Is “Pollute Thy Neighbour” Valid for Turkey

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of trade in 'dirty' industries on the environment in both the short-run and long-run for Turkey. We use annual data of gross domestic product per capita (constant US$, 2010), carbon dioxide emission, energy use in GDP, the share of exports in dirty industries over total export, and the share of imports in dirty industries over total import for the period 1972-2018. By using threshold regression models, we show that the share of imports in dirty industries over total import affects CO2 emissions negatively in the long-run for the period 1972-2010. Besides, for the period 2011-2018, the share of exports in dirty industries over total export affects CO2 emissions positively in the long-run. Turkey seems to have polluted its trade partners unconsciously for a long time. However, Turkey has recently started to pollute itself more.