Michael Rauscher - Böcker

Trade and the environment has become a major area of international political dispute. This study investigates the interdependencies between environmental policies and international trade policies.* Does liberalization of international goods and factor markets cause environmental disruption and welfare losses?* Will countries institute lax ecological regulations to favour their domestic producers?* Should trade restrictions be used for environmental reasons and can environmental policy instruments be used to achieve trade-related objectives?* Should there be what the author terms a `green GATT'?The approach is mainly theoretical, and uses traditional trade models like Hekscher--Ohlin as well as non-competitive models of the `new' trade theory and public choice. Some other important but often neglected aspects, such as trade in hazardous wastes and the foreign debt problem, with the possibility of debt-for-nature swaps, are also considered. Finally International Trade, Factor Movements, and the Environment addresses institutional issues on both national and international levels.The book will be essential reading for all international and environmental economists.

This collection of 13 papers addresses current issues in international environmental economics in 2002. The papers: analyse the relationship between trade liberalization and environmental policy; analyse the impact of trade liberalization on environmental quality; investigate problems of commitment faced by regulating authorities; provide insights into the Porter hypothesis; and present empirical research related to international competitiveness and location of polluting plants; and address international environmental agreements, with a special focus on income distribution and the political-economy dimension, tradable emission reductions, and the quantitative impact of trade liberalization and the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol on carbon leakage.

This volume inc1udes a selection of papers presented at the second European Research Conference (EURESCO) on "The International Dimension of Environmental Policy" held in Acquafredda di Maratea, Italy, in October 2001. We thank those who made this conference possible: the European Science Foundation (ESF), which provided financial and organizational support; the European Commission EURESCO Programme; the Fondazione ENI Enrico Mattei (FEEM) in Milan; and GLOBUS, Tilburg University. The European Science Foundation (ESF), the EURESCO Programme, FEEM and GLOBUS cannot be held responsible for the contents and/or opinions expressed in this volume. Our gratitude also goes to the people who assisted us in editing this volume: the papers' referees, the authors, our publisher Kluwer, and especially to Stefan Jost in Rostock who handled the manuscript with maximum care during the process of copy-editing. None of these persons bears any responsibilities for remaining errors or shortcomings. Laura Marsiliani, Michael Rauscher, and Cees Withagen [Marsiliani, L., Rauscher, M. and Withagen, c.] (eds.), [Environmental Policy in an International Perspective], xi. (c) 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers.Introduction a C Laura Marsiliani , Michael Rauscherb and Cees Withagen a University 0/ Rochester and University 0/ Durham, b University 0/ Rostock, C Free University Amsterdam and Ti/burg University 1. THE ISSUES Nowadays, the proteetion of the environment is one of the most debated issues in the international are~a. Because of the transboundary nature of pollution and the characteristic of the environment as aglobaI public good, international co- operation is highly desirable.

This volume, in a sense, aims at reflecting the qualities of the honoree and it does so in two respects. On the one hand, it covers a great variety of subdisciplines of economics. On the other hand, the book ranges from theoretical and mathematical economics to hands-on applied analyses of economic-policy issues. All essays are driven by the aspiration to better understand the economy and to draw relevant conclusions for economic policy. The book is divided into five parts dealing with the German economy, European economic issues, global markets, international trade theory and policy, and natural resources and the environment.

This volume, in a sense, aims at reflecting the qualities of the honoree and it does so in two respects. On the one hand, it covers a great variety of subdisciplines of economics. On the other hand, the book ranges from theoretical and mathematical economics to hands-on applied analyses of economic-policy issues. All essays are driven by the aspiration to better understand the economy and to draw relevant conclusions for economic policy. The book is divided into five parts dealing with the German economy, European economic issues, global markets, international trade theory and policy, and natural resources and the environment.

1. 1. Oil price fluctuations and their impact on economic performance Drastic oil price fluctuations have been a major characteristic of the world petroleum market since the beginning of the seventies. The oil crises of 1973n4 and 1979/80 were followed by a dramatic drop of the oil price during the first two quarters of 1986. Starting from a level less than 2 $ per barrel in 1972, the spot market price of Arabian Light crude oil increased to some 35 $ in 1980, then slowly decreased, and finally fell to 13 $ in 1986 (annual averages). If monthly data are considered, the peaks of the oil price movement look even more dramatic. In December 1980 Arabian crude was traded for more than 40 $ a barrel, and in August 1986 the price was down at 8 $ (see Fig. 1. 1). 40 30 20 10 r o 84 88 76 80 72 Figure 1. 1: The spot market price of Saudi-Arabian Light crude oil! ! Data are taken from the Petroleum Economist and the OPEC Bulletin, various issues. 2 After the Second World War petroleum has become the most important energy resource. During the fifties and sixties its price was relatively low compared to other energy 2 sources like coal and firewood and it tended to drive them out of the market.

Thirteen papers addressing current issues in international environmental economics. They analyze the relationship between trade liberalization and environmental policy; the impact of trade liberalization on environmental quality; investigate problems of commitment faced by regulating authorities; provide new insights into the Porter hypothesis; present empirical research related to international competitiveness and location of polluting plants; address international environmental agreements, with a special focus on income distribution and the political-economy dimension, tradable emission reductions, and the quantitative impact of trade liberalization and the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol on carbon leakage.The papers in this volume show that even after ten years of intense research both on trade and the environment, and on transfrontier pollution and international environmental agreements, research in this area still produces new, relevant, and thought-provoking ideas and results.