Trade and Environment

The Regulatory Controversy and a Theoretical and Empirical Assessment of Unilateral Environmental Action

verfasst von: Dr. Karl W. Steininger

Verlag: Physica-Verlag HD

Buchreihe : Contributions to Economics

Enthalten in: Professional Book Archive

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Über dieses Buch

Even though the interlinkage between trade and environment is obvious and important, it has been acknowledged as such only recently by the world community. Yet it is far from being truly addressed, as is indicated by the negotiations up to the Uruguay Round Final Act, signed in April 1994, as the most current example. Mankind remains faced with the crucial need of addressing this interlinkage -the objective to which this report is devoted. My own growing interest in this subject and the choice to work on and publish this report, which has been defended as my Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Vienna, has had a long personal history. Ultimately it was made possible by important teachers of mine -from primary and high school up to universities -, by colleagues and friends, but certainly also by my family -as each of them answered my questions and communicated their own ideas. Along the path of research it was only the specific support and inspiration of a large number of people in various different ways that made it possible for the report to now be in front of you in the current form.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

I. Introduction

Abstract

How to use and especially share the use of resources is a focal question every human being and therefore mankind is continuously challenged with. Mankind’s history is one of steady efforts to develop and redefine the rule system governing resource access.

Karl W. Steininger

II. The Issues of Interlinkage

Abstract

Trade and environment issues are interwoven in various ways. Before entering into any analysis this chapter first categorizes the interlinkages. For illustration it also gives details of selected recent cases of international awareness.

Karl W. Steininger

III. The Regulatory Issue

Abstract

Out of the two areas of interlinking regulation, the one far further developed is obviously trade regulation. It is therefore also the most used point of departure for discussing the interlinkage. In this section we will look into the three main sources of trade regulation relevant for a European country, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the OECD Guiding Principles and European Community law, and their respective (potential) environmental coverage.

Karl W. Steininger

IV. Divergent Environmental Process Regulation in Open Economies

Abstract

Two classes of economic relations have to be distinguished:

For environmental regulation affecting trade in goods categories that are homogenous, the main causation will run along the line of comparative advantage. For the analysis of these goods flows, therefore, traditional trade theory shall be employed. In geographic terms the issue for industrialized countries’ environmental regulation here is that of a competitive threat mainly by economically rather different countries, e.g., for Austria by Eastern European as well as Third World Countries.
A much larger fraction of trade, however, takes place in the form of cross-hauling within the same sector among very similar countries. Here it is product differentiation that explains trade flows. For this category of trade flows it is new trade theory that gives us the best instrumentarium at hand, as it incorporates product differentiation and its consequences, increasing returns to scale and imperfect competition.

Karl W. Steininger

V. Modeling the Environment-Economy Interaction for Austria in a Trade-Focused Computable General Equilibrium Framework

Abstract

To analyze the impacts of human economic action and policy on the environment, a very broad range of tools has been developed, especially within the last two decades and within both the fields of economics and ecology Mankind’s living conditions are increasingly influenced by the state of the environment; not surprisingly the interest in how this state of the environment is affected by mankind has increased substantially.¹

Karl W. Steininger

VI. Conclusions

Abstract

For environmental policy influencing trade flows three relevant modes of environmental regulation need to be distinguished: product regulation, production process regulation, and — particularly as a subcase of the latter — allocation of environmental control costs. Product regulation generally enhances the domestic market position of domestic production, while process regulation may reduce the domestic position in international markets. To mitigate the latter effects subsidies to cover environmental control costs are discussed.

Karl W. Steininger

Backmatter

Titel: Trade and Environment
verfasst von: Dr. Karl W. Steininger
Verlag: Physica-Verlag HD
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-642-49342-3
Print ISBN: 978-3-7908-0814-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-49342-3

Springer Professional

Über dieses Buch

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

I. Introduction

II. The Issues of Interlinkage

III. The Regulatory Issue

IV. Divergent Environmental Process Regulation in Open Economies

V. Modeling the Environment-Economy Interaction for Austria in a Trade-Focused Computable General Equilibrium Framework

VI. Conclusions

Backmatter