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Are international environmental policies effective? The case of the Rotterdam and the Stockholm Conventions

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  • Núñez-Rocha, Thaís
  • Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada

Abstract

This is the first paper to show that participation in an international environmental agreement has some effectiveness. Our identification strategy consists of applying difference-in-differences techniques in a panel data framework to various levels of data aggregation. We find that ratification of the Rotterdam Convention (RC) and the Stockholm Convention (SC) leads to a reduction in trade of hazardous substances from OECD to non-OECD countries. In particular, we find that when the exporter ratifies the RC, there is a reduction in the import of hazardous chemicals of about 7 percent. In the case of the SC, the results show significant reductions of around 16 percent in trade shipments of persistent organic pollutants. This reduction is more than double the effect found for the RC, which was expected due to a more restricted obligation imposed by the SC convention.

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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:81:y:2019:i:c:p:480-502
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2018.04.013
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    Cited by:

    1. Thais NUNEZ-ROCHA & Inmaculada MARTíNEZ-ZARZOSO, 2018. "Is National Environmental Legislation Affecting Emissions?," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 2505, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    2. Atsuko Matsumura, 2021. "Gravity analysis of trade for environmental goods focusing on bilateral tariff rates and regional integration," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 477-511, June.
    3. Hongyan Zou & Tao Wang & Zhong-Liang Wang & Zhanyun Wang, 2023. "Continuing large-scale global trade and illegal trade of highly hazardous chemicals," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(11), pages 1394-1405, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International environmental agreements; Hazardous chemicals; Persistent organic pollutants; International trade; Gravity model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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