Why is Pollution from U.S. Manufacturing Declining? The Roles of Environmental Regulation, Productivity, and Trade
January 2015
Working Paper Number:
CES-15-03R
Abstract
Between 1990 and 2008, air pollution emissions from U.S. manufacturing fell by 60 percent despite a substantial increase in manufacturing output. We show that these emissions reductions are primarily driven by within-product changes in emissions intensity rather than changes in output or in the composition of products produced. We then develop and estimate a quantitative model linking trade with the environment to better understand the economic forces driving these changes. Our estimates suggest that the implicit pollution tax that manufacturers face doubled between 1990 and 2008. These changes in environmental regulation, rather than changes in productivity and trade, account for most of the emissions reductions.
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:
production,
macroeconomic,
export,
produce,
factory,
fuel,
regulation,
regulatory,
spillover,
consumption,
emission,
pollution,
epa,
environmental,
pollutant,
gdp,
polluting,
tax
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Annual Survey of Manufactures,
Standard Industrial Classification,
National Science Foundation,
Center for Economic Studies,
National Bureau of Economic Research,
Cobb-Douglas,
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,
Department of Energy,
Environmental Protection Agency,
Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditures,
North American Free Trade Agreement,
Census of Manufacturing Firms,
World Trade Organization,
International Standard Industrial Classification
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