|
on Environmental Economics |
|
Issue of 2016‒12‒11
fifty-two papers chosen by Francisco S. Ramos Universidade Federal de Pernambuco |
| By: | Kaori Tembata (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University); Kenji Takeuchi (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University) |
| Abstract: | The management of common-pool resources requires collective action and cooperation, especially when resource users face extreme weather events. This study examines col- lective decision-making in water resource management during droughts. By focusing on the drought response by groups of water users in river basin communities in Japan, we investigate the determinants of collective decisions on water withdrawal restrictions. Our main finding suggests that water user groups are more willing to cooperate for water con- servation when other water user groups in a community also cooperate. Moreover, we examine the impact of climate variability on drought management. Our findings show that drought-related weather patterns lead to more stringent water restrictions, suggesting that climate change may pose a threat to the management of the water supply. |
| Keywords: | Common-pool resource, Collective decision-making, Cooperation, Drought, Water conservation, Japan |
| JEL: | D70 Q25 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:koe:wpaper:1646&r=env |
| By: | Mohana Mondal (Joint Director, National Institute of Labour Economics Research and Development (NILERD), NITI Aayog, Govt. of India.); Zareena Begum Irfan (Madras School of Economics); Sunder Ramaswamy (Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Carbon taxes have been frequently advocated as a cost-effective instrument for reducing emissions. However, in the practice of environmental policies, only few countries have implemented taxes based on the carbon content of the energy products. Current circumstances of climate science may permit a reconsideration of direction for existing policy efforts related to global warming issues. This paper presents a plan that provides an achievable path toward a global policy on Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. At the heart of it is a small carbon tax (actually a GHG tax). The proceeds of that tax are to be used strategically to provide stable, long term support of a broad based research and development effort focused on energy sources, energy use, and emission mitigation. Hence, the aim of framing a concept note is to compare the carbon taxation system across nations. The scenario prevailing in different countries is examined and addressed for the Indian structure. Carbon taxes with regard to their competitiveness, distributional and environmental impacts. The evidence shows that carbon taxes may be an interesting policy option and that their main negative impacts may be compensated through the design of the tax and the use of the generated fiscal revenues. |
| Keywords: | Pollution, Pollution Control, Carbon tax, India, Environmental Impact, GHG tax, Air Pollution, Ecotax, Environmental Regulation Classification-JEL: O330, O380, Q520, Q530, Q560, Q580 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2016-141&r=env |
| By: | Stern, David I. |
| Abstract: | The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) has been the dominant approach among economists to modeling aggregate pollution emissions and ambient pollution concentrations over the last quarter century. Despite this, the EKC was criticized almost from the start and decomposition approaches have been more popular in other disciplines working on global climate change. More recently, convergence approaches to modeling emissions have become popular. This paper reviews the history of the EKC and alternative approaches. Applying an approach that synthesizes the EKC and convergence approaches, I show that convergence is important for explaining both pollution emissions and concentrations. On the other hand, while economic growth has had a monotonic positive effect on carbon and sulfur emissions, the EKC holds for concentrations of particulates. Negative time effects are important for sulfur emissions. The EKC seems to be most useful for modeling the ambient concentrations of pollutants it was originally applied to. |
| Keywords: | Air pollution, economic growth, environmental Kuznets curve, convergence, climate change, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q53, Q56, |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249519&r=env |
| By: | Ahmed, Khalid; Ur Rehman, Mujeeb; Ozturk, Ilhan |
| Abstract: | This study empirically investigates the relationship between CO2 emission and four of its potentially contributing factors (i.e., energy consumption, income, trade openness and population) using time series data from 1971-2013 on five selected economies of South Asia. After confirming that all the series are stationary using unit root test process, the study incorporates three different and advance panel cointegration tests i.e. Pedroni- Kao- and Johansen-Fisher-panel cointegration. All the panel cointegration tests confirm that all the variables cointegrated. The long-run association between the variables is checked using FMOLS-grouped and individual cross-section country in the panel. The FMOLS grouped results show that energy consumption, trade openness and population increases environmental degradation in the panel countries with exception of income which has negative impact and sounds the existence of Environmental Kuznet curve between income and emission. The innovative accounting approach using variance decomposition test and impulse response function is applied to examine the causality amongst the underlined vectors. The results show that there is bidirectional causality between energy consumption and trade openness and uni-directional causality running from energy consumption, trade openness and population to CO2 emission. The results enumerate that the energy consumption and population density will increase in long-run and foresee further environmental degradation in the region. |
| Keywords: | Carbon dioxide emissions; energy consumption; income; trade openness; population growth |
| JEL: | Q4 Q43 Q5 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2016–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75420&r=env |
| By: | Sanchez, Luis F.; Stern, David I. |
| Abstract: | There has been extensive analysis of the drivers of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production, which constituted only 55% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 1970 and 65% in 2010. But there has been much less analysis of the drivers of greenhouse gases in general and especially of emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses, which we call non-industrial emissions in this paper, that constituted 24% of total emissions in 2010. We statistically analyse the relationship between both industrial and non-industrial greenhouse gas emissions and economic growth and other potential drivers for 129 countries over the period from 1971 to 2010. Our analysis combines the three main approaches in the literature to investigating the evolution of emissions and income. We find that economic growth is a driver of both industrial and non-industrial emissions, though growth has twice the effect on industrial emissions. Both sources of emissions decline over time though this effect is larger for non-industrial emissions. There is also convergence in emissions intensity for both types of emissions but given these other effects there is no evidence for an environmental Kuznets curve. |
| Keywords: | Greenhouse gas emissions, economic growth, decoupling, pollution, environmental Kuznets curve, convergence, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q54, Q56, |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249506&r=env |
| By: | Richter, Phillip M.; Mendelevitch, Roman; Jotzo, Frank |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate the introduction of an export tax on steam coal levied by an individual country (Australia), or a group of major exporting countries. The policy motivation would be twofold: generating tax revenues against the background of improved terms-of-trade, while CO2 emissions are reduced. We construct and numerically apply a two-level game consisting of an optimal policy problem at the upper level, and an equilibrium model of the international steam coal market (based on COALMOD-World) at the lower level. We find that a unilaterally introduced Australian export tax on steam coal has little impact on global emissions and may be welfare reducing. On the contrary, a tax jointly levied by a "climate coalition" of major coal exporters may well leave these better off while significantly reducing global CO2 emissions from steam coal by up to 200 Mt CO2 per year. Comparable production-based tax scenarios consistently yield higher tax revenues but may be hard to implement against the opposition of disproportionally affected local stakeholders depending on low domestic coal prices. |
