The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Greenhouse Gases Emissions: An Empirical Test of Pollution Haven Hypotheses and Environmental Kuznets Curve (in Persian)

Trade liberalization has impacts on the quality of the environment, i.e. on the emission of pollutant gases according to its size, composition and technology. On the other hand, trade liberalization is followed by international capital mobility intensification. Meanwhile according to the Pollution Haven hypothesis, transfer of pollutant industries starts from countries with tough environmental policies toward those with moderate environmental policies. This paper tries to assess the impacts of trade liberalization on the emission of carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide (CO2, NO2, and SO2), as well as to examine the relationship between Kuznets Environment Curve and the Pollution Haven hypothesis. Therefore, Kuznet Environment Curve is estimated on the basis of the combined data, Panel Data method and fixed effects approach through comparing developed-vs.-developing countries within 1990-2008. The estimation results indicate that the increase in trade liberalization and per capita income in developed countries with higher degrees of development will lead to the decline of carbon dioxide and other pollutant gases. Conversely, this would be followed by more emission of such gases in less developed and developing countries in a way that the elasticity of “carbon dioxide emission” variable in relation to the export of pollutant industries, the import of pollutant industries and the economic openness index in developed countries widely varies depending on the type of pollutant gases.