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The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis has become an important topic in the literature on the effects of growth on the environment, albeit surrounded by some controversy and nuance. Although this hypothesis has been analyzed in the literature in multiple ways and using different variables, there is still a gap in the consideration of global value chains (GVCs), which delve into the international division of production. This is particularly important in the intermediate stages of production, as they include tasks with a greater environmental impact. This research aims to analyze the environmental effects of economic growth and foreign trade linked to GVCs in a sample of 12 countries of East and Southeast Asia, given their strong insertion in GVCs. Based on the EKC, variables such as GDP per capita, environmental impact, and renewable energy consumption are incorporated. As a novelty, the research also includes GVCs participation and position indexes, and different measures of CO2 emissions. Our results confirm the existence of a nonlinear relationship between economic activity and its environmental effects, although with important nuances depending on the mode of insertion of each country in GVCs. In this sense, although all the selected countries increased their total emissions, substantial disparities are observed depending on the perspective considered (producer, consumer, and exports). Ultimately, it is concluded that, for an effective reduction of the environmental impact in these countries, it is essential to design policy measures, targeting new technologies, consumption and production patterns, and attracting green foreign direct investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European automotive sector is deeply integrated in the EU regional value chain. Each EU member show differences their economic and environmental performance. While central European countries perform more advanced, higher-value and lower-emission tasks, eastern economies specialize in manufacturing and have a higher share of exports from an environmental perspective. However, the environmental effects resulting from automotive production, as well as the distinctions among European economies based on their development levels, remain unexplored. Similarly, the implications of participation in global value chains (GVCs) in this context have not been examined. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyze the Environmental Kuznets Curve and the Pollution Haven/Halo Hypothesis in the case of the EU28 automotive sector under a value-added approach. The multi-regional input-output methodology along with a panel data estimation was used to verify the hypotheses. The results verify an inverted-N shape curve for the Kuznets hypothesis. Nevertheless, the results show no evidence of compliance with the haven or halo hypotheses. Moreover, participation in GVCs implies higher environmental impacts. Based on these findings, some policy recommendations are proposed to enhance the sector's circularity and optimize material use throughout the production chain. • Higher automotive emissions intensity in Eastern Europe. • Increased growth in the European automotive sector implies rising emissions. • Increased investment in the automotive sector results in lower emissions. • Increased participation in GVCs implies an increase in emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International fragmentation of production and economic integration are two structural motors of change that have characterized the global economy for decades. However, an interest in analyzing these two processes together has recently intensified due to the neo-protectionist turn in trade and economic policy in the United States. This paper examines trade and productive relations between Mexico, the United States and Canada, demonstrating how the global value chains (GVCs) in which they participate obscure global tendencies (centrifugal forces) and regional countertendencies (centripetal forces) that provoke changes in the geography and composition of productive linkages. These processes have the result of restructuring, and to a certain extent disintegrating, the regional bloc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the economic dimension and environmental impact of intra-EU value-added generation linked to global value chains (GVCs) through input-output analysis. For this purpose, information has been collected from TiVA (Trade in Value Added, OECD) and Eora databases for the years 2005 and 2015. From an economic perspective, the results point to a strengthening of the value-added generated within Factory Europe. From an environmental perspective, all EU28 members have reduced their exports-related impacts in intensity-emissions terms, but not all of them in the same degree. An approach to the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) has also been carried out through a panel data model. The results show a positive impact of the participation in intra-EU value chain (Factory Europe) on CO2 emissions per capita. Further, an inverted U-shaped curve for CO2 emissions is found for the period 2005–15. In this sense, European economies with lower development levels (many Eastern and Southern countries) seem to be still on the rising segment of the curve, while the more developed ones seem to be on the decreasing segment. These results highlight the need to design global monitoring and prevention mechanisms to tackle growing environmental challenges and the need to incorporate specific actions associated with the GVCs activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]