| Keywords: | Export tax, steam coal, supply-side climate policy, carbon leakage, Australia, Mathematical Program with Equilibrium Constraints (MPEC), Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q48, F13, Q58, Q41, C61, |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249511&r=env |
| By: | Wu, Libo; Tang, Weiqi |
| Abstract: | Energy conservation and greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement have been included in the national development strategy of China. However, the rigidity in command-and-control mechanisms and arbitrariness in assignment of GHG abatement burden across regions have caused unnecessary losses in both economic efficiency and social equity. In this paper, we use an Inter-Regional Dynamic CGE (IRD-CGE) model to simulate economic and welfare impacts of climate policies on national and regional level, including carbon intensity targets, regional emission constraints and cap-and-trade mechanism. Comparison among alternative emission reduction policy mechanisms indicates that emission trading scheme can not only moderate the economic and social welfare losses, but also improve social equity by decoupling the allocation of emission permits from economic optimization of emission reduction scheme. From this perspective, emissions trading bridges the concerns for economic efficiency and social equity, since emission permits could be reallocated as an income transfer so as to promote inter-regional equity, while economic efficiency is maintained. |
| Keywords: | Greenhouse gas emissions, energy conservation, emission reduction, pollution, cap-and-trade mechanism, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q54, Q56, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249509&r=env |
| By: | Stefano Bosi; David Desmarchelier |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study a competitive Ramsey model where a pollution externality, coming from production, impairs a renewable resource which affects the consumption demand. A proportional tax, levied on the production level, is introduced to finance public depollution expenditures. In the long run, two steady states may coexist, the one with a low resource level, the other with a high level. Interestingly, a higher green tax rate lowers the resource level of the low steady state, giving rise to a Green Paradox (Sinn, 2008). Moreover, the green tax may be welfareimproving at the high steady state but never at the low one. Therefore, at the latter, it is optimal to reduce the green tax rate as much as possible. Conversely, the optimal tax rate is positive when the economy experiences the high steady state. This rate is unique. In the short run, the two steady states may collide and disappear through a saddle-node bifurcation. Since consumption and natural resources are substitutable goods, a limit cycle may arise around the high stationary state. To the contrary, this kind of cycles never occur around the low steady state whatever the resource effect on consumption demand. Finally, focusing on the class of bifurcations of codimension two, we find a Bogdanov-Takens bifurcation. |
| Keywords: | nature, logistic dynamics, Ramsey model, depollution, saddle-node bifurcation, Hopf bifurcation, Bogdanov-Takens bifurcation. |
| JEL: | E32 O44 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2016-53&r=env |
| By: | Casey, Gregory (Brown University); Galor, Oded (Brown University) |
| Abstract: | We provide evidence that lower fertility can simultaneously increase income per capita and lower carbon emissions, eliminating a trade-off central to most policies aimed at slowing global climate change. We estimate the effect of lower fertility on carbon emissions accounting for the fact that changes in fertility patterns affect carbon emissions through three channels: total population, the age structure of the population, and economic output. Our analysis proceeds in two steps. First, we estimate a version of the STIRPAT equation on an unbalanced yearly panel of cross-country data from 1950-2010. We demonstrate that the coefficient on population is nearly seven times larger than the coefficient on income per capita and that this difference is statistically significant. Thus, regression results imply that 1% slower population growth could be accompanied by an increase in income per capita of nearly 7% while still lowering carbon emissions. In the second part of our analysis, we use a recently constructed economic-demographic model of Nigeria to estimate the effect of lower fertility on carbon emissions accounting for the impacts of fertility on population growth, population age structure, and income per capita. The model was constructed to estimate the effect of lower fertility on economic growth, making it well-suited for this application. We find that by 2100 C.E., moving from the medium to the low variant of the UN fertility projection leads to 35% lower yearly emissions and 15% higher income per capita. These results strongly suggest that population policies should be a part of the approach to combating global climate change. |
| Keywords: | climate change, economics, demography |
| JEL: | J11 O40 Q50 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10380&r=env |
| By: | Gregory Casey; Oded Galor |
| Abstract: | We provide evidence that lower fertility can simultaneously increase income per capita and lower carbon emissions, eliminating a trade-off central to most policies aimed at slowing global climate change. We estimate the effect of lower fertility on carbon emissions accounting for the fact that changes in fertility patterns affect carbon emissions through three channels: total population, the age structure of the population, and economic output. Our analysis proceeds in two steps. First, we estimate a version of the STIRPAT equation on an unbalanced yearly panel of cross-country data from 1950-2010. We demonstrate that the coefficient on population is nearly seven times larger than the coefficient on income per capita and that this difference is statistically significant. Thus, regression results imply that 1% slower population growth could be accompanied by an increase in income per capita of nearly 7% while still lowering carbon emissions. In the second part of our analysis, we use a recently constructed economic-demographic model of Nigeria to estimate the effect of lower fertility on carbon emissions accounting for the impacts of fertility on population growth, population age structure, and income per capita. The model was constructed to estimate the effect of lower fertility on economic growth, making it well-suited for this application. We find that by 2100 C.E., moving from the medium to the low variant of the UN fertility projection leads to 35% lower yearly emissions and 15% higher income per capita. These results suggest that population policies could be a part of the approach to combating global climate change. |
| JEL: | J10 O40 Q50 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22885&r=env |
| By: | Aditi Sengupta |
| Abstract: | In markets where differences in environmental performance of competing firms arise due to differences in technology and other attributes that cannot be altered in the short run and firms have private information about these attributes, an ecolabel may allow firms to credibly communicate their private information to environmentally conscious uninformed consumers. This may ameliorate the distortion in pricing and consumption patterns in the market outcomes, when there is no credible direct disclosure mechanism and pricing is the only channel of signaling private information. In an incomplete information duopoly market with price competition, I show that even if a credible ecolabel is available freely, clean firms may not always find it individually advantageous to adopt the ecolabel. The adoption of the ecolabel by the clean firms removes price and welfare distortions (caused by price signaling); in this case, the availability of the ecolabel makes competition more intense, reduces market power, increases market shares of the clean firms, and lowers the expected environmental damage. The effect of the ecolabel on the incentives to invest in the development of a clean technology is more complex; the presence of an ecolabel may reduce the level of aggregate investment. |
| Keywords: | Financial Stress Index; Duopoly; Ecolabel; Green premium; Incomplete information; Investment; Mandatory disclosure; Signaling |
| JEL: | D43 D82 L51 Q55 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abn:wpaper:auwp2016-16&r=env |
| By: | Simon Dietz; Alex Bowen; Charlie Dixon; Philip Gradwell |
