IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/enejou/v14y1993i3p217-240.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effects of NAFTA on the Environment

Author

Listed:
  • Robert K. Kaufmann
  • Peter Pauly
  • Julie Sweitzer

Abstract

This paper reviews the impacts of NAFTA on the environment. Discussion focuses on the degree to which economic conditions in Canada, Mexico, and United States are consistent with the assumptions on which the benefits of free trade are based. Specifically, we discuss how NAFTA may exacerbate or alleviate the environmental impacts of economic activity via environmental externalities, the rate and efficiency of resource extraction, increased income, increased trade and transportation, and harmonizing environmental policy among nations at different levels of economic development. Because of difficulties in comparing different types of environmental impacts, we do not offer a conclusion about the overall effect of NAFTA on the environment, positive or negative. Rather, we argue that NAFTA must preserve the rights of all affected parties to intervene so that the costs and benefits associated with a particular project that arises out of increased trade can be evaluated on a case by case basis in the same imperfect way that such issues are addressed within the confines of a single nation.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert K. Kaufmann & Peter Pauly & Julie Sweitzer, 1993. "The Effects of NAFTA on the Environment," The Energy Journal, , vol. 14(3), pages 217-240, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:enejou:v:14:y:1993:i:3:p:217-240
    DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol14-No3-10
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol14-No3-10
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol14-No3-10?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Drusilla K. Brown & Alan V. Deardorff & Robert M. Stern, 2011. "A North American Free Trade Agreement: Analytical Issues and a Computational Assessment," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Robert M Stern (ed.), Comparative Advantage, Growth, And The Gains From Trade And Globalization A Festschrift in Honor of Alan V Deardorff, chapter 40, pages 557-575, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. Gerard Adams, F. & Alanis, Mario & del Rio, Abel Beltran, 1992. "The Mexico-United States free trade and investment area proposal: A macroeconometric evaluation of impacts on Mexico," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 99-119, February.
    3. Cleveland, Cutler J., 1993. "An exploration of alternative measures of natural resource scarcity: the case of petroleum resources in the U.S," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 123-157, April.
    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. Jayadevappa, Ravishankar & Chhatre, Sumedha, 2000. "International trade and environmental quality: a survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 175-194, February.
    2. William D. Nordhaus, 1994. "Locational Competition and the Environment: Should Countries Harmonize Their Environmental Policies?," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1079, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    3. Per G. Fredriksson, 1999. "The Political Economy of Trade Liberalization and Environmental Policy," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(3), pages 513-525, January.
    4. Apergis, Nicholas & Payne, James E., 2020. "NAFTA and the convergence of CO2 emissions intensity and its determinants," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 1-9.
    5. Adam B. Jaffe et al., 1995. "Environmental Regulation and the Competitiveness of U.S. Manufacturing: What Does the Evidence Tell Us?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(1), pages 132-163, March.

    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. Langhammer, Rolf J., 1992. "The NAFTA: another futile trade area (AFTA) or a serious approach towards regionalism?," Kiel Discussion Papers 195, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    2. Langhammer, Rolf J. & Schweickert, Rainer, 1995. "The Mexican reform process: improving long-run perspectives and mastering short-run turbulences," Kiel Discussion Papers 255, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    3. Brown, Drusilla K. & Deardorff, Alan V. & Stern, Robert M., 1995. "Expanding NAFTA: Economic effects of accession of Chile and other major South American nations," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 149-170.
    4. Forslid, Rikard & Haaland, Jan I. & Midelfart Knarvik, Karen Helene, 2002. "A U-shaped Europe?: A simulation study of industrial location," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 273-297, August.
    5. Robinson, Sherman & Thierfelder, Karen, 2002. "Trade liberalisation and regional integration: the search for large numbers," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 46(4), pages 1-20.
    6. Costinot, Arnaud & Rodríguez-Clare, Andrés, 2014. "Trade Theory with Numbers: Quantifying the Consequences of Globalization," Handbook of International Economics, in: Gopinath, G. & Helpman, . & Rogoff, K. (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 197-261, Elsevier.
    7. Li, Jennifer Chung-I, 2003. "A Dynamic Recursive Analysis of A Carbon Tax Including Local Health Feedback," Conference papers 331085, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    8. Anderson, James E. & Yotov, Yoto V., 2016. "Terms of trade and global efficiency effects of free trade agreements, 1990–2002," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 279-298.
    9. Michael Dale & Susan Krumdieck & Pat Bodger, 2011. "A Dynamic Function for Energy Return on Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(10), pages 1-14, October.
    10. Emiliano Magrini & Pierluigi Montalbano & Silvia Nenci, 2013. "Are the EU trade preferences really effective? A Generalized Propensity Score evaluation of the Southern Mediterranean Countries' case in agriculture and fishery," Working Papers 2/13, Sapienza University of Rome, DISS.
    11. Julio Huato, 2005. "Maquiladoras and Standard of Living in Mexico Before and After NAFTA," Development and Comp Systems 0508006, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Maurice Schiff & Yanling Wang, 2004. "Regional Integration And North-South Technology Diffusion: The Case of Nafta," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 283, Central Bank of Chile.
    13. Alpay, Savas, 2003. "How Can Trade Liberalization Be Conducive to a Better Environment?," Conference papers 331113, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    14. Renuka Mahadevan & John Asafu-Adjaye, 2013. "Unilateral Liberalisation or Trade Agreements: Which Way Forward for the Pacific?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(10), pages 1355-1372, October.
    15. Lee, Hiro, 2001. "General equilibrium evaluation of Japan-Singapore free trade agreement," MPRA Paper 82605, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Maurice Schiff & Yanling Wang, 2003. "Nafta, Technology Diffusion and Productivity in Mexico," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 40(121), pages 469-476.
    17. McDaniel, Christine A. & Balistreri, Edward J., 2002. "A Discussion on Armington Trade Substitution Elasticities," Working Papers 15856, United States International Trade Commission, Office of Economics.
    18. Kenneth Reinert & Gina Scorza, 1996. "The effects of a North American free trade agreement on the US glassware market," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(7), pages 451-454.
    19. Peter J. Lloyd & Donald Maclaren, 2004. "Gains and Losses from Regional Trading Agreements: A Survey," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 80(251), pages 445-467, December.
    20. Cleveland, Cutler J. & Ruth, Matthias, 1997. "When, where, and by how much do biophysical limits constrain the economic process?: A survey of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen's contribution to ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 203-223, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental policy; NAFTA; Externalities; Economic efficiency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F0 - International Economics - - General

    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:sae:enejou:v:14:y:1993:i:3:p:217-240. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.