|
Free Trade
and the Environment:
Mexico, NAFTA, and Beyond
By Kevin P. Gallagher
Stanford University Press, 2004; $42.50 Cloth; $16.95
paper
Order
from Stanford University Press
 “Gallagher
moves the ‘trade and environment’ debate
forward by bringing empirical evidence to bear on
the question of whether expanded trade leads to environmental
degradation or improvement. His data on changes in
the Mexican environmental situation in the NAFTA context
bring new clarity to a critical set of academic questions
with important policy impacts.”
Daniel C.
Esty, Director,
Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy
Free Trade and the Environment examines
the impact economic integration has on the environment,
focusing on Mexico, which transformed itself from
one of the world's most closed economies to one of
the most open. Mexico's experience offers a cautionary
tale for governments and policy-makers considering
the hotly debated relationship between globalization
and the environment.
This volume investigates two commonly held and opposing
beliefs in the policy community about the impact of
free trade on the environment. While some argue that
free trade will raise incomes in developing countries,
thus encouraging governments to protect the environment,
others argue that free trade simply provides an incentive
for heavily-polluting firms to move to developing
countries with lax environmental regulations. This
volume shows that for Mexico neither position is correct,
and concludes with a set of concrete recommendations
for policies that couple environmental protection
with economic integration.
Advance Praise for Free
Trade and the Environment:
“Free Trade and the Environment is an insightful
and carefully supported account of the links between
Mexico’s recent economic performance and the
environment. Kevin Gallagher confronts the two major
opposing views that see trade as either inevitably
leading to environmental catastrophe or as a magic
solution for environmental management, and forcefully
makes the case for strong institutions and well-crafted
environmental policies.”
Eduardo Zepeda, UNDP International
Poverty Center; co-editor of Confronting Development:
Assessing Mexico’s Economic and Social Policy
Choices
“This book provides a new and insightful
analysis of the trade and environment relationship.
Refuting common claims that liberalization leads to
either an environmental Kuznets curve or the creation
of pollution havens, Kevin Gallagher demonstrates
that NAFTA brought significant environmental consequences
in Mexico. His findings are particularly important
as more countries move toward greater regional integration
around the world.”
Konrad von Moltke, Senior Fellow,
International Institute for Sustainable Development
“Kevin Gallagher makes an outstanding contribution
to the trade-environment debate, offering some real
breakthroughs in thinking about the relationship between
trade expansion and environmental protection. The
lessons of Mexico and NAFTA are especially timely
and will resonate with many countries throughout the
Western Hemisphere."
Scott Vaughan, Director, Unit
for Sustainable Development and Environment, Organization
of American States
Read more: GDAE's
Globalization and Sustainable Development Program
"Free
Trade and the Environment: Mexico, NAFTA, and Beyond,"
by Kevin P. Gallagher, Americas Program Policy Brief,
Interhemispheric Resource Center, September 17, 2004.
(Published in Spanish in La Jornada en la Economia,
August 9, 2004, "Libre
Comercio y Ecologia: El Paraiso Contaminante."
Review
of Free Trade and the Environment in Foreign
Affairs magazine.
Order
from Stanford University Press
About the author: Kevin P. Gallagher
is Research Associate for the institute’s Research
and Policy Program, and an assistant professor of
international economics in the Department of International
Relations at Boston University. Gallagher serves as
GDAE’s principal investigator for the Globalization
and Sustainable Development Program. His current research
focuses on the economics and politics of economic
integration in the Western Hemisphere, particularly
in relation to industrial development in Mexico. He
is the author of Free Trade and the Environment:
Mexico, NAFTA, and Beyond. He has presented his
work at the WTO, World Bank, OECD, ECLAC, the World
Summit on Sustainable Development, and at other international
conferences on trade and investment policy, economic
development, and the environment. He is also the co-editor
of International Trade and Sustainable Development
(with Jacob Werksman). Gallagher holds a Ph.D. in
International Political Economy and a M.A. in International
Environmental Policy from Tufts.
|
