IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cdl/globco/qt40m4179x.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Waste Not, Want Not: Tariffs as Environmental Protection

Author

Listed:
  • Wellhausen, Rachel L

Abstract

In the global waste trade, importers buy foreign-origin waste and scrap. After recycling waste products into raw materials destined for new goods, the leftovers are just trash—imported negative externalities that can overwhelm low-capacity developing states. Yet there is power in piles of foreign garbage, especially as modern waste management systems are designed around trade. When a waste product’s imports concentrate in fewer states, those states gain market power to raise tariffs while still accommodating domestic demand. To support the theory, I introduce a list of 179 internationally traded waste products (HS 6-digit), as well as novel data on product-level tariffs and the international distribution of waste imports (1995–2020). I show the theory in action following China’s shocking 2017 ban on imports of 26 waste products, where states on the receiving end of diverted imports have exercised their newfound power to use tariffs in service of environmental protection.

Suggested Citation

  • Wellhausen, Rachel L, 2023. "Waste Not, Want Not: Tariffs as Environmental Protection," Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Working Paper Series qt40m4179x, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:globco:qt40m4179x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/40m4179x.pdf;origin=repeccitec
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2016. "The China Shock: Learning from Labor-Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 205-240, October.
    2. Jutta Gutberlet & Sebastián Carenzo & Jaan-Henrik Kain & Adalberto Mantovani Martiniano de Azevedo, 2017. "Waste Picker Organizations and Their Contribution to the Circular Economy: Two Case Studies from a Global South Perspective," Resources, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Helm, Carsten, 2008. "How liable should an exporter be?: The case of trade in hazardous goods," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 263-271, December.
    4. Clara Brandi & Dominique Blümer & Jean-Frédéric Morin, 2019. "When Do International Treaties Matter for Domestic EnvironmentalLegislation?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 19(4), pages 14-44, November.
    5. J Gallego & C Li & L Wantchekon, 2018. "The Political Economy of Patrons, Brokers, and Voters," Documentos de Trabajo 16547, Universidad del Rosario.
    6. David M. Kaplan, 2019. "distcomp: Comparing distributions," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 19(4), pages 832-848, December.
    7. Michaël Aklin, 2016. "Re-exploring the Trade and Environment Nexus Through the Diffusion of Pollution," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 64(4), pages 663-682, August.
    8. Seema Jayachandran, 2022. "How Economic Development Influences the Environment," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 14(1), pages 229-252, August.
    9. Ghislain B D Aihounton & Arne Henningsen, 2021. "Units of measurement and the inverse hyperbolic sine transformation," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 24(2), pages 334-351.
    10. Fenno, Richard F., 1977. "U.S. House Members in Their Constituencies: An Exploration," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(3), pages 883-917, September.
    11. Stern, David I., 2004. "The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Kuznets Curve," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1419-1439, August.
    12. Gaulier, Guillaume & Zignago, Soledad, 2004. "Notes on BACI (analytical database of international trade). 1989-2002 version," MPRA Paper 32401, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Shiming Yang, 2020. "Trade for the Environment: Transboundary Hazardous Waste Movements After the Basel Convention," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 37(5), pages 713-738, September.
    14. Shunta Yamaguchi, 2021. "International trade and circular economy - Policy alignment," OECD Trade and Environment Working Papers 2021/02, OECD Publishing.
    15. Trang Tran & Hiromasa Goto & Takuma Matsuda, 2021. "The Impact of China’s Tightening Environmental Regulations on International Waste Trade and Logistics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-14, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matteo Bugamelli & Silvia Fabiani & Stefano Federico & Alberto Felettigh & Claire Giordano & Andrea Linarello, 2018. "Back on Track? A Macro–Micro Narrative of Italian Exports," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 4(1), pages 1-31, March.
    2. Alcalá, Francisco & Solaz, Marta, 2018. "International Relocation of Production and Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 13422, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Francisco Cabrera-Hernandez & Mateo Hoyos & Emmanuel Chavez, 2025. "Import Competition and Educational Attainment: Evidence from the China Shock in Mexico," Working Papers DTE 645, CIDE, División de Economía.
    4. Marbuah, George & Amuakwa-Mensah, Franklin, 2017. "Spatial analysis of emissions in Sweden," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 383-394.
    5. Johannes Van Biesebroeck & Yingting Yi & Elena Zaurino, 2022. "Trade liberalisation and the extensive margin of differentiated goods: Evidence from China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(9), pages 2724-2747, September.
    6. Kolcava, Dennis & Nguyen, Quynh & Bernauer, Thomas, 2019. "Does trade liberalization lead to environmental burden shifting in the global economy?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 98-112.
    7. Rodolfo Campos & Marta Suárez-Varela & Jacopo Timini, 2022. "The EU-MERCOSUR trade agreement and its impact on CO2 emissions," Economic Bulletin, Banco de España, issue 1/2022.
    8. Agnes Kügler & Klaus Friesenbichler & Cornelius Hirsch, 2024. "Labour Market Effects of Trade in a Small Open Economy," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 11, pages 1-26.
    9. Carrère, Céline & Fugazza, Marco & Olarreaga, Marcelo & Robert-Nicoud, Frédéric, 2020. "Comparative advantage and equilibrium unemployment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    10. Bennedsen, Mikkel & Hillebrand, Eric & Jensen, Sebastian, 2023. "A neural network approach to the environmental Kuznets curve," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    11. Budhi Utomo, Ginanjar & Widodo, Tri, 2019. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve in ASEAN: The Case of Carbon Emissions," MPRA Paper 91312, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Alan Matthews, 2010. "Economic Partnership Agreements and Food Security," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp319, IIIS, revised Mar 2010.
    13. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Lee, Jun-De, 2009. "Income and CO2 emissions: Evidence from panel unit root and cointegration tests," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 413-423, February.
    14. Angela Cheptea & Lionel Fontagné & Soledad Zignago, 2014. "European export performance," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 150(1), pages 25-58, February.
    15. Szalavetz, Andrea, 2018. "Digitális átalakulás és fenntarthatóság. A technológiaoptimista környezetgazdászok és a pesszimista ökológiai közgazdászok közötti vita újraindítása [Digital transformation and environmental sustai," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(10), pages 1067-1088.
    16. Spiteri, Jonathan & von Brockdorff, Philip, 2019. "Economic development and health outcomes: Evidence from cardiovascular disease mortality in Europe," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 37-44.
    17. Keenan, Michael & Fort, Ricardo & Vargas, Ricardo, 2024. "Shocked into side-selling? Production shocks and organic coffee farmers’ marketing decisions," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    18. Mariya Aleksynska & Giovanni Peri, 2014. "Isolating the Network Effect of Immigrants on Trade," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3), pages 434-455, March.
    19. George S. Chen & Emmanuel Kwaku Manu & Dennis Asante, 2023. "Achieving environmental sustainability in Africa: The role of financial institutions development on carbon emissions," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(5), pages 3272-3290, October.
    20. Shaikh M. S. U. Eskander & Sam Fankhauser, 2023. "The Impact of Climate Legislation on Trade-Related Carbon Emissions 1996–2018," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(1), pages 167-194, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cdl:globco:qt40m4179x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Lisa Schiff (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://escholarship.org/uc/igcc/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.