Working Paper: NBER ID: w28372
Authors: Claire Brunel; Arik Levinson
Abstract: The US has been a global leader in regulating local air pollution and a global laggard in regulating greenhouse gases (GHGs). For decades, critics of US policy have expressed fears that stringent US regulations on local air pollution would lead to pollution havens overseas. Prior research, suggests that has not happened. But what about the converse fear? Are the less stringent US climate regulations causing the US to become a pollution haven for other countries’ GHG-intensive industries? We provide a decomposition of US manufacturing GHG emissions and find no evidence of offshoring either to or from the United States since 1990.
Keywords: Globalization; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Pollution Havens
JEL Codes: F18; Q56
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| absence of national regulations on GHG emissions (F64) | lack of significant decline in emissions (F64) |
| technological advancements (O33) | reduced emissions per dollar of output (Q52) |
| lack of federal regulations (L51) | technological cleanup in GHG emissions (Q55) |
| changes in the composition of manufacturing (L60) | lack of corresponding decline in GHG emissions (F64) |
| regulatory landscape and market forces (L10) | influenced emissions (F64) |
| changes in manufacturing outputs and trade patterns (F12) | do not support the notion of the US becoming a pollution haven (F64) |