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Do Environmental Regulations Increase Bilateral Trade Flows?

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  • Tsurumi, Tetsuya
  • Managi, Shunsuke
  • Hibiki, Akira

Abstract

The argument that stringent environmental regulations are generally thought to harm export flows is crucial when determining policy recommendations related to environmental preservation and international competitiveness. By using bilateral trade data, we examine the relationships between trade flows and various environmental stringency indices. Previous studies have used energy intensity, abatement cost intensity, and survey indices for regulations as proxies for the strictness of environmental policy. However, they have overlooked the indirect effect of environmental regulations on trade flows. If the strong version of the Porter hypothesis is confirmed, we need to consider the effect of environmental regulation on GDP, because GDP induced by environmental regulation affects trade flows. The present study clarifies the effects of regulation on trade flows by distinguishing between the indirect and direct effects. Our results indicate an observed non-negligible indirect effect of regulation, implying that the overall effect of appropriate regulation benefits trade flows.

Suggested Citation

  • Tsurumi, Tetsuya & Managi, Shunsuke & Hibiki, Akira, 2015. "Do Environmental Regulations Increase Bilateral Trade Flows?," MPRA Paper 66321, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:66321
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    Cited by:

    1. Carl Gaigné & Lota-D Tamini, 2018. "Environmental regulation and eco-industry trade: Theory and evidence from the European Union," Working Papers hal-01941269, HAL.
    2. Huayun Zhai & Danlan Liu & Kam C. Chan, 2019. "The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Firm Export: Evidence from China’s Ecological Protection Red Line Policy?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-13, October.
    3. Yulia D. Sokolova, 2023. "Modeling of the Nexus Between Environmental Regulations of Trade Partners and Export Volumes: Analysis of Russian Regions," Journal of Applied Economic Research, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, vol. 22(4), pages 975-1005.
    4. Masoud Shirazi Abdolrasoul Ghasemi Teymour Mohammadi Jurica Šimurina Ali Faridzad Atefeh Taklif, 2020. "A Dynamic Network Comparison Analysis of Crude Oil Trade: Evidence from Eastern Europe and Eurasia," Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 23(1), pages 95-119, May.
    5. Chengliang Liu & Tao Wang & Qingbin Guo, 2019. "Does Environmental Regulation Repress the International R&D Spillover Effect? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Yushi Yoshida & Satoshi Honma, 2011. "Did International Trade Become Dirtier in Developing Countries? On the Composition Effect of International Trade on the Environment," Discussion Papers 52, Kyushu Sangyo University, Faculty of Economics.
    7. Xin Liu & Zhiyong Kang, 2022. "Environmental Policy and Exports in China: An Analysis Based on the Top 10,000 Energy-Consuming Enterprises Program," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Surender Kumar & Prerna Prabhakar, 2020. "Industrial energy prices and export competitiveness: evidence from India," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 22(1), pages 1-20, January.
    9. Xiaoke Zhao & Xuhui Ding & Liang Li, 2021. "Research on Environmental Regulation, Technological Innovation and Green Transformation of Manufacturing Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-15, September.
    10. Pradyot Ranjan Jena, 2018. "Does trade liberalization create more pollution? Evidence from a panel regression analysis across the states of India," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 20(4), pages 861-877, October.
    11. Lota D. Tamini & Zakaria Sorgho, 2018. "Trade in Environmental Goods: Evidences from an Analysis Using Elasticities of Trade Costs," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 70(1), pages 53-75, May.
    12. Honma, Satoshi & Yoshida, Yushi, 2020. "An empirical investigation of the balance of embodied emission in trade: Industry structure and emission abatement," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 277-294.
    13. Carl Gaigné & Lota D. Tamini, 2021. "Environmental Taxation and Import Demand for Environmental Goods: Theory and Evidence from the European Union," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 78(2), pages 307-352, February.
    14. Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada & Oueslati, Walid, 2016. "Are deep and comprehensive regional trade agreements helping to reduce air pollution?," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 292, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    15. Honma, Satoshi & Yoshida, Yushi, 2014. "An Account of Pollution Emission Embodied in Global Trade: PGT1 and PGT2 Database," MPRA Paper 57489, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Sung Jin Kang & Sun Lee, 2021. "Impacts of Environmental Policies on Global Green Trade," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental regulations; Porter hypothesis; Trade and environment; Gravity model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q59 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Other

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