Microeconomics: Theory and Applications with Calculus, 4e

17 Property Rights, Externalities, Rivalry, and Exclusion

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CHALLENGE Trade and Pollution

An estimated 3.3 million people a year die from air pollution (Lelieveld et al., 2015). Does free trade cause much of this pollution? That’s what protestors in many countries allege. For years, these protesters have disrupted meetings of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which promotes free trade among its 161 member countries. The WTO forbids member countries from passing laws that unreasonably block trade, including environmental policies. The environmental protesters argue that when rich countries with relatively strong pollution laws import from poor countries without controls, world pollution rises. Even a country ...