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Pollution havens: international empirical evidence using a shadow price measure of climate policy stringency

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  • Erik Hille

    (HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management)

Abstract

Given the ambiguous empirical results of previous research, this paper tests whether support for a climate policy-induced pollution haven effect and the pollution haven hypothesis can be found. Unlike the majority of previous studies, the analysis is based on international panel data and includes several methodological novelties: By arguing that trade flows of dirty goods to less dirty sectors may also be influenced by changes in policy stringency, trade information on primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors are included. In order to clearly differentiate between dirty sectors and sectors with high pollution abatement costs, separate measures for pollution intensity and policy stringency are implemented. For the former, two intensities, namely the sectors’ carbon dioxide emission intensity and the emission relevant energy intensity, are used to identify dirty sectors. For the latter, an internationally comparable, sector-specific measure of climate policy stringency is derived by applying a shadow price approach. Potential endogeneity between climate policy stringency, trade openness and the trade balance is controlled for by employing a dynamic panel generalized method of moments estimator. The results provide evidence for a pollution haven effect that is also present for non-dirty sectors, i.e., a sector’s net imports rise in general if the sector faces an increase in climate policy stringency. Moreover, a stronger pollution haven effect regarding carbon dioxide intensive and emission relevant energy-intensive sectors is revealed. However, no support for the stronger pollution haven hypothesis can be found.

Suggested Citation

  • Erik Hille, 2018. "Pollution havens: international empirical evidence using a shadow price measure of climate policy stringency," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 1137-1171, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:54:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s00181-017-1244-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-017-1244-3
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    Cited by:

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    3. Trinks, Arjan & Hille, Erik, 2023. "Carbon Costs and Industrial Firm Performance: Evidence from International Microdata," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277705, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
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    6. Hu, Xing & Yu, Shiwei & Fang, Xu & Ovaere, Marten, 2023. "Which combinations of renewable energy policies work better? Insights from policy text synergies in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    7. Erik Hille & Patrick Möbius, 2019. "Environmental Policy, Innovation, and Productivity Growth: Controlling the Effects of Regulation and Endogeneity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(4), pages 1315-1355, August.
    8. Hille, Erik & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Moosa, Imad, 2019. "The impact of FDI on regional air pollution in the Republic of Korea: A way ahead to achieve the green growth strategy?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 308-326.
    9. Hille, Erik & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2019. "Sources of emission reductions: Market and policy-stringency effects," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 29-43.
    10. Wu, Yinyin & Yu, Jie & Song, Malin & Chen, Jiandong & Hou, Wenxuan, 2021. "Shadow prices of industrial air pollutant emissions in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 726-736.
    11. Jiandong Chen & Ming Gao & Shulei Cheng & Yiyin Xu & Malin Song & Yu Liu & Wenxuan Hou & Shuhong Wang, 2022. "Evaluation and drivers of global low-carbon economies based on satellite data," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-12, December.
    12. Imad Moosa, 2019. "The Environmental Effects of FDI: Evidence from MENA Countries," Working Papers 1321, Economic Research Forum, revised 21 Aug 2019.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International trade; Pollution havens; Carbon leakage; Global pollution; Environmental policy stringency; Shadow prices;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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