Waste of Effort? International Environmental Agreements

47 Pages Posted: 18 Oct 2013 Last revised: 17 May 2023

See all articles by Derek Kellenberg

Derek Kellenberg

University of Montana

Arik Levinson

Georgetown University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: October 2013

Abstract

Many of the world's environmental problems cross international borders, and to address those problems approximately 1,000 different International Environmental Agreements (IEAs) are in operation today. Most evidence, however suggests that those IEAs are ineffectual, merely ratifying business-as-usual outcomes and doing little to improve the environment. But much of that empirical analysis faces two obstacles: (1) limited data from before the IEAs were enacted and thus an inability to make before-and-after comparisons; and (2) difficulty estimating the counterfactual outcomes - what would have happened absent the agreements. In this paper we test the effectiveness of one particular IEA - the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. In this special case we have data on international waste shipments from both before and after countries ratify the agreement, along with a unique approach to identifying the treaty's effect using annual bilateral waste shipments among countries before and after one of the trading partners signs the agreement. Despite the strengths of this approach, we find almost no evidence that the Convention has resulted in less waste being shipped among countries.

Suggested Citation

Kellenberg, Derek and Levinson, Arik M., Waste of Effort? International Environmental Agreements (October 2013). NBER Working Paper No. w19533, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2342013

Derek Kellenberg (Contact Author)

University of Montana ( email )

Missoula, MT 59812
United States

Arik M. Levinson

Georgetown University - Department of Economics ( email )

Washington, DC 20057
United States
202-687-5571 (Phone)
202-687-6102 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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