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Richer and cleaner--At others' expense?

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  • Fæhn, Taran
  • Bruvoll, Annegrete

Abstract

In rich economies emissions of many pollutants tend to grow at a slower rate than GDP. This could be a result of shifting comparative advantages. If so, net imports of dirty products to these economies will increase and rather than reduced, emissions will be relocated to other countries. In this paper we investigate if decoupling in a rich, open economy coincides with such pollution leakages abroad. Based on historical observations and model projections, we find little evidence to support this hypothesis. Historically, decoupling coincides with falling pollution leakages. Projections over a period of decades indicate a weakening of the decoupling, but that leakages will increase.

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  • Fæhn, Taran & Bruvoll, Annegrete, 2009. "Richer and cleaner--At others' expense?," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 103-122, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:resene:v:31:y:2009:i:2:p:103-122
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    2. Yushi Yoshida & Satoshi Honma, 2011. "Did International Trade Become Dirtier in Developing Countries? On the Composition Effect of International Trade on the Environment," Discussion Papers 52, Kyushu Sangyo University, Faculty of Economics.
    3. Schinko, Thomas & Bednar-Friedl, Birgit & Steininger, Karl W. & Grossmann, Wolf D., 2014. "Switching to carbon-free production processes: Implications for carbon leakage and border carbon adjustment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 818-831.
    4. Birgit Bednar-Friedl & Veronika Kulmer & Thomas Schinko, 2012. "The effectiveness of anti-leakage policies in the European Union: results for Austria," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 233-260, May.
    5. Karl Steininger & Birgit Bednar-Friedl & Wolf Grossmann & Thomas Schinko, 2013. "The relevance of carbon free production processes for carbon leakage and carbon border adjustment," EcoMod2013 5482, EcoMod.
    6. repec:kap:iaecre:v:16:y:2010:i:4:p:410-418 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Catherine Boulatoff & Michael Jenkins, 2010. "Long-term Nexus Between Openness, Income, and Environmental Quality," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 16(4), pages 410-418, November.
    8. Honma, Satoshi & Yoshida, Yushi, 2020. "An empirical investigation of the balance of embodied emission in trade: Industry structure and emission abatement," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 277-294.
    9. Li, Shantong & He, Jianwu, 2011. "Impact of China’s Domestic Carbon Emission Trading Scheme," Conference papers 332101, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    10. Birgit Bednar-Friedl & Veronika Kulmer & Thomas Schinko, 2011. "ETCLIP – The Challenge of the European Carbon Market: Emission Trading, Carbon Leakage and Instruments to Stabilise the CO2 Price. Effects of Different EU Climate Policy Scenarios on International Tra," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 43107.
    11. Rafael Alvarado & Elisa Toledo, 2017. "Environmental degradation and economic growth: evidence for a developing country," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1205-1218, August.
    12. Bednar-Friedl, Birgit & Schinko, Thomas & Steininger, Karl W., 2012. "The relevance of process emissions for carbon leakage: A comparison of unilateral climate policy options with and without border carbon adjustment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(S2), pages 168-180.
    13. Birgit BEDNAR-FRIEDL & Thomas SCHINKO & Karl STEININGER, 2010. "A CGE Analysis of Climate Policy Options after Copenhagen: Bottom-up Approaches, Border Tax Adjustments, and Carbon Leakage," EcoMod2010 259600022, EcoMod.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pollution leakage Carbon leakage Environmental Kuznets curve Dynamic computable general equilibrium model;

    JEL classification:

    • D58 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Computable and Other Applied General Equilibrium Models
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy

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