| Abstract: | Investors and financial regulators are increasingly aware of climate-change risks. So far, most of the attention has fallen on whether controls on carbon emissions will strand the assets of fossil-fuel companies1, 2. However, it is no less important to ask, what might be the impact of climate change itself on asset values? Here we show how a leading integrated assessment model can be used to estimate the impact of twenty-first-century climate change on the present market value of global financial assets. We find that the expected ‘climate value at risk’ (climate VaR) of global financial assets today is 1.8% along a business-as-usual emissions path. Taking a representative estimate of global financial assets, this amounts to US$2.5 trillion. However, much of the risk is in the tail. For example, the 99th percentile climate VaR is 16.9%, or US$24.2 trillion. These estimates would constitute a substantial write-down in the fundamental value of financial assets. Cutting emissions to limit warming to no more than 2 °C reduces the climate VaR by an expected 0.6 percentage points, and the 99th percentile reduction is 7.7 percentage points. Including mitigation costs, the present value of global financial assets is an expected 0.2% higher when warming is limited to no more than 2 °C, compared with business as usual. The 99th percentile is 9.1% higher. Limiting warming to no more than 2 °C makes financial sense to risk-neutral investors—and even more so to the risk averse. |
| Keywords: | environmental economics; governance |
| JEL: | F3 G3 |
| Date: | 2016–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:66226&r=env |
| By: | Anjum, Zeba; Burke, Paul J.; Gerlagh, Reyer; Stern, David I. |
| Abstract: | We adopt a new representation of the relationship between emissions and income using long-run growth rates. Our approach allows us to test multiple hypotheses about the drivers of per capita emissions in a single framework and avoid several of the econometric issues that have plagued previous studies. We find that for carbon dioxide emissions, scale, convergence, and resource endowment effects are statistically significant. For sulfur emissions, the scale and convergence effects are significant, there is a strong negative time effect, and non-English legal origin and higher population density are associated with more rapidly declining emissions. The environmental Kuznets effect is not statistically significant in our full sample for either carbon or sulfur. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, decoupling, pollution, environmental Kuznets curve, convergence, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q56, O44, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249422&r=env |
| By: | Stern, David I.; Zha, Donglan |
| Abstract: | Though the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) was originally developed to model the ambient concentrations of pollutants, most subsequent applications have focused on pollution emissions. Yet, it seems more likely that economic growth could eventually reduce the concentrations of local pollutants than emissions. We examine the role of income, convergence, and time related factors in explaining recent changes in PM 2.5 and PM 10 particulate pollution in 50 Chinese cities using new measures of ambient air quality that the Chinese government has published only since the beginning of 2013. We use a recently developed model that relates the rate of change of pollution to the growth of the economy and other factors as well as the traditional environmental Kuznets curve model. Pollution fell sharply from 2013 to 2014. We show that economic growth, convergence, and time effects all served to lower the level of pollution. The results also demonstrate the relationship between the two modeling approaches. |
| Keywords: | Air pollution, economic growth, environmental Kuznets curve, China, Environmental Economics and Policy, O44, P28, Q53, Q56, |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249522&r=env |
| By: | Zhang, Zengkai; Zhang, ZhongXiang |
| Abstract: | Climate regulations tend to target energy intensive sectors whose products are widely used in industrial production as intermediate inputs, such as electricity, and the carbon abatement may be partially offset by intermediate input-led leakage. This paper aims to examine the impact of intermediate input linkage on the carbon leakage both theoretically and empirically. We develop a Harberger-type model with an input-output linkage structure, identify four leakage effects and derive closed-form solutions for these leakage effects. For empirical simulation, we build a computable general equilibrium model of China’s economy and introduce Structural Decomposition Analysis to link both the theoretical and empirical models. When imposing a carbon price on the electricity generation sector, our results show significant carbon leakage. Our decomposition analysis further suggests that such leakage is mainly through the production substitution effect, followed by the multiplier effect. Both of the two effects are closely related to the intermediate input linkage, and thus shed some light on the importance of considering sectoral linkage when discussing the carbon leakage issue of climate policies. |
| Keywords: | Carbon leakage, sectoral linkage, climate regulation, general equilibrium model, production substitution effect, multiplier effect, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Q55, Q58, Q43, Q48, O13, O31, O33, O44, F18, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249525&r=env |
| By: | Robert, Marion; Thomas, Alban; Bergez, Jacques Eric |
| Abstract: | Agricultural production systems are facing new challenges due to an ever changing global environment that is a source of risk and uncertainty. To adapt to these environmental changes, farmers must adjust their management strategies and remain competitive while also satisfying societal preferences for sustainable food systems. Representing and modeling farmers’ decision-making processes by including adaptation, when representing farmers’ practices ,is therefore an important challenge for the agricultural research community. Bio-economic and bio-decisional approaches have addressed adaptation at different planning horizons in the literature. We reviewed approximately 40 articles using bio-economic and bio-decisional models in which strategic and tactical decisions were considered dynamic adaptive and expectation-based processes. The main results of this literature survey are as follows: i) adaptability, flexibility and dynamic processes are common ways to characterize farmers’ decision-making, ii) adaptation can be a reactive or a proactive process depending on farmers’ flexibility and expectation capabilities, and iii) different modeling approaches are used to model decision stages in time and space, and some approaches can be combined to represent a sequential decision-making process. Focusing attention on short- and long-term adjustments in farming production plans, coupled with sequential and anticipatory approaches should lead to promising improvements for assisting decision makers. |
| Keywords: | farmers’ decision-making, bio-economic model, bio-decisional model, uncertainty, adaptation |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:31168&r=env |
| By: | Zhang, ZhongXiang |
| Abstract: | The Chinese central government has approved the seven pilot carbon trading schemes. These seven pilot regions are deliberately selected to be at varying stages of development and are given considerable leeway to design their own schemes. These pilot trading schemes have features in common, but vary considerably in their approach to issues such as the coverage of sectors, allocation of allowances, price uncertainty and market stabilization, potential market power of dominated players, use of offsets, and enforcement and compliance. This article explains why China opts for emissions trading, rather than carbon or environmental taxes at least initially, discusses the key common and varying features of these carbon trading pilots and their first-year performance, draws the lessons learned, discusses the potential pathways for evolution of regional pilot carbon trading schemes into a nationwide carbon trading scheme, and raises fundamental issues that must be addressed in order to make such an emissions trading scheme to work reliably and effectively and with an increasingly expanded coverage and scope. |
| Keywords: | Pilot carbon trading schemes, environmental taxes, compliance, carbon offsets, energy prices, China, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, H23, O13, P28, Q43, Q48, Q52, Q54, Q58, |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249507&r=env |
| By: | Zhang, ZhongXiang |
| Abstract: | China has realized that for its own sake and from the international community’s perspective, it cannot afford to continue along the conventional path of encouraging economic growth at the expense of the environment. Accordingly, the country has placed ecological goals at the same level of priority as policies on economic, political, cultural and social development. Specifically, to meet the grand goal involves not only capping China’s nationwide coal consumption to let it peak before 2020 and carbon emissions peak around 2030, but also putting in place a variety of flagship programs and initiatives, prices and policies. This paper argues that the 2030 carbon emissions peak goal is ambitious but achievable and concludes by arguing why China’s anti-pollution outcomes this time might be different from the previous ones. |
