Trade liberalization and the environment: Evidence from NAFTA and US manufacturing

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cherniwchan, Jevan
• 署名单位: University of Alberta
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2017.01.005
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 130-149
• 关键词: NAFTA; trade liberalization; Pollution emissions

摘要

The unobserved responses of individual polluters are often used to rationalize the aggregate effects of international trade on the environment. In this paper, I provide the first evidence of these responses. I estimate the effects of NAFTA on the emissions of particulate matter (PK10) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) from manufacturing plants in the United States. My findings suggest that trade liberalization led to significant reductions of these pollutants at affected plants. On average, nearly two-thirds of the reductions in PM10 and SO2 emissions from the U.S. manufacturing sector between 1994 and 1998 can be attributed to trade liberalization following NAFTA. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.