Description:
This paper seeks to evaluate the impact of environmental regulations on French firms’ locations choices for industrial activities. Our study of a sample of 3,856 import flows yields a paradoxical finding : a relatively larger share of the most pollution-intensive goods is imported from the most environmentally stringent countries. We then develop a static location choice model controlling for factor-cost differences between countries. However, when estimating this model, we find that the imported goods’ pollution intensity remains positively related to the environmental stringency of the country of production. This suggests that environmental-compliance costs are not a major determinant of location.