IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/1744.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Moving to greener pastures : multinationals and the pollution-haven hypothesis

Author

Listed:
  • Eskeland, Gunnar S.
  • Harrison, Ann E.

Abstract

Are multinationals flocking to pollution havens in developing countries Using data from four developing countries (Cote d'Ivoire, Mexico, Morocco, and Venezuela), the authors examine the pattern of foreign investment. They find almost no evidence that foreign investors are concentrated in dirty sectors. They also examine the behavior of multinationals doing business in these four countries, testing whether there is any tendency for foreign firms to pollute more or less than their host country counterparts. To do this, they use consumption of energy and dirty fuels as a proxy for pollution intensity. They find that foreign plants in these four developing countries are significantly more energy-efficient and use cleaner types of energy than their domestic counterparts. The authors conclude with an analysis of US outbound investment between 1982 and 1994. They reject the hypothesis that the pattern of US foreign investment is skewed toward industries in which the cost of pollution abatement is high.

Suggested Citation

  • Eskeland, Gunnar S. & Harrison, Ann E., 1997. "Moving to greener pastures : multinationals and the pollution-haven hypothesis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1744, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:1744
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/913101468757211604/pdf/multi-page.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jorgenson, Dale W. & Wilcoxen, Peter J., 1993. "Reducing US carbon emissions: an econometric general equilibrium assessment," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 7-25, March.
    2. Grossman, G.M & Krueger, A.B., 1991. "Environmental Impacts of a North American Free Trade Agreement," Papers 158, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Public and International Affairs.
    3. Motta, Massimo & Thisse, Jacques-Francois, 1994. "Does environmental dumping lead to delocation?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(3-4), pages 563-576, April.
    4. Gene M. Grossman & Alan B. Krueger, 1995. "Economic Growth and the Environment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(2), pages 353-377.
    5. Moss, Diana L & Tybout, James R, 1994. "The Scope for Fuel Substitution in Manufacturing Industries: A Case Study of Chile and Colombia," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 8(1), pages 49-74, January.
    6. Helleiner, G.K., 1989. "Transnational corporations and direct foreign investment," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 27, pages 1441-1480, Elsevier.
    7. Brainard, S Lael, 1997. "An Empirical Assessment of the Proximity-Concentration Trade-off between Multinational Sales and Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(4), pages 520-544, September.
    8. Markusen James R. & Morey Edward R. & Olewiler Nancy D., 1993. "Environmental Policy when Market Structure and Plant Locations Are Endogenous," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 69-86, January.
    9. Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 1994. "North-South Trade and the Environment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(3), pages 755-787.
    10. Sorsa, Piritta*DEC, 1994. "Competitiveness and environmental standards : some exploratory results," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1249, The World Bank.
    11. Alan S. Manne & Richard G. Richels, 1990. "CO2 Emission Limits: An Economic Cost Analysis for the USA," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 51-74.
    12. S. Lael Brainard, 1993. "An Empirical Assessment of the Factor Proportions Explanation of Multi-National Sales," NBER Working Papers 4583, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Ulph, Alistair, 2000. "Harmonization and Optimal Environmental Policy in a Federal System with Asymmetric Information," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 224-241, March.
    14. Helpman, Elhanan, 1984. "A Simple Theory of International Trade with Multinational Corporations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(3), pages 451-471, June.
    15. Dean, Judith M., 1992. "Trade and the environment : a survey of the literature," Policy Research Working Paper Series 966, The World Bank.
    16. W. Kip Viscusi & Wesley A. Magat & Alan Carlin & Mark K. Dreyfus, 1994. "Environmentally Responsible Energy Pricing," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 23-42.
    17. Selden Thomas M. & Song Daqing, 1994. "Environmental Quality and Development: Is There a Kuznets Curve for Air Pollution Emissions?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 147-162, September.
    18. Eskeland, Gunnar S. & Jimenez, Emmanuel & Lili Liu & DEC, 1994. "Energy pricing and air pollution : econometric evidence from manufacturing in Chile and Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1323, The World Bank.
    19. Hettige, Hemamala & Martin, Paul & Singh, Manjula & Wheeler,David R., 1995. "The industrial pollution projection system," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1431, The World Bank.
