Is there an environmental version of the Kantian peace? Insights from water pollution in Europe

Abstract

We examine whether there is an environmental version of the Kantian peace; that is, whether democracies that trade and are bound by international treaties are less likely to harm each other environmentally. Specifically, we study five factors that are likely to help in reducing beggar-thy-neighbour behaviour in terms of transboundary pollution: democracy, supranational institutions, trade relations, stringency of domestic environmental policy and international environmental commitment. The empirical focus is on upstream-downstream water pollution in Europe in 1970-2003. The observed effects of the five variables differ considerably across forms of pollution and definitions of beggar-thy-neighbour behaviour. Some of our explanatory variables contribute to reducing beggar-thy-neighbour behaviour. Hence there is some empirical support for the environmental Kantian argument. Nonetheless, state behaviour in this area remains characterized by free-riding incentives; the forces of democracy, trade and national and international regulation and institutions do not easily produce decent international behaviour.

Environmental Regulation, Economic Network and Sustainable Growth of Urban Agglomerations in China

“…Many studies have proven that administrations would move from being highly regulated to loose ones, and spillover effects have been shown across administrative boundaries [9][10][11]. Additionally, an urban agglomeration is an economic network of closely connected cities [12,13], and such networks act as channels whereby cities interact with each other [14,15].…”

Decentralization and Transboundary Pollution: Evidence from the Change of Water Pollution Levels in China

“…The monitoring sites studied in this paper Monitoring site management and data release is responsible for the Ministry of environmental protection, which can avoid the problem of self-reported water quality in some degree. The authenticity of the monitoring data is essential, which has been emphasized by Bernauer and Kuhn [17]. Weekly report is a summary of the data for the week including 4 pollution indicators such as hydrogen ion concentration(pH), dissolved oxygen(DO), chemical oxygen demand(COD ) and ammoniacal nitrogen(NH3-N).…”

Assessing Temporal Trends and Industry Contributions to Air and Water Pollution Using Stochastic Dominance

“…Sigman (2002) analyzes free riding in water quality and finds that free riding may substantially increase pollution in international rivers, whereas there is less free riding within European Union, suggesting that international institutions might work as mitigating factors. However, in a recent study, Bernauer and Kuhn (2010) examine water pollution within Europe and analyze whether democracies that trade and are bound by international treaties are less likely to harm each other environmentally. They find that free-riding incentives are in place.…”