| Keywords: | Low-carbon economy, carbon emissions peaks, coal consumption, carbon pricing, energy prices, resource tax reform, renewable energy, China, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, H23, P28, Q42, Q43, Q48, Q53, Q54, Q58, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249516&r=env |
| By: | Santosh K. Sahu (Madras School of Economics); Deepanjali Mehta (Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the determinants of energy and emission intensities of manufacturing firms in India, from 2000 to 2014. Given that Indian manufacturing sector is one of the world’s most polluting sectors in terms of CO2 emissions; we arrive at firm level determinants of energy and carbon dioxide emission intensities from consumption of three primary sources of energy, namely (1) Coal, (2) Natural Gas and (3) Petroleum. Based on the methodological argument by Barrows and Olliviery (2014), we employ two different definitions in calculating energy intensity and relate with firm characteristics. Data for this study is collected from Prowess 4.0. The results of the regression analysis suggest that there are inter-firm differences in energy and emission intensity. Given that the emission coefficients are derived from the bottom-up approach, firms that are energy intensives are also found to be emission intensives. The results of the study indicate that smaller and larger firms are both energy and emission intensives compared to the medium sized firms. Similarly, firms spending more in research and development activities are found to be energy and emission efficient compare to others. Hence, in the global competitive business environment, Government of India should carefully formulate policies suitable for the medium sized firms to make them energy and emission efficient. |
| Keywords: | Energy Consumption, CO2 Emission, Indian Manufacturing Industries Classification-JEL: Q4, B23 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2015-116&r=env |
| By: | Jin, Wei; Zhang, ZhongXiang |
| Abstract: | Whether China continues its business-as-usual investment-driven, environment-polluting growth pattern or adopts an investment and innovation-driven, environmentally sustainable development holds important implications for both national and global environmental governance. Building on a Ramsey-Cass-Koopmans growth model that features endogenous technological change induced by R&D and knowledge stock accumulation, this paper presents an exposition, both analytically and numerically, of the mechanism underlining China’s economic transition from an investment-driven, pollution-intensive to an investment and innovation-driven, environmentally sustainable growth path. We show that if R&D technological innovation is incorporated into China’s growth mechanism, then at some tipping point in time when marginal welfare gain of R&D for knowledge accumulation becomes equalized with that of investment for physical asset deployment, China’s economy will launch capital investment and R&D simultaneously and make a transition to a sustainable growth path along which consumption, capital investment, and R&D have a balanced share of 5: 4: 1, consumption, capital stock, and knowledge stock all grow at a rate of 4.9%, and environmental quality improves at a rate of 2.5%. In contrast, if R&D technological innovation is not harnessed as a new growth engine, then China’s economy will follow its business-as-usual investment-driven growth path along which standalone accumulation of dirty physical capital stock will lead to a more than 200-fold increase in environmental pollution. |
| Keywords: | Endogenous technological change, sustainable development, economic growth model, China’s economic transition, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q55, Q58, Q43, Q48, O13, O31, O33, O44, F18, |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249520&r=env |
| By: | Nelson, Katherine M.; Schlüter, Achim; Vance, Colin |
| Abstract: | Proximate stressors such as destructive fishing are key drivers of coral reef degradation. Conservation strategies that marshal local action and are tailored to the preferences of the target group are thus needed to sustain coral resources. We experimentally analyze the behavior of marine resource users in a coastal village in Indonesia to gain insight into whether people prefer to donate time or money to environmental or other charitable causes. Each person is subject to one of four treatments: monetary donation, monetary donation match, volunteer time donation, and volunteer time donation match. Contrasting with the existing literature, we find that participants give significantly more when donating money compared to time. We also find that matching donations increases the percent of people giving but does not increase the amount donated. This research furthers our understanding of what motivates resource users in a developing country to contribute to the provision of public goods. |
| Abstract: | Schädliche Fischerei und Zerstörung von natürlichen Ressourcen im Meeresraum sind entscheidende Faktoren für den Verfall von Korallenriffen. Es werden daher Umweltschutzmaßnahmen benötigt, die auf die Präferenzen von Ortsansässigen abgestimmt sind und darauf abzielen sie zum Handeln zu bewegen. Dafür implementieren wir ein Experiment in einem Dorf an der Küste in Indonesien, welches das Verhalten von Fischern analysiert. Wir untersuchen, ob Leute es bei Umweltschutz oder anderen gemeinnützigen Projekten eher bevorzugen, Zeit oder Geld zu spenden. Jeder Teilnehmer wird dabei einer von vier Treatment-Gruppen zugeteilt: Geldspende, Geldspende, die von uns verdoppelt wird, ehrenamtliche Tätigkeit, bzw. ehrenamtliche Tätigkeit, die verdoppelt wird. Im Unterschied zu existierender Literatur finden wir, dass Teilnehmer signifikant mehr spenden, wenn es um Geld geht, als wenn es um ihre eigene Zeit geht. Wir finden außerdem, dass, wenn wir die Spenden verdoppeln, dies zwar den Anteil der Personen erhöht, die überhaupt etwas spenden, aber nicht die gespendete Gesamtsumme. Diese Studie gibt wichtig Hinweise darauf, wie Ressourcennutzer in Entwicklungsländern motiviert werden können einen Beitrag zur Bereitstellung von öffentlichen Gütern zu leisten. |
| Keywords: | Behavioral economics,conservation,donation,field experiment,funding,volunteer |
| JEL: | Q22 Z1 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:652&r=env |
| By: | Janda, Karel; Torkhani, Marouan |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth and between energy consumption and greenhouse emissions for the EU countries, using time series data from 1996 to 2012 within a multivariate framework for 26 EU countries. The energy sources considered are oil consumption, natural gas consumptions, and renewable energies including biomass as a distinct part. Unit Root Tests, cointegration test, Pairwise Granger causality tests, and Error Correction Model are employed to find out the type of the causal relationship. We find out that there is in the short run, a positive unidirectional causal relationship running from oil consumption to economic growth. There is also a positive bidirectional causal relationship between renewable energies and economic growth and between greenhouse emissions and economic growth. However, there is also an unexpected negative bidirectional causal relationship between biomass consumption and gas consumption. From the greenhouse emissions perspective, we can see in the short run, a negative bidirectional causal relationship between greenhouse emissions and renewable energies, and a positive unidirectional causal relationship running from both oil consumption and biomass consumption to greenhouse emissions. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, energy consumption, oil consumption, natural gas, renewable energies, biomass |
| JEL: | Q28 Q42 Q43 |
| Date: | 2016–12–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75440&r=env |
| By: | Qi, Danyi; Roe, Brian E. |
| Abstract: | Pressure mounts to address food waste, which deprives hungry people of needed nutrition, depletes resources used to produce food, and accounts for substantial greenhouse gas emissions during production, distribution and disposal. Composting, and other food waste recycling technologies that divert food waste from landfills, mitigate the environmental damages of food waste disposal and grow in popularity. We explore whether consumer knowledge that the environmental damage created by their food waste will be mitigated undermines personal food waste reduction behavior. Subjects in a dining situation are randomly assigned whether or not they receive information about the negative effects of landfilling food waste and whether they are told that uneaten food from the study will be composted or landfilled. We find that providing information about the negative effects of food waste in landfills significantly reduces both the propensity to create any food waste and the total amount of solid food waste created when compared to control subjects. However, if subjects are also informed that food waste from the study will be composted, the propensity to create food waste and the amount of solid food waste generated is similar to control situation which features neither a reduction nor a recycling policy. This suggests a crowding out effect or informational rebound effect in which promoting policies that mitigate the environmental damages of food waste may unintentionally undermine policies meant to encourage individual consumer food waste reduction. We discuss key policy implications as well as several limitations of our experimental setting and analysis. |
