The FIW Research Centre International Economics and its partne rs kindly invite you to participate in the upcoming Vienna International Ec onomics Seminar (VIES) on the topic: Plastic Turkey: International Impacts of China's Waste Import Ban Abstract: In pollution haven theories\, trade a nd environmental policies can have significant effects on the levels and di stribution of pollution and economic activity across countries\, potentiall y leading to a "race to the bottom." This paper examines the international effects of China’s ban on plastic waste imports. In recent decades\, high -income countries had been reducing their plastic waste burden by exporting it to China. However\, this changed in 2017 when China implemented a ban o n key plastic waste imports\, raising concerns about the creation of "waste havens" in other parts of the world. The paper demonstrates that China’s policy led to a diversion of trade\, with global repercussions. Turkey eme rged as a major importer of plastic waste from high-income countries. We pr ovide direct evidence that Turkish importers gained economically from impro ved access to plastic waste\, which could be recycled and re-used as inputs in production. However\, these gains did not outweigh the losses experienc ed by domestic firms that generated plastic waste and were displaced by imp ort competition following China’s ban. These domestic waste generators be came more likely to mismanage their plastic waste\, often resorting to open burning. Consequently\, air pollution increased more significantly in Turk ish regions where these waste generators were concentrated. To explain the empirical findings and quantify the environmental externalities resulting f rom China’s unilateral import ban\, we model the channels of waste and re cycling using a gravity model of trade and the environment. Speaker: Banu D emir is a Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and a Tutorial Fellow at Brasenose College. She also holds a part-time appointment as Pro fessor of Applied Regional Economics at the Erasmus School of Economics. Ad ditionally\, she is a research affiliate of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in the International Trade and Regional Economics (ITR) pro gram and an affiliate of the CESifo Research Network in Munich. Date an d Time: Tuesday\, October 7\, 2025\, from 17:45 to 19:15 Location: Universi ty of Vienna\, Faculty of Business\, Economics and Statistics\, Oskar-Morge nstern-Platz 1\, 1090 Vienna\, 3rd floor\, VGSE Seminar Room Language: Engl ish Registration: Participants are requested to register in advance with J ulia Hnidek (julia.hnidek@univie.ac.at). The Vienna International Econom ics Seminar (VIES) is a joint initiative of CEU\, FIW Research Centre Inter national Economics\, Universität Wien\, WIFO\, wiiw\, and WU Vienna. It pr ovides a forum for the presentation and discussion of cutting-edge academic research in the field of international economics. The seminar is held at i rregular intervals on Tuesdays from 17:45 to 19:15\, alternating each semes ter between participating institutions. From October 2025 to January 2026\, the seminar will be hosted by the University of Vienna. Organizers: Gábor Békés (CEU)\, Alejandro Cuñat (Vienna U.)\, Harald Fadinger (Vienna U.) \, Gabriel Felbermayr (WIFO\, WU)\, Miklós Koren (CEU)\, Harald Oberhofer (WIFO\, WU)\, Robert Stehrer (WIIW). The seminar is currently coordinated b y Harald Fadinger. For more information and the detailed seminar schedule\, please visit: https://sites.google.com/view/viennainternationaleconomicsse /
SUMMARY:VIES: Banu Demir – Plastic Turkey: International Impacts of China’s Was te Import Ban ORGANIZER:FIW URL;VALUE=URI:https://www.fiw.ac.at/en/event/vienna-international-economics-seminar-vies/ TRANSP:OPAQUE BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:DISPLAY TRIGGER;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251007 DESCRIPTION:Reminder for VIES: Banu Demir – Plastic Turkey: International Impacts of China’s Was te Import Ban END:VALARM END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR