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Trade Structure, Transboundary Pollution and Multilateral Trade Liberalization: The Effects on Environmental Taxes and Welfare

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  • Bruno Nkuiya

Abstract

This paper considers a trade situation where the production activities of potentially heterogeneous countries generate pollution which can cross borders and harm the well-being of all the countries involved. In each of those countries the policy maker levies pollution taxes on the polluting firms and a tariff on imports in order to correct that distortion. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the effect of a reduction in the tariff on equilibrium pollution taxes and welfare. The existing literature has investigated this problem for trade between two identical countries. This paper analyzes the problem in the more realistic context where countries are not necessarily identical and trade can be multilateral. It becomes possible to show what bias is introduced when those two realities are neglected. I find that a tariff reduction can actually lower output; it can also lower welfare even if pollution is purely local. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Bruno Nkuiya, 2013. "Trade Structure, Transboundary Pollution and Multilateral Trade Liberalization: The Effects on Environmental Taxes and Welfare," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 55(3), pages 337-355, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:55:y:2013:i:3:p:337-355
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-012-9629-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brander, James & Krugman, Paul, 1983. "A 'reciprocal dumping' model of international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3-4), pages 313-321, November.
    2. Burguet, Roberto & Sempere, Jaume, 2003. "Trade liberalization, environmental policy, and welfare," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 25-37, July.
    3. Soham Baksi & Amrita Ray chaudhuri, 2009. "On trade liberalization and transboundary pollution," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 29(4), pages 2605-2612.
    4. James R. MARKUSEN, 2021. "International Externalities And Optimal Tax Structures," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 16, pages 341-355, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. Barrett, Scott, 1994. "Strategic environmental policy and intrenational trade," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 325-338, July.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Liming Hong & Wei Huang & Sajid Anwar & Xiaofeng Lv, 2023. "North–South asymmetry, unilateral environmental policy and carbon tariffs," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 241-266, May.
    3. Nkuiya, Bruno & Plantinga, Andrew J., 2021. "Strategic pollution control under free trade," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Charles F. Mason & Victoria I. Umanskaya & Edward B. Barbier, 2018. "Trade, Transboundary Pollution, and Foreign Lobbying," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 70(1), pages 223-248, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade liberalization; Pollution taxes; Transboundary pollution; Heterogeneous countries; Imperfect markets; D43; F18; H23; Q58;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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