Trade and Environment: Theory and policy in the context of EU enlargement and economic transition
Edited by John Maxwell and Rafael Reuveny
The Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) Series on Economics and the Environment. Edward Elgar, 2005. 346pp, Hardback, approx. £75.00. ISBN 1-84-542164-7
FEEM have established a reputation for publishing authoritative and up-to-date sources of information on all aspects of sustainable development. In this respect this volume “does exactly what it says on the tin” and avoids any weakness from a rush to print via an eminent Editorial Board of international experts.
A useful discussion in the first part is presented by prominent American authors making the case both for and against the Kyoto Protocol. Some very valuable insights into harmonisation of environmental policy, EU enlargement and the compatibility of environmental regulations and international competitiveness are dealt with in the second part.
This leads neatly onto the third part of the volume and a more specific examination of international trade and its environment impacts, all of which are the subject of fierce debate within political, scientific, economic and environmental circles. Whilst very few commentators now deny the existence of global warming, the precise linkages to globalisation and the progressive removal of barriers involved in EU enlargement have not received sufficient exposure. Given the recent EU Budget agreement to attempt to accelerate growth in EU accession economies, the third part of this book is especially timely.
Whilst the final part concentrates upon transitional economies, these are limited to Central Europe and Russia and with as a consequence limited scope for environmental interpretation within the context of developing economies such as India or China. Surely a topic for a future FEEM publication, especially with the emergence of First World exporting environmental damage to poorer nations?
Reviewed by Caspar Swales Principal Economist, Department for Regional Development, Belfast.