General Equilibrium Modelling of Trade and the Environment

The environmental impacts of economic activity have become an increasingly urgent concern in both OECD Member countries, as well as in non-Member countries. Research in this area is still in its infancy, and the data required to buttress analytical studies is still sparse. This paper describes the base model specification for a series of six country case studies undertaken at the OECD Development Centre to analyse the links between growth and emissions, and emissions and trade instruments. The model attempts to capture some of the key features relating to environmental emissions. These features include: a) linking emissions to the consumption of polluting inputs (as opposed to output); b) including emissions generated by final demand consumption; c) integrating substitutability between polluting and non-polluting inputs (including capital and labour); d) capturing important dynamic effects such as capital accumulation, population growth, productivity and technological ...