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Exporters and the environment
Author(s) -
Holladay J. Scott
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
canadian journal of economics/revue canadienne d'économique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1540-5982
pISSN - 0008-4085
DOI - 10.1111/caje.12193
Subject(s) - competition (biology) , international trade , pollution , panel data , international economics , business , environmental regulation , industrial organization , economics , natural resource economics , ecology , biology , econometrics
Abstract This paper documents a relationship between international trade and environmental performance at the plant level. Using a panel of establishment‐level data from 1990–2006, I estimate the relationship between export orientation, import competition and pollution emissions. I find a robust relationship between international trade and pollution levels. Exporters emit 9% to 13% less after controlling for output, but there is significant heterogeneity across industries. Import competition is associated with the exit of the smallest, most pollution‐intensive plants. There is no evidence that this result is caused by polluting firms relocating to countries with low levels of environmental regulation and importing back into the US.