The evaluation of economic impact of the Basel Convention on the trade of waste electrical and electronic equipment

The transnational flow of e-waste and the circular economy has become crucial issues internationally, yet, the Basel Convention's effect on preventing pollution from trading e-waste is overlooked. This study attempts to utilized the propensity score matching with policy evaluation method to estimate the effect of Basel Convention and investigate its impact on trading e-waste. In the current study, the sample period is from 1992 to 2018, with the sample comprised by ASEAN countries and their 235 trading partners. This study considers different periods to detect differences in the impact of the in force of the Basel Conventions on e-waste trade. The results indicate that the Basel Convention generally reduced e-waste imports, particularly in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, with substantial variation across time, countries, and product types. Consumer electronics and monitoring equipment showed the most consistent declines, while legacy or obsolete technologies exhibited little to no change. In contrast, countries such as Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar demonstrated minimal response. These findings highlight the uneven implementation of international environmental policies and underscore the importance of national regulatory capacity and institutional readiness in shaping the effectiveness of future multilateral environmental agreements.