| Keywords: | Food waste, composting, rebound effects, supply chain, policy, economic experiments, crowd-out effect, single-action bias, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, C90, Q18, Q53, |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa17:250114&r=env |
| By: | Janda, Karel; Torkhani, Marouan |
| Abstract: | This paper serves as a brief introduction to the complex relationship between energy consumption and economic growth and between energy consumption and greenhouse emissions. We provide a critical overview of recent literature dealing with energy, carbon emissions and economic growth. We focus mainly on econometric literature examining causal effects between energy consumption and economic growth and on literature adding carbon emissions into the investigation of this topic. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, energy consumption, oil consumption, natural gas consumption, renewable energies, biomass |
| JEL: | O40 Q28 Q42 |
| Date: | 2016–12–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75439&r=env |
| By: | Zhang, ZhongXiang |
| Abstract: | In international climate change negotiations, China’s role is an issue of perennial concern. In particular, the lack of quantitative, absolute emissions commitments from China has been the focus. In line with changing domestic and international contexts, China is recalibrating its stance and strategy. Its participation in international climate change negotiations has evolved from playing a peripheral role to gradually moving to the centre. This article examines China’s stance and role in international climate change negotiations from a historical perspective. In so doing, the article discusses the evolution of international climate negotiations and China’s stance in the lead-up to and at the Paris conference. The focus is now turning to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The article discusses post-Paris issues in the international context and in particular in China’s context. These affect the post Paris negotiations and hold the key to achieving desired outcomes. |
| Keywords: | International climate negotiations, Copenhagen accord, Paris agreement, China, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, Q52, Q54, Q58, Q43, Q48, O31, O33, O44, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249526&r=env |
| By: | Kalchev, Georgi |
| Abstract: | This paper carries out an empirical test of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis with Bulgarian data on pollution and GDP per capita for the years 1970-2008. The existence of such a curve is confirmed in most cases. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Kuznest Curve,pollution |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esconf:148324&r=env |
| By: | Clarke, Harry |
| Abstract: | The economics of global climate mitigation is discussed when there is imperfect knowledge of future climatic changes, of policy effectiveness and of the policy responses by different countries. Uncertainty is accounted for by using heuristics derived from classical decision rules. These heuristics provide plausible policy rules that depend on only limited information. They emphasize the possibility of “getting it wrong” in terms of the appropriate scale of policy response and from policy failure itself. The minimax rule or Precautionary Principle, which targets “worst case” situations, is not useful unless policies are effective with certainty. However the widespread presumption that policy action is warranted if climate-induced losses without action are “large" relative to costs of policy can be justified using minimax regret reasoning. The global analysis is extended to individual national decision-making when nations jointly play a game against nature with policy spillovers. Simultaneous moves game solutions as well as heuristics are provided and indicate how policy actions are best determined for individual countries rather than for a global authority. |
| Keywords: | Climate risks and uncertainties, mitigation policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, D84, Q54, C70, F64, |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249517&r=env |
| By: | Halkos, George; Bampatsou, Christina |
| Abstract: | In the present study, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used for the period spanning from 1980 to 2012 and for a total of 32 countries which are classified into four groups, according to their level of development (Developing, BRICS, Developed, G7). DEA allows us to measure technical efficiency under constant (CRS) and variable (VRS) returns to scale and also the Malmquist index and its components (TECHCH, EFFCH, PECH, SECH). Furthermore, we develop an order-α approach for the determination of partial frontiers. An output oriented model is applied. Labor and capital are used as inputs while the GDP index is used as output. Subsequently, energy is incorporated in the model as an additional input variable and CO2 emissions as undesirable output. A comparison of productivity indices as derived from the analysis, allows us to highlight the different levels of productivity before and after the integration of energy and CO2 emissions as additional variables, for each group of countries and therefore their sustainability gaps. |
| Keywords: | Data Envelopment Analysis; Malmquist Index; Order-α approach; Energy; CO2 emissions. |
| JEL: | O11 O57 Q0 Q01 Q4 Q43 Q5 Q50 R15 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75398&r=env |
| By: | Reynaert, Mathias; Sallee, James M. |
| Abstract: | Firms sometimes comply with externality-correcting policies by gaming the measure that determines policy. We show theoretically that such gaming can benefit consumers, even when it induces them to make mistakes, because gaming leads to lower prices by reducing costs. We use our insights to quantify the welfare effect of gaming in fuel-consumption ratings for automobiles, which we show increased sharply following aggressive policy reforms. We estimate a structural model of the car market and derive empirical analogs of the price effects and choice distortions identified by theory. We find that price effects outweigh distortions; on net, consumers benefit from gaming. |
| Keywords: | gaming, corrective taxation, environmental regulation, carbon emissions, automobiles, fuel economy |
| JEL: | H2 L5 Q5 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:31250&r=env |
| By: | Rainald BORCK; TABUCHI Takatoshi |
| Abstract: | We study the optimal and equilibrium size of cities in a city system model with environmental pollution. Pollution is related to city size through the effect of population on production, commuting, and housing consumption. With symmetric cities, if pollution is local or per capita pollution increases with population, we find that equilibrium cities are too large. When pollution is global and per capita pollution declines with city size, however, equilibrium cities may be too small. With asymmetric cities, the largest cities are too large and the smallest too small when pollution is local or per capita pollution increases with population; when pollution is global and per capita pollution decreases with population, the largest cities are too small and the smallest too large. We also calibrate the model to US cities and find that the largest cities may be undersized by 3-4%. |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:16094&r=env |
| By: | Stern, David I.; van Dijk, Jeremy |
| Abstract: | Though the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) was originally developed to model the ambient concentrations of pollutants, most subsequent applications focused on pollution emissions. Yet, previous research suggests that it is more likely that economic growth could eventually reduce the concentrations of local pollutants than emissions. We examine the role of income, convergence, and time related factors in explaining changes in PM2.5 pollution in a global panel of 158 countries between 1990 and 2010. We find that economic growth has positive but relatively small effects, time effects are also small but larger in wealthier and formerly centrally planned economies, and, for our main dataset, convergence effects are small and not statistically significant. There is no in-sample income turning point for regressions that include both the convergence variables and a set of control variables. |
