The Role of Industrial Trade Liberalization on Soil Erosion Changes

Economic policies can directly or indirectly create changes in the function of the agricultural system through impact on relative prices of products and production inputs that these changes are particularly important in terms of soil erosion. Trade liberalization policy is including the policies that indirectly affect environmental phenomena, especially soil erosion. In this research, by communicate between industrial and high erosive crops sectors in format of a multi-sector general equilibrium model assessed implications of industry trade liberalization policy on soil erosion. For this purpose, 2011 data was used for simulation of results. The results indicated trade liberalization (reduction of 5% import tariff) policy improves soil erosion (0.33%). As well as implementation of this policy leads to increase in real income of consumers and decrease in the consumer price index (2.08%) and increase total production (0.07%). The results of the sensitivity analysis revealed that the policy-makers in implementing this policy should take into account regional and behavioral differences. Because the results are sensitive to changes in elasticity and implement it may have negative impacts on soil erosion. Despite appropriate economic and environmental implications of trade liberalization policies in industry, it is recommended that the country is divided into different regions and then assessment of positive and negative effects of industrial trade liberalization on soil erosion in each region, in order to avoid increasing soil erosion performs appropriate policy packages in each region.