Connecting the (dirty) dots: Current account surplus and polluting production
According to the existing open-economy macroeconomics literature, a current account surplus is associated with a welfare loss only when distortions exist in either savings or investment. We propose a new welfare effect even in the absence of such distortions. In our theory, a trade imbalance − the l...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | text |
| Language: | English |
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Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/2422 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soe_research/article/3421/viewcontent/Trade_cost.pdf |
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| Institution: | Singapore Management University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | According to the existing open-economy macroeconomics literature, a current account surplus is associated with a welfare loss only when distortions exist in either savings or investment. We propose a new welfare effect even in the absence of such distortions. In our theory, a trade imbalance − the largest component of a current account imbalance − interacts with a country’s pollution control (“cleanness”) regime to generate welfare effects outside the standard channels. In particular, a trade surplus alters the shipping costs and composition of a country’s imports, producing a welfare loss associated with greater pollution. |
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