| Keywords: | Air pollution, economic growth, environmental Kuznets curve, Environmental Economics and Policy, O44, Q53, Q56, |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249523&r=env |
| By: | Burke, Paul J.; Liao, Hua |
| Abstract: | China’s dependence on coal is a major contributor to local and global environmental problems. In this paper we estimate the price elasticity of demand for coal in China using a panel of province-level data for the period 1998–2012. We find evidence that provincial coal demand has become increasingly price elastic. As of 2012 we estimate that this elasticity was in the range –0.3 to –0.7 when responses over two years are considered. The results imply that China’s coal market is becoming more suited to price-based approaches to reducing emissions. Our estimates suggest that the elimination of coal consumption subsidies could reduce national coal use and related emissions by around 2%. |
| Keywords: | Coal, price elasticity, demand, China, provincial, Demand and Price Analysis, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, O13, Q41, P28, Q48, |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249510&r=env |
| By: | Steffen, Nico |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes environmental concerns by a government in a setting of rent-extracting strategic trade policy with endogenous firm investment into production technologies. The simple analysis highlights the importance of investment incentives caused by tariffs in general and shows that the resulting implications for the optimal tariff decision can be completely different between traditional tariff considerations and an environmentally conscious government. We show that an importing country in a dynamic setting with endogenous firm technology choices prefers to impose discriminatory tariffs both ex post and ex ante when emissions matter, while a commitment to uniform tariffs is optimally chosen when environmental concerns do not play a role. |
| Keywords: | Climate policy,Carbon tariffs,Technology choice,Discriminatory tariffs |
| JEL: | F13 F18 D24 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:238&r=env |
| By: | Kemp, Luke |
| Abstract: | The issue of US ratification of international environmental treaties is a recurring obstacle for environmental multilateralism, including the climate regime. Despite the perceived importance of the role of the US to the success of any future international climate agreement, there has been little direct coverage in terms of how an effective agreement can specifically address US legal participation. This paper explores potential ways of allowing for US legal participation in an effective climate treaty. Possible routes forward include the use of domestic legislation such as section 115 (S115) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), and the use of sole-executive agreements, instead of Senate ratification. Legal participation from the US through sole-executive agreements is possible if the international architecture is designed to allow for their use. Architectural elements such as varying legality and participation across an agreement (variable geometry) could allow for the use of sole-executive agreements. Two broader models for a 2015 agreement with legal participation through sole-executive agreements are constructed based upon these options: a modified pledge and review system and a form of variable geometry composed of number of opt-out, voting based protocols on specific issues accompanied with bilateral agreements on mitigation commitments with other major emitters through the use of S115 and sole-executive agreements under the Montreal Protocol and Chicago Convention (Critical Mass Governance). While there is no single solution, Critical Mass Governance appears to provide the optimum combination of tools to effectively allow for US legal participation whilst ensuring an effective treaty. |
| Keywords: | Climate regime, ratification, US, climate policy, UNFCCC, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q54, Q56, |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249518&r=env |
| By: | Janda, Karel; Tyuleubekov, Sabyrzhan |
| Abstract: | In this paper we estimated relation between greenhouse gas abatement and share of renewable energy resources in Germany and Czech Republic. We also analysed the dependence between annual installed capacities of RES and respective feed-in tariffs. We took the empirical data of annual installed capacities and regressed it on respective feed-in tariffs (FIT) and/or their polynomials. The analysis resulted in optimum intervals for some types of RES, which are summarised in our paper. We could not collect most of the data for the Czech Republic, since the Energy Regulatory Office of the Czech Republic does not publish the time series for RES, unlike Germany, which publishes a comprehensive database regarding RES. Optimum intervals in our paper indicate at which values of FIT the biggest amount of installed capacities is anticipated. Thus, if FIT scheme to be continued after 2017, FITs should be set inside these intervals. These intervals assume that there are not any caps and restrictions. |
| Keywords: | Renewable energy, feed-in tariff, Czech renewables, German Renewables |
| JEL: | G32 L94 Q28 |
| Date: | 2016–12–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75444&r=env |
| By: | Terlau, Wiltrud; Hirsch, Darya |
| Abstract: | Sustainable development needs sustainable production and sustainable consumption. During the last decades the encouragement of sustainable production has been the focus of research and policy makers under the implicit assumption that the observable increasing ‘green’ values of consumers would also entail a growing sustainable consumption. However, it has been found that the actual purchasing behaviour often deviates from ‘green’ attitudes. This phenomenon is called the attitude-behaviour gap. It is influenced by individual, social and situational factors. The main purchasing barriers for sustainable (organic) food are price, lack of immediate availability, sensory criteria, lack or overload of information as well as the low-involvement feature of food products in conjunction with well-established consumption routines, lack of transparency and trust towards labels and certifications. The last three barriers are mainly of a psychological nature. Especially the low-involvement feature of food products due to daily purchase routines and relatively low prices tends to result in fast, automatic and subconscious decisions based on a so-called human mental system 1, derived from Daniel Kahneman’s2 model in behavioural psychology. In contrast, the human mental system 2 is especially important for the transformations of individual behaviour towards a more sustainable consumption. Decisions based on the human mental system 2 are slow, logical, rational, conscious and arduous. This so-called dual action model also influences the reliability of responses in consumer surveys. It seems that the consumer behaviour is the most unstable and unpredictable part of the entire supply chain and requires special attention. Concrete measures to influence consumer behaviour towards sustainable consumption are highly complex. This paper presents a review of interdisciplinary research literature on the complexity of sustainable food consumption and an empirical analysis of selected countries worldwide. In a ‘best practice’ case study, it analyses the organic food sector in Denmark, especially in the 80ies and 90ies, where the market share rose to a leading position worldwide. The Danish example demonstrates that common efforts and a shared responsibility of consumers, business, interdisciplinary researchers, mass media and policy are needed. It takes pioneers of change who succeed in assembling a ‘critical mass’ willing to increase its ‘sustainable’ behaviour. Considering the strong psychological barriers of consumers and the continuing low market share of organic food, proactive policy measures would be conducive to foster the personal responsibility of the consumers and offer incentives towards a sustainable production. Also, further self-obligations of companies (Corporate Social Responsibility – CSR) as well as more transparency and simplification of reliable labels and certifications are needed to encourage the process towards a sustainable development. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable development, responsible consumer, homo oeconomicus, behavioural economics, interdisciplinarity, consumer decision models, attitude-behaviour-gap, organic food, asymmetric information, low-involvement products, consumer behaviour, ethical values, dual action model: mental system 1 and 2 (Kahneman), cognitive bias, cognitive dissonances, Danish Association of Organic Farming, nudges, change agents, proactive state, corporate social responsibility (CSR), Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa144:206233&r=env |
