The Toxic Intensity of Industrial Production: Global Patterns, Trends, and Trade Policy

A newly developed data set is exploited to investigate recent changes in the international distribution of industrial pollution. In particular, 3 issues are examined: 1. the relationship between the toxic intensity of industrial production and the level of economic development, 2. the impact of OECD...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American Economic Review; (United States) 1992-05, Vol.82 (2), p.478-481
Main Authors: Hettige, Hemamala, Robert E. B. Lucas, Wheeler, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Chemical hazards
Developing countries
Econometrics
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Economic indices
Economics of the Environment
ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY
Environmental degradation
Environmental economics
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Environmental regulation
Environmental regulations
GLOBAL ASPECTS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES 290200 > Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
Impacts
Industrial emissions
Industrial pollution
Industrial production
International economics
International trade
MANUFACTURING
Manycountries
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
ORIGIN
Pollution
Pollution control
POLLUTION SOURCES
Regulation
Studies
Trade policy
Trends
World Bank
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Summary:A newly developed data set is exploited to investigate recent changes in the international distribution of industrial pollution. In particular, 3 issues are examined: 1. the relationship between the toxic intensity of industrial production and the level of economic development, 2. the impact of OECD environmental regulation on global changes in toxic intensity, and 3. the relationship between trade policy and the toxic intensity of industrial production in LDCs. Overall, the analysis indicates an upward long-term trend in industrial emissions, both relative to GDP and relative to manufacturing output, for the majority of countries. Moreover, these positive, long-term trends are clearly higher among the lower-income countries. The findings on trade policy and toxic intensity change suggest a revised view of the displacement phenomenon. Rapidly increasing toxic intensity does not seem to have characterized all LDC manufacturing in the wake of stricter OECD environmental regulation. Paradoxically, intensity has grown much more rapidly in economies that are relatively closed to international trade.
ISSN:0002-8282
1944-7981