    20. Guo, Charles C. & Tybout, James R., 1994. "How relative prices affect fuel use patterns in manufacturing : plant - level evidence from Chile," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1297, The World Bank.
    21. Eskeland, Gunnar S, 1994. "A Presumptive Pigovian Tax: Complementing Regulation to Mimic an Emissions Fee," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 8(3), pages 373-394, September.
    22. repec:bla:econom:v:56:y:1989:i:221:p:41-48 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. Rothman, Dale S., 1998. "Environmental Kuznets curves--real progress or passing the buck?: A case for consumption-based approaches," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 177-194, May.
    2. Jeffrey A. Frankel & Andrew K. Rose, 2005. "Is Trade Good or Bad for the Environment? Sorting Out the Causality," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(1), pages 85-91, February.
    3. Haixiao Huang, Walter C. Labys, 2002. "Environment and trade: a review of issues and methods," International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(1/2), pages 100-160.
    4. Muhammad Shahbaz & Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad & Mantu Kumar Mahalik & Perry Sadorsky, 2018. "How strong is the causal relationship between globalization and energy consumption in developed economies? A country-specific time-series and panel analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(13), pages 1479-1494, March.
    5. Saibal Kar & Devleena Majumdar, 2016. "MFN Tariff Rates and Carbon Emission: Evidence from Lower-Middle-Income Countries," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 64(3), pages 493-510, July.
    6. Copeland, Brian R. & Taylor, M. Scott, 2005. "Free trade and global warming: a trade theory view of the Kyoto protocol," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 205-234, March.
    7. Isabel Faeth, 2009. "Determinants Of Foreign Direct Investment – A Tale Of Nine Theoretical Models," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 165-196, February.
    8. Dinda, Soumyananda, 2004. "Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 431-455, August.
    9. Ali, Wajahat & Abdullah, Azrai & Azam, Muhammad, 2017. "Re-visiting the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for Malaysia: Fresh evidence from ARDL bounds testing approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 990-1000.
    10. Jie HE, 2005. "Economic Determinants for China’s Industrial SO2 Emission: Reduced vs. Structural form and the role of international trade," Working Papers 200505, CERDI.
    11. He, Jie, 2010. "What is the role of openness for China's aggregate industrial SO2 emission?: A structural analysis based on the Divisia decomposition method," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 868-886, February.
    12. Werner Antweiler & Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 2001. "Is Free Trade Good for the Environment?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 877-908, September.
    13. Pelkmans, Jacques, 2003. "European Integration, Deepening and Widening Economic Analysis," Conference papers 331166, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    14. Jevan M. Cherniwchan & M. Scott Taylor, 2022. "International Trade and the Environment: Three Remaining Empirical Challenges," NBER Working Papers 30020, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Neequaye, Nii Amon & Oladi, Reza, 2015. "Environment, growth, and FDI revisited," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 47-56.
    16. Yang, Haisheng & He, Jie & Chen, Shaoling, 2015. "The fragility of the Environmental Kuznets Curve: Revisiting the hypothesis with Chinese data via an “Extreme Bound Analysis”," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 41-58.
    17. Nordström, Håkan & Vaughan, Scott, 1999. "Trade and the environment," WTO Special Studies, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division, volume 4, number 4.
    18. Carol Lehr & John Maxwell, 2000. "Comparative Advantage, Trade, and Transboundary Pollution," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 205-227, July.
    19. Jie He & Paul MAKDISSI & Quentin WODON, 2007. "Corruption, Inequality, and Environmental Regulation," Cahiers de recherche 07-13, Departement d'économique de l'École de gestion à l'Université de Sherbrooke.
    20. Jeffrey A. Frankel, 2003. "The Environment and Globalization," NBER Working Papers 10090, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Construction Industry; Common Carriers Industry; Food & Beverage Industry; General Manufacturing; Pulp & Paper Industry; Plastics & Rubber Industry; Pollution Management & Control; Air Quality & Clean Air; International Trade and Trade Rules; Energy Demand; Energy and Environment; Energy and Mining; Business Cycles and Stabilization Policies; Brown Issues and Health; Global Environment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • Q2 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation

    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:wbk:wbrwps:1744. 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: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    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.