Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T08:11:38.928Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Trade sanctions and green trade liberalization*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2010

ALIREZA NAGHAVI*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Bologna, Piazza Scaravilli 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy, and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), Italy. Tel: +39-051-2098873. Email: [email protected]

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of a World Trade Organization withdrawal of trade concessions against countries that fail to respect globally recognized environmental standards. We show that a punishing tariff can be effective when environmental and trade policies are endogenous. When required standards are not too stringent with respect to the marginal damage of pollution, compliance along with free trade as a reward is the unique equilibrium outcome. A positive optimal tariff in the case of non-compliance prevents complete relocation to pollution havens, but only works as a successful credible threat and does not emerge in equilibrium.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barrett, S. (1994), ‘Strategic environmental policy and international trade’, Journal of Public Economics 54: 325338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, S. (1997), ‘The strategy of trade sanctions in international environmental agreements’, Resource and Energy Economics 19: 345361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conconi, P., Perroni, C., and Riezman, R. (2008), ‘Is partial tax harmonization desirable?’, Journal of Public Economics 92: 254267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eskeland, G. S. and Harrison, A. E. (2003), ‘Moving to greener pastures? Multinationals and the pollution haven hypothesis’, Journal of Development Economics 70: 123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grether, J. M. and de Melo, J. (2004), ‘Globalization and dirty industries: do pollution havens matter?’, in Baldwin, R. and Winters, A. (eds), Challenges to Globalization: Analyzing the Economics, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 167208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoel, M. (1997), ‘Environmental policy with endogenous plant locations’, Scandinavian Journal of Economics 99: 241259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Javorcik, B. K. and Wei, S. J. (2005), ‘Pollution havens and foreign direct investment: dirty secret or popular myth?’, Contributions to Economic Analysis and Policy 3: 12441244.Google Scholar
Ludema, R. and Wooton, I. (1994), ‘Cross-border externalities and trade liberalization: the strategic control of pollution’, Canadian Journal of Economics 27: 950966.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markusen, J. R., Morey, E. R., and Olewiler, N. D. (1993), ‘Environmental policy when market structure and plant location are endogenous’, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 24: 6986.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Motta, M. and Thisse, J. F. (1994), ‘Does environmental dumping lead to delocation?’, European Economic Review 38: 563576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naghavi, A. (2007), ‘Can R&D inducing green tariffs replace international environmental regulations?’, Resource and Energy Economics 29: 284299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neary, J. P. (2004), ‘Europe on the road to Doha: towards a new global trade round?’, CESifo Economic Studies 50: 319332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ulph, A. and Valentini, L. (2001), ‘Is environmental dumping greater when plants are footloose?’, Scandinavian Journal of Economics 103: 673688.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zigic, K. (2000), ‘Strategic trade policy, intellectual property rights protection, and North-South trade’, Journal of Development Economics 61: 2760.CrossRefGoogle Scholar