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Do Stringent Environmental Regulations Reduce International Competitiveness? Evidence from an Inter-industry A nalysis

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  • Ravi Ratnayake

Abstract

An increasing interest has emerged among policy makers and academics on the question "Do stringent environmental regulations lead to loss of international competitiveness in terms of declining exports and increasing imports compared with those from the countries which have lower environmental standards and regulations?". This paper examines this issue by conducting an inter-industry analysis of New Zealand manufacturing industries. By analysing the patterns and determinants of comparative advantage of 109 industries over the last 13 years, we found no strong evidence to suggest that environmental standards lead to loss of competitiveness.

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  • Ravi Ratnayake, 1998. "Do Stringent Environmental Regulations Reduce International Competitiveness? Evidence from an Inter-industry A nalysis," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 77-96.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ijecbs:v:5:y:1998:i:1:p:77-96
    DOI: 10.1080/13571519884585
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    Cited by:

    1. Sanjay Sharma, 2001. "Different strokes: regulatory styles and environmental strategy in the North‐American oil and gas industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(6), pages 344-364, November.
    2. Bajona, Claustre & Kelly, David L., 2012. "Trade and the environment with pre-existing subsidies: A dynamic general equilibrium analysis," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 253-278.
    3. Zhang, Hongliang, 2013. "Pollution Haven Effect with Heterogeneous Firms," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150781, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Blackman, Allen & Nelson, Per-Kristian & Mathis, Mitchell, 2001. "The Greening of Development Economics: A Survey," RFF Working Paper Series dp-01-08, Resources for the Future.
    5. Stephen Devadoss & Jude Bayham, 2013. "US Ethanol Trade Policy: Pollution Reduction or Domestic Protection," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 568-584, August.

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