This study examines the impact of various factors such as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, energy use per capita and trade openness on carbon dioxide (CO 2) emission per capita in the Central and Eastern European Countries. The extended environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) was employed, utilizing the available panel data from 1980 to 2002 for Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey. The results confirm the existence of an EKC for the region such that CO 2 emission per capita decreases over time as the per capita GDP increases. Energy use per capita is a significant factor that causes pollution in the region, indicating that the region produces environmentally unclean energy. The trade openness variable implies that globalization has not facilitated the emission level in the region. The results imply that the region needs environmentally cleaner technologies in energy production to achieve sustainable development. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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The entrance of additional countries into a European customs union, in this case Turkey, and its impact on agriculture are examined. Results from a trade simulation model are used as components of a Political Preference Function and utilized within a game theoretic framework to identify the optimal strategies for Turkey, the EU, and the U.S. Turkey's best interest, from an agricultural perspective, involves adoption of agreements made in the Uruguay round of GATT as a developing country rather than applying EU protection. Although free trade is not the optimal solution, simulations indicate that the solution does involve the reduction of agricultural protection levels.