Environment, trade and transportation : Empirical evidence for Switzerland

The changeover from a situation of Autarky to a situation of Free-Trade alters the trade and production patterns of the participatingcountries which in turn affects the transportation-sector. The amountof transported goods and the directions of the good-flows change.Profit-oriented shipping companies are very likely to respond to thesechanges by selecting adequate means and modes of transportation fordifferent routes and by building-up or restructuring a transportation-network. These changes have an impact on environmental harm causedby transportation. Three effects - of which one increases and two de-crease the corresponding level of pollution - are differentiated andestimated for Switzerland. Being landlocked and nested between largeeconomies like Germany, France and Italy Switzerland is an ideal casestudy for these environmental effects linked to land-based transporta-tion. First empirical results show a significant scale and techniqueeffect.