| By: | Gallier, Carlo; Langbein, Jörg; Vance, Colin |
| Abstract: | We conduct a framed field experiment in Indonesian fishing communities, with an eye towards evaluating the potential of Territorial Use Rights for Fisheries (TURFs) to preserve coral reef fisheries. Conducted in three culturally distinctive sites, the study assembles groups of five fishers who participate in a common-pool resource game. We implement the game with randomly assigned treatments in all sites to explore whether the extraction decision varies according to three recommended non-binding extraction levels originating from (1) a democratic process, (2) a group leader or (3) an external source that recommends a socially optimal extraction level. In one of the sites - that having the highest levels of ethnic and religious diversity - we find that democratic decision-making as well as information originating from outside the community promotes the cooperative behavior that underpins TURFs, a result that is robust to regressions controlling for individual and community attributes. |
| Keywords: | Framed field experiment,commons dilemmas,coral reefs,self-governance |
| JEL: | C93 H43 L31 Q32 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:651&r=env |
| By: | Burke, Paul J. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines economic challenges faced by Australia’s Direct Action abatement subsidy scheme. Introduced in 2014, the scheme operates by reverse auction, funding projects voluntarily proposed by the private sector. Because the government cannot know true project counterfactuals, the lowest auction bids are likely to often be non-additional “anyway” projects. The scheme is hence likely to exhibit a systematic skew toward low-quality abatement. The paper presents a model of the adverse selection problem and describes the early experience with Direct Action. A discussion of a way forward is also provided. |
| Keywords: | Abatement subsidy, adverse selection, emissions, climate, Australia, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q58, Q52, D82, |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249524&r=env |
| By: | Jotzo, Frank; Mazouz, Salim |
| Abstract: | In this paper we propose a market mechanism for regulated exit of highly emissions intensive power stations from the electricity grid. The starting point is that there is surplus capacity in coal fired power generation in Australia. In the absence of a carbon price signal, black coal generation capacity may leave the market instead of high emitting brown coal power stations. We lay out options for a mechanism of regulated power station closure using a market mechanism. Plants bid competitively over the payment they require for closure, the regulator chooses the most cost effective bid, and payment for closure is made by the remaining power stations in proportion to their carbon dioxide emissions. This could overcome adverse incentive effects for plants to stay in operation in anticipation of payment for closure and solve the political difficulties and problems of information asymmetry that plague government payments for closure and direct regulation for exit. We explore the issues theoretically and provide empirical illustrations. These suggest that closure of a brown coal fired power station in Australia could yield emissions savings at costs that are lower than the social benefits. The analysis in this paper is applicable to other countries. |
| Keywords: | Greenhouse gas emissions, electricity, brown coal, early retirement, regulation, market mechanism, contract for closure., Marketing, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q48, Q58, |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249515&r=env |
| By: | Harrison Hong; Frank Weikai Li; Jiangmin Xu |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether stock markets efficiently price risks brought on or exacerbated by climate change. We focus on drought, the most damaging natural disaster for crops and food-company cash flows. We show that prolonged drought in a country, measured by the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) from climate studies, forecasts both declines in profitability ratios and poor stock returns for food companies in that country. A portfolio short food stocks of countries in drought and long those of countries not in drought generates a 9.2% annualized return from 1985 to 2015. This excess predictability is larger in countries having little history of droughts prior to the 1980s. Our findings support regulatory concerns of markets inexperienced with climate change underreacting to such risks. |
| JEL: | G0 G02 G12 Q0 Q5 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22890&r=env |
| By: | Jin, Wei; Zhang, ZhongXiang |
| Abstract: | In creating a level playing field that facilitates the deployment of renewable energy technology (RET), the traditional energy policy regime based on eliminating RET’s cost gaps versus fossil energy technology (FET) may be not sufficient. Building on an economic model of energy technology adoption that features network externality, this paper takes an explicit account of the potential importance of network externality in the design of RET adoption policies. We argue that as incumbent FET has established pervasive deployment and installed base advantages within the existing energy production, distribution and service network, it would create a network externality mechanism that makes it difficult to dislodge the dominant FET-based technological regime, leading to an inertia against the adoption of newly emerging RET even if energy policy regulations have been put in place to eliminate RET’s cost disadvantage. We hence propose that a reformulation of RET policy paradigm should consider extending the traditional scheme centring on eliminating cost gap to a new one that corrects for both cost and network externality gaps. |
| Keywords: | Renewable energy deployment, energy technology adoption, network externality, climate technology policies, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q41, Q42, Q48, Q54, Q55, Q58, H23, O13, |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249514&r=env |
| By: | Zareena B. Irfan (Madras School of Economics); Mohana Mondal (Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Water footprint is a multidimensional indicator, showing water consumption volumes by source and by type of pollution; all components of a total water footprint are specified geographically and temporally. The issue of water scarcity in India is getting serious day-by-day. Water scarcity is fast becoming urban India's number one woe, with government's own data revealing that residents in 22 out of 32 major cities have to deal with daily shortages. In this paper the authors have calculated the water footprint in Indian dairy industry to assess the water intensity. |
| Keywords: | Water Scarcity, Water Footprint, Dairy Industry, India Classification-JEL: P28, Q29, Q56, Q57 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2015-123&r=env |
| By: | Pickering, Jonathan; Jotzo, Frank; Wood, Peter J. |
| Abstract: | Mobilizing climate finance for developing countries is crucial for achieving a fair and effective global climate regime. To date developed countries retain wide discretion over their national contributions. We explore how different degrees of international coordination may influence the fairness of the global financing effort. We present quantitative scenarios for (i) the metrics used to distribute the collective effort among countries contributing funding; and (ii) the number of contributing countries. We find that an intermediate degree of coordination—combining nationally determined financing pledges with a robust international review mechanism—may reduce distortions in relative efforts as well as shortfalls in overall funding, while reflecting reasonable differences over what constitutes a fair share. Broadening the group of contributors may do little to improve adequacy or equity unless the more heterogeneous group can converge on credible measures of responsibility and capacity. The analysis highlights the importance of building common understandings about effort-sharing. |
| Keywords: | Climate policy, climate finance, equity, fairness, climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, development assistance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ancewp:249508&r=env |
| By: | Driscoll O'Keefe, Maximilien |
| Abstract: | New Zealand’s Treasury, as illustrated by its Living Standards Framework, desires policy that not only promotes economic growth, but also sustainability and equity. This paper studies how taxation and abatement policy can work to keep an economy viable in regards to capital stocks, consumption, debt, environment and the relative factor share (a proxy for income inequality), as well as the trade-offs it faces in different levels of pollutant industry. This is done in the context of Viability Theory, a branch of mathematics suited for policy analysis. The results show that reducing an economies environmental impact is key for achieving the multi faceted growth laid out in the Living Standards Framework. |
