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Thesis

French

ID: <

10670/1.g1027g

>

Where these data come from
Impact OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND TRADE on environmental goods on air pollution: OECD and developing countries IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND TRADE IN ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS ON AIR POLLUTION: CASES OF OECD COUNTRIES AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IMPACT DU COMMERCE INTERNATIONAL ET DU COMMERCE DES BIENS ENVIRONNEMENTAUX SUR LA POLLUTION DE L’AIR: CAS DES PAYS DE L’OCDE ET DES PAYS EN Développement

Abstract

In a recent period, the globalization of economic activity and the intensification of trade liberalization contributed to the increase of air-pollutant emissions, mainly in the developing countries. However, several developed countries have been able to mitigate the level of pollutant emissions. An awareness of environmental regulation and the use of certain favorable products could be a solution to environmental problems. The objective of this thesis is to study the impact of trade openness and the structure of economic activity on the level of air pollution. It seeks to identify the environmental goods to be marketed in order to reduce environmental degradation. More specifically, it analyzes empirically the impact of the international exchange of "Class A" and "Class B" environmental goods on air pollution in the case of OECD member countries and developing countries. We evaluate the impact of trade with developed countries on pollution with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) by applying the STIRPAT model using the dynamic panel GMM technique. We focus on a sample of 175 countries ranked by income level over the period 1995-2012. On the one hand, we observed that trade between middle-income countries and developed countries increases pollution with the phenomenon of "pollution haven". It is through technological transfer (from developed countries) and increased levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) that income increases and environmental quality improves. On the other hand, trade between developed countries is based on the compliance with established norms and rules leading to beneficial trade. In order to determine which sectors are the most polluting, we are interested in a limited number of countries: 27 OECD countries and 85 developing countries during 1996-2012 and 20052012 respectively. We also take into account the variables of the institutional environment in order to study the impact of economic structuring and international trade on air pollution following a decomposition of the overall effect of the economic structure. On the basis of a structural analysis using the techniques of Two–Stage Least Square (2SLS) and Three–Stage Least Square (3SLS), we show that in developing countries the weak technical effect is achieved through the agricultural sector. An optimal environmental policy should be implemented to encourage the modernization of the agricultural sector, the improvement of the manufacturing sector, and industrial technology in developing countries. Concerning the OECD countries, we notice that the technical effect reduces CO2 emissions during the period 1996-2012 to 1.31%, while the scale effect and the compositional effect lead to an increase in CO2 emissions of 5.06%. It is possible for OECD countries to strengthen environmental policy by improving the quality of institutions and implementing a trade policy to diversify imports and exports in favor of goods that are preferable to the environment. Finally, to look for an alternative to reduce pollutant emissions, we decided to determine the types of goods that the OECD and developing countries should exchange to reduce air pollution. Through a simultaneous equation model, we estimate the direct and indirect effects (through income and environmental policy) of environmental goods on pollution. Trade in "End-of-Pipe" products is beneficial to strengthen the economic activity in OECD countries and to minimize environmental degradation. Technologies and "green" products (CPT) have an influence on income level. Strengthening the market of environmental goods towards this category of goods can improve imports of CPTs and subsequently increase the income. In regards to developing countries, it is necessary to encourage the trade of favorable goods by eliminating the obstacles that could hamper import

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