Interrelationship between international trade and environmental performance: Theoretical approaches and indicators for sustainable development

Abstract

In recent years, a great deal of research has analyzed the impact of trade openness on the environment, with the aim of determining whether internationalization contributes to the improvement of environmental performance (EP) or, on the contrary, hinders the achievement of sustainable development. The objective of the present work is to conduct a systematic literature review on the interrelationship between international trade and EP at the micro‐ and macroeconomic levels, analyzing the existent theoretical approaches and the EP indicators utilized in practice. The most prominent theories found are firm heterogeneity, at a microeconomic level, and the pollution haven/halo hypotheses, at a macroeconomic level. Also, the EP indicators have been classified according to five dimensions: energy consumption, resource consumption, emissions, risk potential, and toxic potential, of which pollutant gas emissions and energy consumption are the most used. The results obtained show evidence of the interrelationship mentioned from the perspective of the different theories. In addition, this analysis helps to identify several gaps in this line of study.

The Impact of China’s Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones on Sustainable Trade of Host Countries

“…Xu et al [18] show that international trade positively affects the global process of achieving the nine environment-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moreover, in addition to the studies that concluded a positive effect of international trade on environmental quality, according to a review study by Sorroche-del-Rey et al [19], 20.68% of the studies showed that international trade has a negative effect on environmental quality, and this negative effect is due to the negative impact on the environment of developing countries as a result of the use of developing countries as "pollution havens" by developed countries. Wang et al [20] investigate the impacts of structural changes in global trade on 13 SDGs, and the results showed that structural changes in trade have the greatest impacts on environmental indicators.…”

How does the go‐with‐the‐flow export strategy affect corporate environmental performance?—Evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms

“…Besides, the CEP is also closely correlated with corporate ownership. In response to the “pollution halo” hypothesis (Birdsall & Wheeler, 1993; Grossman & Krueger, 1991; Sorroche‐del‐Rey et al, 2022; Wang et al, 2021), more studies have found that foreign‐owned enterprises (associated with foreign direct investment) are more likely to adopt environmentally friendly production and management practices than domestic‐owned enterprises in developing countries (Li et al, 2018; Wang & Jin, 2007). The government and society also impose greater environmental requirements and social responsibility on foreign‐owned enterprises comparing to domestic‐owned enterprises.…”

Analysing export performance in Spanish agrofood auxiliary companies: the role of eco-innovation

“…At a microeconomic level, only 25% of theses works examine whether EI helps companies increase EX. Nevertheless, most of them (75%) analyze the influence of EX on EI, confirming mostly a positive effect (Sorroche-del-Rey et al, 2022). Moreover, it can be observed that most of the analyses have focused on the industrial sector, and the evidence in the agro-food sector is very scarce.…”