Trade, Environmental Regulationsand the World Trade Organization: New Empirical Evidence

Busse, Matthias

World Bank, Washington, D.C.

关键词: ABATEMENT;    ABATEMENT COSTS;    ACID RAIN;    AIR QUALITY;    ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-3361
RP-ID  :  WPS3361

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The paper empirically explores thelinkages between environmental regulations and internationaltrade flows. So far, empirical studies either have failed tofind any close statistical relationship or have deliveredquestionable results due to data limitations. Using acomprehensive new database for environmental regulationsacross countries, a thorough empirical investigation of thatlinkage for 119 countries and five high-polluting industriesis performed. No evidence is found to support the pollutionhypothesis that industries facing above-average abatementcosts with environmental regulations would prefer pollutionhavens and relocate their activities. The exception is ironand steel products, where a negative and statisticallysignificant link is established, implying that highercompliance with international treaties and conventions andmore stringent regulations are associated with reduced netexports. High-income countries, where environmentalregulations are usually more stringent in comparison tomiddle or low income countries, have experienced aconsiderable decline in the export-import ratio of iron andsteel products since the late 1970s. There is no clearevidence that national governments choose sub-optimalpolicies that result in insufficient regulations, so thecase for environmental standards within the WTO framework isrelatively weak.