Trade liberalization and the environment: Evidence from NAFTA and U.S. manufacturing

2017/01/11 by Jevan Cherniwchan · 350 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Energy · #Climate Change Policy and Economics #Economics #Energy, Environment, Economic Growth #Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies #Free trade #International economics #International trade #Liberalization #Manufacturing sector #Market economy

paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.jinteco.2017.01.005

published in Journal of International Economics 105, 130-149 (Elsevier BV)

openalex publication_date 2017/01/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

The unobserved responses of individual polluters are often used to rationalize the aggregate effects of international trade on the environment. In this paper, I provide the first evidence of these responses. I estimate the effects of NAFTA on the emissions of particulate matter (PM 10 ) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) from manufacturing plants in the United States. My findings suggest that trade liberalization led to significant reductions of these pollutants at affected plants. On average, nearly two-thirds of the reductions in PM 10 and SO 2 emissions from the U.S. manufacturing sector between 1994 and 1998 can be attributed to trade liberalization following NAFTA.

Citations

• Trade Induced Technical Change? The Impact of Chinese Imports on Innovation, IT and Productivity
• The Impact of NAFTA on the United States
• UNMASKING THE POLLUTION HAVEN EFFECT*
• Trade, Growth, and the Environment
• Improved Access to Foreign Markets Raises Plant-Level Productivity… for Some Plants*
• Imported Intermediate Inputs and Domestic Product Growth: Evidence from India
• Does trade liberalization harm the environment? A new test
• Trade Costs
• The Long and Short of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement
• Estimates of the Trade and Welfare Effects of NAFTA

Cited by

• North American Free Trade Agreement [wikipedia]

Related

• Why Is Pollution from US Manufacturing Declining? The Roles of Environmental Regulation, Productivity, and Trade
• UNMASKING THE POLLUTION HAVEN EFFECT*
• The Environmental Bias of Trade Policy*
• Does trade liberalization harm the environment? A new test
• Trade, Growth, and the Environment