IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v54y2019icp457-472.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of border controls on waste imports: Evidence from China's Green Fence campaign

Author

Listed:
  • Sun, Meng

Abstract

The international trade of waste has been an important and growing part of the global economy during the last two decades, which imposes regulatory challenges to governments in the South to protect the environment. This paper investigates the effect of border controls with a difference-in-difference design by exploiting a unique natural experiment, China's Operation Green Fence (OGF) implemented in 2013. We find that the OGF exerted a significant deterrent effect on the waste imported into China. Specifically, we find that the import weight of waste grew by 9.48 percentage less and the import price declined by 7.6 percentage more compared to those of the non-waste. The results are robust to a series of robustness checks, and there is no similar reaction in other regions, where the OGF was not initiated.

Suggested Citation

  • Sun, Meng, 2019. "The effect of border controls on waste imports: Evidence from China's Green Fence campaign," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 457-472.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:54:y:2019:i:c:p:457-472
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2019.02.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X19300264
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2019.02.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Helen B. Junz & Rudolf R. Rhomberg, 1973. "Price competitiveness in export trade among industrial countries," International Finance Discussion Papers 22, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    2. Christian Almer & Timo Goeschl, 2010. "Environmental Crime and Punishment: Empirical Evidence from the German Penal Code," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 86(4), pages 707-726.
    3. D’Amato, Alessio & Mazzanti, Massimiliano & Nicolli, Francesco, 2015. "Waste and organized crime in regional environments," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 185-201.
    4. Junz, Helen B & Rhomberg, Rudolf R, 1973. "Price Competitiveness in Export Trade Among Industrial Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(2), pages 412-418, May.
    5. Bernard, Sophie, 2015. "North–south trade in reusable goods: Green design meets illegal shipments of waste," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 22-35.
    6. Stafford, Sarah L, 2003. "Assessing the Effectiveness of State Regulation and Enforcement of Hazardous Waste," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 27-41, January.
    7. Derek Kellenberg & Arik Levinson, 2014. "Waste of Effort? International Environmental Agreements," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 135-169.
    8. Magat, Wesley A & Viscusi, W Kip, 1990. "Effectiveness of the EPA's Regulatory Enforcement: The Case of Industrial Effluent Standards," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(2), pages 331-360, October.
    9. Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 2004. "Trade, Growth, and the Environment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 7-71, March.
    10. Thomas Kinnaman & Hide-Fumi Yokoo, 2011. "The Environmental Consequences of Global Reuse," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 71-76, May.
    11. Esty, Daniel C. & Porter, Michael E., 2005. "National environmental performance: an empirical analysis of policy results and determinants," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 391-434, August.
    12. Earnhart, Dietrich & Friesen, Lana, 2017. "The Effects of Regulated Facilities' Perceptions About the Effectiveness of Government Interventions on Environmental Compliance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 282-294.
    13. Sawhney, Aparna & Majumder, Piyali, 2015. "Is India becoming a waste haven of metal scrap?," MPRA Paper 67186, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Gray, Wayne B. & Deily, Mary E., 1996. "Compliance and Enforcement: Air Pollution Regulation in the U.S. Steel Industry," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 96-111, July.
    15. Wayne B. Gray & Jay P. Shimshack, 2011. "The Effectiveness of Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement: A Review of the Empirical Evidence," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    16. Jevan Cherniwchan & Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 2017. "Trade and the Environment: New Methods, Measurements, and Results," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 9(1), pages 59-85, September.
    17. Alberini, Anna & Austin, David H., 1999. "Strict Liability as a Deterrent in Toxic Waste Management: Empirical Evidence from Accident and Spill Data," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 20-48, July.
    18. Telle, Kjetil, 2013. "Monitoring and enforcement of environmental regulations," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 24-34.
    19. Aichele, Rahel & Felbermayr, Gabriel, 2012. "Kyoto and the carbon footprint of nations," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 336-354.
    20. Derek Kellenberg, 2015. "The Economics of the International Trade of Waste," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 109-125, October.
    21. Toshihiro Okubo & Yuta Watabe & Kaori Furuyama, 2016. "Export of Recyclable Materials: Evidence from Japan," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 15(1), pages 134-148, Winter/Sp.
    22. Satoshi Honma, 2019. "Optimal policies for international recycling between developed and developing countries," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 143-153, August.
    23. Alessio D’Amato & Alberto Iozzi & Giovanni Trovato, 2012. "The trade of polyethylene waste: prices or policies?," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 14(4), pages 341-356, October.
    24. Arik Levinson, 1999. "State Taxes and Interstate Hazardous Waste Shipments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 666-677, June.
    25. Copeland, Brian R., 1991. "International trade in waste products in the presence of illegal disposal," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 143-162, March.
    26. Jen Baggs, 2009. "International Trade in Hazardous Waste," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(1), pages 1-16, February.
    27. Esty, Daniel C. & Porter, Michael E., 2005. "National environmental performance: an empirical analysis of policy results and determinants," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 381-389, August.
    28. Anna Rita Germani & Antonio Pergolizzi & Filippo Reganati, 2015. "Law Enforcement and Illegal Trafficking of Waste: Evidence from Italy," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(4), pages 2673-2684.
    29. Grooms, Katherine K., 2015. "Enforcing the Clean Water Act: The effect of state-level corruption on compliance," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 50-78.
    30. Jay P. Shimshack, 2014. "The Economics of Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 339-360, October.
    31. M. Dubois & J. Eyckmans, 2015. "Efficient Waste Management Policies and Strategic Behavior with Open Borders," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 62(4), pages 907-923, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xu, Helian & Feng, Lianyue & Wu, Gang & Zhang, Qi, 2021. "Evolution of structural properties and its determinants of global waste paper trade network based on temporal exponential random graph models," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    2. Jinsong Li & Kenji Takeuchi, 2021. "Import Ban and Clean Air: Estimating the Effect of China’s Waste Import Ban on the Ozone Pollution," Discussion Papers 2104, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.
    3. Liang Guo & W. D. Walls & Xiaoli Zheng, 2023. "Waste Import Bans and Environmental Quality: Evidence from China’s Electronic Waste Disposal Towns," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(1), pages 65-108, May.
    4. Na Song & Andrew Hursthouse & Iain Mclellan & Zhenghua Wang, 2022. "Decision Support Models for Site Remediation: An Evaluation of Industry Practice in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, September.
    5. Bowen Li & Yifei Mu, 2024. "Impact of China’s National Sword Policy on Waste Import Margins: A Difference-in-Differences Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-20, January.
    6. Keshav Parajuly & Colin Fitzpatrick, 2020. "Understanding the Impacts of Transboundary Waste Shipment Policies: The Case of Plastic and Electronic Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-14, March.
    7. Trang Tran & Hiromasa Goto & Takuma Matsuda, 2021. "The Impact of China’s Tightening Environmental Regulations on International Waste Trade and Logistics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-14, January.
    8. Lin, Chinho & Paengsri, Parinyakorn & Yang, Yiwen, 2023. "Impact of China’s National Sword Policy on waste import:A difference-in-differences approach," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 887-903.
    9. Bowen Li & Antonio Alleyne & Zhaoyong Zhang & Yifei Mu, 2021. "Sustainability and Waste Imports in China: Pollution Haven or Resources Hunting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alm, James & Shimshack, Jay, 2014. "Environmental Enforcement and Compliance: Lessons from Pollution, Safety, and Tax Settings," Foundations and Trends(R) in Microeconomics, now publishers, vol. 10(4), pages 209-274, December.
    2. Bowen Li & Antonio Alleyne & Zhaoyong Zhang & Yifei Mu, 2021. "Sustainability and Waste Imports in China: Pollution Haven or Resources Hunting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Núñez-Rocha, Thaís & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada, 2019. "Are international environmental policies effective? The case of the Rotterdam and the Stockholm Conventions," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 480-502.
    4. Shimshack, Jay P. & Ward, Michael B., 2022. "Costly sanctions and the treatment of frequent violators in regulatory settings," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    5. Liang Guo & W. D. Walls & Xiaoli Zheng, 2023. "Waste Import Bans and Environmental Quality: Evidence from China’s Electronic Waste Disposal Towns," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(1), pages 65-108, May.
    6. Gupta, Shreekant & Saksena, Shalini & Baris, Omer F., 2019. "Environmental enforcement and compliance in developing countries: Evidence from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 313-327.
    7. D'Amato, Alessio & Mazzanti, Massimiliano & Nicolli, Francesco & Zoli, Mariangela, 2018. "Illegal waste disposal: Enforcement actions and decentralized environmental policy," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 56-65.
    8. Wayne B. Gray & Jay P. Shimshack, 2011. "The Effectiveness of Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement: A Review of the Empirical Evidence," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    9. Andarge, Tihitina & Lichtenberg, Erik, 2018. "Regulated Firm Strategy under Uncertainty about Regulatory Status," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274420, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Adomas Balkevicius & Mark Sanctuary & Sigita Zvirblyte, 2020. "Fending off waste from the west: The impact of China's Operation Green Fence on the international waste trade," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(10), pages 2742-2761, October.
    11. Jinghui Lim, 2016. "The impact of monitoring and enforcement on air pollutant emissions," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 203-222, April.
    12. Júlia Gallego Ziero Uhr & André Luis Squarize Chagas, Daniel de Abreu Pereira Uhr, Renan Porn Peres, 2017. "A study on environmental infractions for Brazilian municipalities: a spatial dynamic panel approach," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2017_13, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    13. Tihitina Andarge & Erik Lichtenberg, 2020. "Regulatory compliance under enforcement gaps," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 181-202, June.
    14. Lirong Liu & Zhou Yang, 2020. "Leveraged enforcement under the EPA’s High Priority Violation Policy," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1279-1304, March.
    15. Xu, Helian & Feng, Lianyue & Wu, Gang & Zhang, Qi, 2021. "Evolution of structural properties and its determinants of global waste paper trade network based on temporal exponential random graph models," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    16. Jay P. Shimshack, 2014. "The Economics of Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 339-360, October.
    17. Esther Amouzou & Fabienne Boudier, 2016. "European trade in hazardous waste: has EU waste policy succeeded or failed?," Erudite Working Paper 2016-02, Erudite.
    18. Prudence Dato, 2015. "Economic analysis of e-waste market under imperfect information," Working Papers halshs-01172148, HAL.
    19. Louie Rivers & Tamara Dempsey & Jade Mitchell & Carole Gibbs, 2015. "Environmental Regulation and Enforcement: Structures, Processes and the Use of Data for Fraud Detection," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(04), pages 1-29, December.
    20. Compagnoni, Marco & Grazzi, Marco & Pieri, Fabio & Tomasi, Chiara, 2023. "Extended producer responsibility and trade flows in waste: The case of batteries," FEEM Working Papers 338789, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    International trade of waste; China's Operation Green Fence; Difference-in-difference;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment
    • F64 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Environment
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:54:y:2019:i:c:p:457-472. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/chieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.