| Keywords: | factor income, inequality, green capital, viability theory, capital income tax, labour income tax, environment |
| JEL: | D31 D33 E25 N17 N37 |
| Date: | 2016–10–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75405&r=env |
| By: | Emeline Bezin (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics); Grégory Ponthière (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We revisit the Tragedy of the Commons in an dynamic overlapping generations economy peopled of shepherds who decide how many sheep they let graze on a common parcel of land, while relying on di fferent forms of rationality (Nash players, Pure or Impure Kantian players). We examine the dynamics of heterogeneity and land congestion when the prevalance of those di fferent forms of rationality evolves over time follow- ing a vertical/oblique socialization process a la Bisin and Verdier (2001). We study the impacts of a quota and of a tax on the congestion of land, and we show that introducing a quota may, in some cases, reduce the proportion of Kantians (Pure and Impure), and worsen the Tragedy of Commons with respect to the laissez-faire. Finally, we examine whether a government should promote either a Pure or an Impure Kantian morality, by comparing the relative fi tness of Pure/Impure Kantians, and their interactions with the congestion of land. |
| Keywords: | Tragedy of the Commons,heterogeneity,Kantian rationality,socialization,overlapping generations,fitness |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-01403244&r=env |
| By: | Plotka, Hanna |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2016–10–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa156:249987&r=env |
| By: | Douglass, John A. |
| Keywords: | Education |
| Date: | 2016–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:cshedu:qt7v10z4gk&r=env |
| By: | Gunther Capelle-Blancard (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Patricia Crifo (Université Paris 10 - Paris Ouest-Nanterre, Ecole Polytechnique [Palaiseau], CIRANO - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations - UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal); Marc-Arthur Diaye (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Rim Oueghlissi (Université de Carthage, EPEE - Centre d'Etudes des Politiques Economiques - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne); Bert Scholtens (University of Saint Andrews, Faculty of Economics and Business - University of Groningen [Groningen]) |
| Abstract: | What are the determinants of borrowing cost in international capital markets? Apart from macroeconomic fundamentals, are there any qualitative factors that might capture sovereign bond spreads? In this paper we consider to what extent Environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance can affect sovereign bond spreads. First, countries with good ESG performance tend to have less default risk and thus lower bond spreads. Moreover, the economic impact is stronger in the long-run, suggesting that ESG performance is a long-lasting phenomenon. Second, we examine the financial impact of separate ESG dimensions, and find that the environmental dimension appears to have no financial impact whereas governance weighs more than social factors. Third, we examine cross-countries differences and show that ESG performance has a more significant and stronger impact in the Eurozone than elsewhere in OECD countries. Fourth, we include evidence from the global financial crisis and find stronger influence of country sustainability performance during crisis period. |
| Keywords: | ESG performance, sovereign bond yield spreads |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-01401718&r=env |
| By: | Pranab Mukhopadhyay (Department of Economics, Goa University, Goa and Visiting Scholars, Madras School of Economics); Vanessa da Costa (Department of Economics, Goa University, Goa and Visiting Scholars, Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Recreation is an important ecosystem service in coastal and marine ecosystems. The methodology for valuing recreational services is well developed in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt at estimating a country-wide value for this service. Using the zonal travel cost method we estimate the partial value of this service to be Rs 531.7 billion in 2012-13 for domestic tourists when consumer’s surplus component is not added. Therefore, this represents a floor value. This constituted about 0.49% of the GDP (at current prices in that year). It is expected that the final value of these services will be higher than what this estimate suggests as it constitutes only what the consumers (recreational visitors) spent in their travel by way of cost of travel, accommodation and income forgone (opportunity cost). The main purpose of this exercise is to understand how these ecosystems services are valued by individuals as there is no direct way to recognize their value. It then helps us to allocate resources better and conserve natural capital. |
| Keywords: | Recreational Services in India, Travel Cost Method, Coastal and Marine EcosystemsClassification-JEL: Q26, Q57 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2015-124&r=env |
| By: | Berruto, Remigio; Boero, Valter; Busato, Patrizia; Calvo, Angela; Sopegno, Alessandro; Venudo, Lorenzo; Rossi, Daniele; Gomez, Paz; Ruiz, Begoña; Kachniarz, Małgorzata |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this work is to promote the sustainable production of renewable energy from the biogas obtained from agrifood waste in small‐scale concepts for pursuing energy self‐sufficiency. Stakeholders were interviewed and two different questionnaires were offered: the first for agrifood industries, the second for biogas plants and component providers. Information obtained was elaborated to have a view of wastage amounts in agrifood sector and get information of available small‐scale biogas plants. Obtained data were used in different project phases: for Smallbiogas calibration (a web application to facilitate small‐scale biogas plant business plan setup), plant models calibration and to write Biogas3 Handbook. The activities of this work were based on Biogas3 project, co‐funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme of the European Union Contract N° IEE‐13‐477. |
| Keywords: | Food Waste, Small‐scale, Biogas, Renewable Energies, Web Applications, Tool for Farmers, Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa144:206243&r=env |
| By: | da Silva Júnior, Aziz Galvão |
| Abstract: | In the short and medium terms, biofuels are the most viable alternative to reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuels. The recent controversy over the competition between biofuels and food production increases the complexity of investment decisions in the biodiesel production chain. In this context, decision support tools are highly relevant. The purpose of this article is to describe the BiodieselFAO using the Unified Modeling Language (UML). An integrated analysis considering both agricultural and industrial sectors was identified as a key requirement to the system. Therefore, farmers and industry are the main actors in the use case diagram. As the raw material represents around 70% of the industrial cost of biodiesel production, the price negotiation of raw material (oilseeds) is the central use case. Configuration, agriculture, industry, results and scenarios are the modules, which encompass the functionalities derived from the UML diagrams. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has made the BiodieselFAO available, free of charge, to around 180 professionals from 17 Latin American countries. Additionally, the developing team has supported the usage of the BiodieselFAO in several biodiesel investment analyses throughout Latin America. The system was also useful in the design and analysis of policy related to biodiesel industry in Brazil. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa144:206244&r=env |
| By: | Yoann Verger (REEDS - Centre international de Recherches en Economie écologique, Eco-innovation et ingénierie du Développement Soutenable - UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines) |
| Abstract: | Martins (2016) recently emphasized the role that classical economics can play in building sustainability economics. In this respect, he uses Sraffa's theory of value and Sen and Nussbaum's capability theory to support his argument. My comment focuses on the part of his article concerning Sraffa's theory, and aims to refine some of Martins claims in order to avoid misunderstandings about the possibilities offered by Sraffa's theory. |
| Keywords: | Ecological economics,Sraffa, theory of value, environment, sustainability |
| Date: | 2016–11–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01397937&r=env |