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Is natural openness or trade policy good for the environment?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2011

Steven Yamarik  and
Sucharita Ghosh
Steven Yamarik
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, California State University at Long Beach, SS/BA Building, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA. Tel: 562 985 4634. Email: syamarik@csulb.edu
Sucharita Ghosh
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Akron, USA. Email: sghosh@uakron.edu
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Abstract

In this paper, we estimate the individual effects of natural openness and trade policy on air pollution. Natural openness is the component of the trade share (imports and exports as a percentage of GDP) attributable to population, geography and factor endowment differences. We find that natural openness reduces air pollution, while trade policy has a limited impact. The implication is that ‘natural’ geographic and endowment differences play a more important role than deliberate trade policy decisions in explaining the trade and environment link.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 16 , Issue 6 , December 2011 , pp. 657 - 684
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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