ARCED Foundation

A recent study by Amrita Kundu, PhD, Moogdho Mahzab, and Erica Plambeck, with field research support from ARCED Foundation, examines how an import barrier on batteries in Bangladesh affected public health and the environment.

The study finds that the import barrier contributed to the expansion of domestic battery recycling, increasing exposure to lead pollution. The health consequences were serious: the rate of miscarriages increased by 4 percentage points, and the share of pregnant women unable to deliver a live baby rose from 16 out of 100 before the import barrier to 20 out of 100 after it was in place.

These findings show why trade and industrial policies must be designed together with strong environmental regulation and public health safeguards. Policies intended to protect domestic industries can create serious risks if pollution-intensive activities expand without adequate monitoring and enforcement.

Read the paper: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6901718

Eid Mubarak!

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