Pollution havens and the trade in toxic chemicals: Evidence from U.S. trade flows

John Tang

Ecological Economics, 2015, vol. 112, issue C, 150-160

Abstract: National registries of toxic chemical emissions and facilities are increasingly used to raise public awareness of potential health hazards in local areas, but an unintended consequence may be the offshoring of production to less regulated countries. Using disaggregated U.S. trade data, this study examines the impact of registry listing on subsequent bilateral trade flows. Estimates from a difference-in-differences model indicate a significant shift toward imports from poorer countries following registry listing. Assuming that environmental protection is a normal good, this result suggests the emergence of pollution havens due to more stringent U.S. environmental regulation.

Keywords: Pollution haven; Environmental Kuznets curve; Production offshoring; Toxics Release Inventory; Pollution release and transfer register; Porter hypothesis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Pollution Havens and the Trade in Toxic Chemicals: Evidence from U.S. Trade Flows (2015)
Working Paper: Pollution Havens and the Trade in Toxic Chemicals: Evidence from U.S. Trade Flows (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:112:y:2015:i:c:p:150-160

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.02.022

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