Does trade openness aggravate embodied species loss?: Evidence from the belt and road countries

Along with the evolution of the international division of labor, trade openness is increasingly affecting species diversity in a profound way, driving an accelerated loss of species diversity. However, current research rarely discusses the mechanism of action between the two. To fill this gap, this paper based on the input and output model quantified the trade-off between economic efficiency and species diversity in global supply chain by centering on a dynamic evolution of embodied species loss driven by trade openness. The results show that effect coefficients of trade openness on embodied species loss is positive which means trade openness exacerbates the level of species loss; Regression results distinguishing the stages of species loss show that increasing the level of trade openness can exacerbate species loss in samples with higher levels of loss. Heterogeneity analysis finds that increased trade openness in developing economies can exacerbate the rate of species loss. Mechanistic tests find that trade openness affects species loss mainly by enhancing the level of technological progress and mitigating the size of the labor force; Machine learning models reveal a nonlinear trend of trade openness on species loss. This paper proposes relevant policy implications: countries should correctly balance the relationship between trade openness and species loss, focus on optimizing the structure of import and export trade, and reduce species loss while improving the trade openness system.