Summary: Nowhere has the divide between advocates and critics of globalization been more striking than in debates over free trade and the environment. And yet the literature on the subject is high on rhetoric and low on results. This book is the first to systematically investigate the subject using both economic theory and empirical analysis. Brian Copeland and Scott Taylor establish a powerful theoretical framework for examining the impact of international trade on local pollution levels, and use it to offer a uniquely integrated treatment of the links between economic growth, liberalized trade, and the environment. The results will surprise many. The authors set out the two leading theories linking international trade to environmental outcomes, develop the empirical implications, and examine their validity using data on measured sulfur dioxide concentrations from over 100 cities worldwide during the period from 1971 to 1986. The empirical results are provocative. For an average country in the sample, free trade is good for the environment. There is little evidence that developing countries will specialize in pollution-intensive products with further trade. In fact, the results suggest just the opposite: free trade will shift pollution-intensive goods production from poor countries with lax regulation to rich countries with tight regulation, thereby lowering world pollution. The results also suggest that pollution declines amid economic growth fueled by economy-wide technological progress but rises when growth is fueled by capital accumulation alone. Lucidly argued and authoritatively written, this book will provide students and researchers of international trade and environmental economics a more reliable way of thinking about this contentious issue, and the methodological tools with which to do so.
Carrier Form: 1 online resource(304pages) : illustrations
ISBN: 9781400850709
Index Number: HF1379
CLC: X196
Contents: Frontmatter --
Contents --
Preface --
1. The Trade and Environment Debate --
2. Pollution in a Small Open Economy --
3. Is There an Environmental Kuznets Curve? --
4. Trade Liberalization and Environmental Quality --
5. Pollution Haven Models of International Trade --
6. Factor Endowments, Policy Differences, and Pollution --
7. Is Free Trade Good for the Environment? An Empirical Assessment --
8. Summary and Conclusions --
References --
Index.