Editor's Note

Editor's Note

Abstract

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENT & DEVELOPMENTEDITOR'S NOTE Editor's Note Over the years, The Journal of Environment & Development has pub- lished several articles about "pollution havens": the possibility that industries from developed countries will seek to avoid environmental costs by transferring their operations to nations with lax environmental standards. Some environmentalists argue that increased economic glob- alization will actually force less developed countries (LDCs) to retain lower standards to attract foreign investment. In the lead article of the current issue, David Wheeler counters this argument by showing that the levels of suspended particulate matter air pollution have decreased in the major urban areas of the LDCs that currently receive the largest amounts of foreign investment as well as in the United States, where environmental standards are relatively stringent. Thus, differences in regulation may be less significant than the economic reality, apparent to both rich and poor nations, that cleaner production methods are more efficient and more profitable than "dirty" ones. Like the authors of ear- lier articles (see, e.g., "In Search of Pollution Havens?" [in Volume 7, Number 3], "Trade Competition and Pollution Standards: 'Race to the Bottom' or 'Stuck at the Bottom?'" [in Volume 8, Number 2], and