Protection of Global Environment and Free Trade

本项目探讨全球环境保护与国际自由贸易制度之间的关系。第二次世界大战后不久，关贸总协定成立，以促进自由贸易。1995年，世贸组织重新确立了这种精神。当时的想法是，不受限制的国际货物和服务流动将促进参与自由贸易的每个国家的生产效率。然而，从全球环境保护的角度来看，这一想法受到了质疑。发展中国家的大部分出口产品是天然原材料和原材料密集型产品。由于缺乏或不完善的所有权，这些国家的原材料往往价格过低或根本不定价，原材料及其衍生品以低于其社会成本的价格出口。结果，自然资源得不到保护，环境恶化。有人认为，旨在阻止稀土出口的限制措施将有助于保护自然资源和全球环境。该项目考察了这些论点的理论合理性，并研究了保护环境的替代方法。虽然问题的复杂性使我们无法得出明确的结论，但我们发现自由贸易本身并没有错。产权制度的缺陷和国内市场竞争不足是原因。然而，如果正确制度的缺陷和市场的不完善不能轻易弥补，那么限制国际贸易可能是第二好的解决办法。环境问题的另一个方面是环境污染的跨国性，如酸雨和全球变暖。这些全球性现象对贸易国的比较优势产生了不同的影响，并扭曲了有效生产的地点。需要采取国际协调一致的纠正行动。从这个观点来看，经常建议统一税率的爱奥尼亚税和可交易的污染许可证，以防止区域或全球污染。但我们的调查得出的结论使人们对这些建议在理论上的合理性产生了怀疑。因为污染者往往是自己的受害者，他们调整自己的污染活动。因此，解决方案需要将现有的纳什均衡转变为更帕累托偏好的纳什均衡。为此目的，庇古税方法需要一套差别税率。少

This project investigated the relationships between protection of global environment and international free trade regime. Soon after the World War II, GATT was established to promote free trade and that spirit was re-established in the WTO in 1995. The idea was that uninhibited international flows of goods and services would promote production efficiency in each country participating in the free trade. However, a doubt was cast on this idea from the point of view of the global environmental protection. Much of exports from developing countries consist of natural raw material and raw material intensive products. Because raw materials are often under-priced or not priced at all in these countries due to the absence or imperfection of ownership rights, the raw materials and their derivatives are exported at the price below their social costs. Consequently, non-conservation of natural resources and degradation of the environment result. Restrictions aimed at discouraging exportation of the … More se items, it is argued, would facilitate protection of the natural resources and global environment.This project examined theoretical soundness of these arguments and investigated alternative means of protecting the environment. Although complexity of the issues prevent us from reaching clear cut conclusions, it is found that the free trade itself is not at fault. The defects in the property right system and not sufficiently competitive domestic markets should be blamed. Nevertheless, if the defects in the right systems and imperfection of the market can not be remedied easily, restrictions on international trade might be justified as a second best solution.Another aspect of environmental issues is the trans-nationalness of the environmental pollution such as acid rain and global warming. These global phenomena produce differentiated effects on trading countries' comparative advantages and distort locations of efficient production. Internationally concerted corrective actions are required. From this point of view, a uniform rate Ionian taxes and tradable pollution permits are often recommended for prevention of regional or global pollution. But our investigation produced a conclusion that casts a doubt on the theoretical soundness of these proposals. Because the polluters are often victims by themselves they adjust their polluting activities. A solution, therefore, requires means that shifts the existing Nash equilibrium to a more Pareto Preferred Nash equilibrium. For this purpose a set of differentiated rates is required for the Pigovian tax approach. Less