The influence of Free-Trade on theenvironmental effects of transportation.Scale-, Technique- and Composition-Effects

The changeover from a situation of Autarky to a situation of Free-Trade alters the trade and production patterns of the participatingcountries which in turn affects the transportation-sector. The amountof transported goods and the directions of the good-flows change.Profit-oriented shipping companies can and do respond to these changesby selecting adequate means and modes of transport for different routesand by building-up or restructuring a transportation-network. Thesechanges affect the corresponding level of pollution from transport. Wedistinguish a scale effect which evolves from a higher frequency oftransportation movements with an unchanged infrastructure of transportation,a technique effect which results by increasing the load permovement and a less than proportional increase in pollution per distanceunitand a composition effect which reflects an increase load per movementand a constant or decreasing pollution per distance-unit. Addingup all three effects could eventually lead to a lower pollution level ina situation with Free-Trade than with Autarky.