Publications

Eco-certification initiatives are market-based solutions that create incentives for producers to adopt sustainable practices and preserve ecosystems. These initiatives rely on the assumption that producers will receive a price premium sufficient to encourage engagement with and commitment to eco-labels. This paper explores the price differential associated with the eco-certification of a bluefin tuna fishery in Les Sables d'Olonne, on the French Atlantic coast, on prices obtained by certified vessels at auction. Using unique transaction data from 2015 to 2024 and a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that eco-certified vessels experience a 10% price premium after certification compared to non-certified vessels. However, the daily premiums associated with ecocertification vary considerably.

This paper examines the impact of the European Union Waste Shipment Regulation (EU-WSR), implemented in 2007, on the geography of hazardous waste trade. While the regulation strengthened restrictions on exports to non-OECD countries, its effect on the direction of waste flows remains unclear. Using bilateral hazardous waste trade data, I investigate whether the EU-WSR altered the destination of hazardous waste exports. To identify the effects of the regulation, I estimate a series of Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood (PPML) event-study specifications that trace the evolution of hazardous waste exports before and after the implementation of the regulation. I find evidence consistent with a reallocation of hazardous waste exports toward the EU10 countries. Event-study estimates reveal no significant pre-treatment trends and show a persistent increase in exports toward EU10 destinations relative to other OECD destinations following the implementation of the EU-WSR. By contrast, comparable patterns are not observed for other OECD destinations, and there is little evidence of a significant decline in exports toward developing countries. The evidence therefore points to a process of destination substitution rather than a broad relocation of exports toward all legally accessible destinations. These findings suggest that environmental regulations may reshape the geography of hazardous waste trade rather than eliminate such flows. More generally, the paper highlights the importance of destination-substitution effects when evaluating the consequences of environmental trade regulations.