Technology, International Trade, and Pollution from US Manufacturing

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2009
Volume: 99
Issue: 5
Pages: 2177-92

Score contribution per author:

8.043 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Pollution emitted by US manufacturers declined markedly over the past several decades, even as real manufacturing output increased. I first show that most of the decline in US manufacturing pollution has resulted from changing production processes ("technology"), rather than changes in the mix of goods produced. I then show that increased net imports of polluting goods ("international trade") accounts for only a small portion of the pollution reductions from the changing mix of goods. Together, these two findings demonstrate that shifting polluting industries overseas explains only a minor part -- less than 10 percent -- of the cleanup of US manufacturing. (JEL F18, L23, L60, O30, Q52, Q53)

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:99:y:2009:i:5:p:2177-92
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25