摘要：Economic theory suggests that liberalization of trade between countries with differing levels ofenvironmental protection could lead pollution-intensive industry to concentrate in the nations whereregulations are lax. This effect, often referred to as the "pollution haven" hypothesis, is much discussedin theory, but finds only ambiguous support in empirical research to date. Methodologies used forresearch on trade and environment differ widely; many are difficult to apply to practical policyquestions. We develop a simple, partial equilibrium model explicitly designed to analyze the effects of achange in trade policy. Our model analyzes the relative concentrations of "clean" and "dirty" industriesin two nations or regions, before and after the policy change. While lacking the theoretical rigor andmathematical intricacy of other modeling methods, our approach has the advantages of transparencyand accessibility to a broad range of analysts and policy makers.
