Publication:
Racing to the Bottom? Foreign Investment and Air Pollution in Developing Countries

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dc.contributor.authorWheeler, David
dc.date.accessioned2014-08-26T20:57:27Z
dc.date.available2014-08-26T20:57:27Z
dc.date.issued2001-01
dc.description.abstractCritics of free trade have raised the specter of a "race to the bottom," in which environmental standards collapse because polluters threaten to relocate to "pollution havens" in the developing world. Proponents of this view advocate high, globally uniform standards enforced by punitive trade measures that neutralize the cost advantage of would-be pollution havens. To test the race-to-the-bottom model, the author analyzes recent air quality trends in the United States and in Brazil, China, and Mexico, the three largest recipients of foreign investment in the developing world. The evidence clearly contradicts the model's central prediction. The most dangerous form of air pollution--suspended particulate matter--has actually declined in major cities in all four countries during the era of globalization. Citing recent research, the author argues that the race-to-the-bottom model is flawed because its basic assumptions misrepresent the political economy of pollution control in developing countries. He proposes a more realistic model, in which low-income societies serve their own long-run interests by reducing pollution. He concludes with recommendations for international assistance measures that can improve environmental quality without counterproductive enforcement of uniform standards and trade sanctions.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/01/888058/racing-bottom-foreign-investment-air-pollution-developing-countries
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-2524
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/19732
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper;No. 2524
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectAEROSOLS
dc.subjectAIR
dc.subjectAIR MONITORING
dc.subjectAIR POLLUTION
dc.subjectAIR POLLUTION CONTROL
dc.subjectAIR POLLUTION CONTROL COSTS
dc.subjectAIR QUALITY
dc.subjectCAPITAL MARKETS
dc.subjectCLIMATIC CONDITIONS
dc.subjectCOMMUNITY ACTION
dc.subjectCOMMUNITY RIGHT TO KNOW
dc.subjectCOMPLIANCE COSTS
dc.subjectDUST
dc.subjectECONOMETRIC ESTIMATES
dc.subjectECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectECONOMIC FACTORS
dc.subjectECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subjectECONOMIC POLICIES
dc.subjectEMISSIONS
dc.subjectEMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
dc.subjectEMPIRICAL RESEARCH
dc.subjectEMPIRICAL STUDIES
dc.subjectEMPLOYMENT
dc.subjectENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS
dc.subjectENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
dc.subjectENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
dc.subjectENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
dc.subjectENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
dc.subjectENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
dc.subjectENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
dc.subjectENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
dc.subjectFINE PARTICULATES
dc.subjectIMPORTS
dc.subjectINCOME
dc.subjectINCOME LEVELS
dc.subjectINDUSTRIAL POLLUTION
dc.subjectINDUSTRIAL WATER
dc.subjectINFLATION
dc.subjectIRRIGATION
dc.subjectIRRIGATION CHANNELS
dc.subjectLAWS
dc.subjectLOBBYISTS
dc.subjectMANAGERS
dc.subjectMARGINAL ABATEMENT
dc.subjectMARGINAL ABATEMENT COSTS
dc.subjectMARGINAL COST
dc.subjectMEDIA
dc.subjectMINING
dc.subjectMORTALITY
dc.subjectOIL
dc.subjectOXIDES
dc.subjectOXYGEN
dc.subjectPARTICLES
dc.subjectPARTICULATE
dc.subjectPARTICULATE MATTER
dc.subjectPARTICULATE POLLUTION
dc.subjectPARTICULATES
dc.subjectPM
dc.subjectPOLITICAL ECONOMY
dc.subjectPOLLUTERS
dc.subjectPOLLUTION ABATEMENT
dc.subjectPOLLUTION ABATEMENT EQUIPMENT
dc.subjectPOLLUTION CHARGE
dc.subjectPOLLUTION CONTROL
dc.subjectPOLLUTION CONTROL COSTS
dc.subjectPOLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT
dc.subjectPOLLUTION INTENSITY
dc.subjectPOLLUTION LEVELS
dc.subjectPOLLUTION REDUCTION
dc.subjectPOLLUTION REGULATION
dc.subjectPRIVATE SECTOR
dc.subjectPRODUCERS
dc.subjectPRODUCTION RESIDUALS
dc.subjectPUBLIC EXPENDITURES
dc.subjectPUBLIC SECTOR
dc.subjectSULFATES
dc.subjectSULFUR
dc.subjectSULFUR DIOXIDE
dc.subjectSULFURIC ACID
dc.subjectSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectTAXATION
dc.subjectTIN
dc.subjectURBAN AIR POLLUTION
dc.subjectWAGES
dc.subjectWASTE
dc.subjectWATER POLLUTION
dc.subjectWELFARE EFFECTS
dc.subjectWORKERS
dc.titleRacing to the Bottom? Foreign Investment and Air Pollution in Developing Countriesen
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleRacing to the Bottom? Foreign Investment and Air Pollution in Developing Countries
okr.date.disclosure2001-01-31
okr.date.doiregistration2025-04-10T09:35:12.418140Z
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Policy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/01/888058/racing-bottom-foreign-investment-air-pollution-developing-countries
okr.globalpracticeWater
okr.guid396391468777035209
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-2524
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum000094946_01012705513587
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum888058
okr.identifier.reportWPS2524
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2001/02/10/000094946_01012705513587/Rendered/PDF/multi_page.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeEast Asia and Pacific
okr.region.administrativeLatin America & Caribbean
okr.region.countryBrazil
okr.region.countryChina
okr.region.countryMexico
okr.region.countryUNITED STATES
okr.themeEnvironment and natural resources management
okr.topicWater Supply and Sanitation::Sanitation and Sewerage
okr.topicHealth Monitoring and Evaluation
okr.topicPollution Management and Control
okr.topicWater Resources::Water and Industry
okr.topicEnvironmental Economics and Policies
okr.unitInfrastructure and Environment, Development Research Group
okr.volume1
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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