Net displacement of toxic intensity toward developing countries may not have been inevitable in the last two decades. And toxic industrial migration seems to have been the result of restrictive trade policies in the developing countries themselves more than of regulatory cost differences between the North and the South.

While polluting industries in the U.S. continue to emit billions of pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, land and water every year, many economists and policy makers argue that environmental regulations stifle economic growth and reduce the standard of living for the American people. This book takes a fresh look at this question through three case studies of highly regulated polluting industries in the Southern California region: metal finishing, wood furniture, and dry cleaning. The case studies are based on a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, including in-depth interviews with corporate managers and environmental regulators. The authors find that there is no universal pattern for predicting the effects of environmental regulations on industrial competitiveness, but that the outcomes depend on the structure of the industry being regulated, the design of the regulations, and the technologies that are available for compliance. The book is written in straight forward language that is accessible to the non-economist and will prove an essential resource for academics and students of all levels, and professionals and policy makers in the fields of environmental policy and regional economic development.

Industrialization to achieve economic development has resulted in global environmental degradation. This book identifies/quantifies environmental consequences of industrial growth, and provides policy advice, including the use of clean technologies, with reference to the developing world.

'The state-of-the-art studies in this volume are to be warmly welcomed. The authors successfully explore the economic, environmental and social consequences of policy-failures, and identify practical corrective measures.' - Charles Perrings, President, International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) Macroeconomic policies have come under justifiable scrutiny because of their powerful and pervasive impacts throughout the economy. This book examines the sustainability of growth-oriented macroeconomic strategies, starting from early ideas linking macroeconomic policies, growth and sustainability. A comprehensive and up-to-date literature review and theoretical framework are presented, including both macroeconomic and microeconomic analyses of the linkages between the economy and the environment.