While credit market reforms have been found to facilitate lending and promote economic growth, Professor Dana Andersen finds that they also lead to improvements in air quality. One reason is that improved access to credit allows firms to finance investments in cleaner and more productive technologies. Even after accounting for the fact that credit reforms increase pollution by increasing economic activity, Professor Andersen finds that the overall effect is an absolute reduction in SO2 and lead pollution levels.
Professor Andersen's article "Credit Constraints, Technology Upgrading, and the Environment" has been published in the flagship journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists . He has presented his research at the Canadian Economic Association and the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists annual meetings.
For a pdf version of the working paper, see: Dana C. Andersen, "Credit Constraints, Technology Upgrading, and the Environment."