Trade, Environmental Regulations and the World Trade Organization: New Empirical Evidence

摘要

This article empirically explores the linkages between environmental regulations and international trade flows. Using a large and comprehensive new database for environmental regulations across countries, a thorough empirical investigation of that linkage for 119 countries and five high-polluting industries is performed. The results indicate that concerns about a "race to the bottom" on environmental standards or a major move towards "pollution havens" cannot be supported. The only exception is iron and steel, where a negative association between the stringency of environmental regulations and net exports can be found. The article also discusses the issues of trade and environmental regulations within the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework.