Geography and the Technique Effect: Evidence from Canada

Kevin Andrew, Jevan Cherniwchan, Mamoon Kader () and Hashmat Khan

Department of Economics Working Papers from McMaster University

Abstract: The technique effect – the reduction in aggregate pollution emissions due to reductions in the pollution intensity of individual industries – is often interpreted as evidence that countries are getting cleaner because of improvements in how goods and services are produced. We extend the standard decomposition used in previous research to show the technique effect may also capture changes in the geography of economic activity. An empirical application to Canada suggests such changes may be economically important. While the technique effect decreased aggregate Canadian pollution intensity by 18.0% between 2009-2021, if the pollution intensity of production had remained fixed, within-industry shifts in production across Canada would have increased aggregate pollution intensity by over 11%. The technique effect decreased Canadian pollution intensity because these within-industry shifts were accompanied by reductions in pollution intensity that were greatest in provinces that received the largest within-industry reallocation of economic activity.

Keywords: Pollution Decomposition; Technique Effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q56 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 13 pages
Date: 2024-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env and nep-geo
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http://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/econ/rsrch/papers/archive/2024-08.pdf (application/pdf)

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Working Paper: Geography and the Technique Effect: Evidence from Canada (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mcm:deptwp:2024-08

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