"Trade Liberalization and Environmental Quality: Opposing Viewpoints, A" by John R. Ubben

Article Title

Trade Liberalization and Environmental Quality: Opposing Viewpoints, Additional Issues, and the Necessity of Intervention

Authors

John R. Ubben, University of Northern Iowa

Document Type

Article

Abstract

International trade, while promoting economic growth and development, is one of many suspects contributing to excessive rates of environmental degradation. Free trade compromises environmental quality in favor of welfare improvements and economic prosperity. The difficulty of measuring environmental amenities, trade theory’s inability to address externalities and decisions overtime, and numerous market failures regarding socially optimal prices, serve as red flags requiring intervention. The most successful form of intervention is domestic policies that internalize externalities. Intervention is also necessary to balance the interests of environmentalists and free traders and to ensure that the gains from trade are devoted to environmental protection.

Publication Date

Spring 1999

Journal Title

Major Themes in Economics

Volume

Issue

First Page

Last Page

Copyright

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Language

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Ubben, John R. (1999) "Trade Liberalization and Environmental Quality: Opposing Viewpoints, Additional Issues, and the Necessity of Intervention," Major Themes in Economics, 1, 40-62.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/mtie/vol1/iss1/5