A Structural Decomposition Analysis of Pollution in the Netherlands

This paper reviews the results of a structural decomposition analysis in which the annual changes in a number of air pollutants and solid waste are decomposed according to their causes. The analysis in this paper is applied with the help of the so-called National Accounting Matrix including Environmental Accounts (NAMEA) for the Netherlands, covering annual data for the period 1987-1998. In a sensitivity analysis it is shown that the average of any pair of so-called 'mirror image' decomposition forms will substantially reduce the variation in the estimates. These mirror image couples are approximately just as reliable as the full average of all decomposition forms. Besides reliable results, the full average also foresees the mutual comparability between the distinguished change factors and is therefore applied in the empirical analyses presented in this paper. The results of these analyses contain the macro-economic developments, results on the industry level as well as a comprehensive overview of the origin and destination of pollution in the Dutch economy that includes the environmental consequences of consumption and international trade.