INTERNATIONAL TRADE, ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AND SOCIAL INTEGRITY

Abstract

This dissertation is an attempt to verify and assess the linkages between international trade and aspects of Sustainable Development, particularly the Environmental Dimension. In an attempt to bridge the three dimensions of Sustainable Development, the Social Dimension’s aspects of rules and regulations and the considerations regarding the economic preferences of agents and public-mindedness, collectively termed as “social integrity”, are addressed as potential instruments that can reduce environmental imbalances. The empirical part of the first research article suggests that economic growth can improve the situation for certain measures of well-known pollution, but may not provide satisfactory improvements in all cases. The second empirical analysis observed that domestic economic variables are strongly associated with higher trade-induced production pollution levels, where industrial sector dependency contributes strongly to pollution in all estimated scenarios. Domestic environmental quality is significantly correlated to lower production pollution in trade in certain cases, while efficient rules of law are associated with lower pollution in all cases examined. Finally, the estimation results in the third part of the dissertation shows that countries with higher levels of industrial sector dependency tends to be significantly slower in ratifying major multilateral IEAs, possibly due to the cost pressures facing domestic producers. The dissertation argues in favor of the use of rules and national & international regulations, as well as demand-side measures to encourage agents’ public-mindedness and beyond-material considerations, in addressing modern trade-related pollution problems.