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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | de Melo, Jaime; Mathys, Nicole Andréa |
| Abstract: | The outcome of the 15th conference of the Parties to the UNFCC showed a shift from a top-down approach with a collective target favoring environmental objectives to a bottom-up accord favoring political feasibility with no meaningful binding agreement in sight as the global climate regime and the global trade policy regime represented by the WTO appear to be on a collision course. Following a review of the alternative architectures for the next Climate Change Agreement, the paper outlines four areas in which trade will play a role: as a purveyor of technological transfer; as a mechanism to separate where abatement takes place from who bears the cots of abatement; as a participation mechanism; and as a way to address the pressures for border adjustments. Political-economy considerations are invoked to predict that a target system with a carbon credit system will be preferable to a carbon tax or to a portfolio system of treaties. A review of evidence on the extent of pollution haven effects suggests that these should be small under climate mitigation policies, especially if efforts are undertaken to raise the price of energy. A discussion of border measures to complement mitigation policies suggests that they are unlikely to be found compatible with the environmental exceptions allowed under article XX of the GATT. The review concludes that an umbrella agreement with leeway where much initial mitigation would first take place unilaterally as under the early days of the GATT might be the most promising way ahead while preserving an open World Trading System and environmental integrity. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change; WTO |
| JEL: | F18 Q56 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8032&r=env |
| By: | Fraas, Arthur G. (Resources for the Future); Richardson, Nathan (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | The history of emissions-trading markets in the United States is marked by change. Since cap-and-trade programs were first implemented on a large scale after the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has repeatedly revised and replaced emissions-trading markets for nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxide. In each transition, the agency has had to decide what to do with emissions allowances banked in the earlier program. These banked allowances represent early reductions in emissions, with corresponding environmental benefits, but also the expectation on the part of regulated entities that they will continue to hold value in the future. Unsettling these expectations can lead to price volatility, instability in markets, and erosion of buy-in from regulated entities and the credibility of regulators. The paper discusses EPA’s mixed record regarding these transitions and implications for the future of cap and trade as a policy tool. |
| Keywords: | cap and trade, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, banking, borrowing, CAIR, NOx SIP Call, Transport Rule, Clean Air Act, EPA |
| Date: | 2010–09–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-10-42.pdf&r=env |
| By: | Wayne B. Gray; Ronald J. Shadbegian; Ann Wolverton |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine the large and expanding area of Environmental Justice (EJ). The research in this area has developed from examining relatively simple comparisons of current demographic characteristics near environmental nuisances to performing multiple regression analysis and considering demographics at the time of siting. One area that has received considerably less attention is the identification of potential mechanisms that could be driving observed EJ correlations. We extend the current literature by examining one possible mechanism: the intensity of regulatory enforcement activity. If regulators pay less attention to the environmental performance of plants located near poor and minority areas, those plants might feel less pressure to pursue pollution abatement projects, increasing environmental hazards in those areas. We perform our analysis on a sample of manufacturing plants located near four large U.S. cities: Los Angeles, Boston, Columbus, and Houston. Our analysis of regulatory activity found little evidence that demographic variables have a significant impact on the allocation of regulatory activity. In particular, regulatory activity does not seem to be less intense in plants located near particular demographic groups. It is true that plants located in minority neighborhoods are inspected less often and face fewer enforcement actions, but these effects are nearly always small and insignificant, and plants located in lower-income areas seem to face (surprisingly) more regulatory activity. In a separate analysis, we also find very little evidence that demographic variables significantly influence pollution emissions. . In summary, the results presented here do not show much evidence to support EJ concerns about either regulatory activity or pollution emissions, at least within the set of plants, pollutants, and time periods covered in our analysis. |
| Keywords: | environmental justice, regulatory activity, enforcement, political, poor, minority |
| JEL: | D21 Q52 Q56 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nev:wpaper:wp201010&r=env |
| By: | Omar Chisari |
| Abstract: | A strategy of inclusion of adaptation and mitigation expenses in a model of optimal growth under threat of climate change calamities is discussed in these exploratory notes. Calamity is the result of a shock that reduces the utility level (even to extinction forever) and/or triggers a fundamental change of the economic structure. Mitigation expenses reduce the long-run probability of a calamity or the speed of convergence to it; adaptation expenses help to improve the standard of living after the calamity. The willingness to contribute to those expenses and the effects on the long-run capital stock of the economy depend on perceptions on how they will modify the law of evolution of probabilities of the shock and the standard of living after the shock. The choice between a clean technology and one that increases GHG emissions is also discussed. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Growth, Adaptation, Mitigation |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:wpaper:4685&r=env |
| By: | Itziar Lazkano; Francisco M Gonzalez; Sjak Smulders |
| Date: | 2010–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:clg:wpaper:2010-20&r=env |
| By: | Devitt, Conor; Tol, Richard S. J. |
| Abstract: | We construct a model of development, civil war, and climate change. There are multiple interactions. Economic growth reduces the probability of civil war and the vulnerability to climate change. Climate change increases the probability of civil war. The impacts of climate change, civil war, and civil war in the neighbouring countries reduce economic growth. The model has two potential poverty traps ? a climate-change-induced one and a civil-war-induced one ? and the two poverty traps may reinforce one another. We calibrate the model to Sub-Saharan Africa and conduct a double Monte Carlo analysis accounting for both parameter uncertainty and stochasticity. We find the following. Although we use the SRES scenarios as our baseline, and thus assume rapid economic growth in Africa and convergence of African living standards to the rest of the world, the impact of civil war and climate change (ignored in SRES) are sufficiently strong to keep a number of countries in Africa in deep poverty with a high probability. Other countries enjoy exponential growth; and some countries may either be trapped in poverty or experience rapid growth. The SRES scenarios were wrong to ignore the impact of climate change and civil war on economic development. |
| Keywords: | civil war/climate change/economic development/Climate change/growth/Impacts of climate change/poverty/scenarios/uncertainty |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp351&r=env |
| By: | Samir R. Gandhi |
| Abstract: | This paper looks into the proliferation of privately-formulated environmental product standards and analyses whether Indian industry has a legal recourse under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism if such standards are used as “disguised†restrictions on trade. [ICRIER Working Paper No. 181] |
| Keywords: | proliferation, privately-formulated, environmental, product standards, settlement mechanism, WTO |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2931&r=env |
| By: | John I. Carruthers (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research and University of Maryland, National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education); David E. Clark (Marquette University, Department of Economics); Robert N. Renner (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops estimates of environmental improvement based on a two-stage hedonic price analysis of the single family housing market in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. The analysis — which focuses specifically on several EPA-designated environmental hazards and involves 226,918 transactions for 177,303 unique properties that took place between January 2001 and September 2009 — involves four steps: (i) ten hedonic price functions are estimated year-by-year, one for each year of the 2000s; (ii) the hedonic estimates are used to compute the marginal implicit price of distance from air release, superfund, and toxic release sites; (iii) the marginal implicit prices, which vary through time, are used to estimate a series of implicit demand functions describing the relationship between the price of distance and the quantity consumed; and, finally (iv) the demand estimates are compared to those obtained in other research and then used evaluate the potential scale of benefits associated with some basic environmental improvement scenarios. Overall, the analysis provides further evidence that it is possible to develop a structural model of implicit demand within a single housing market and suggests that the benefits of environmental improvement are substantial. |
| Keywords: | Hedonic housing model, benefits, environmental improvement |
| JEL: | R31 Q51 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrq:wpaper:1008&r=env |
| By: | Keith Maskus |
| Abstract: | Prior to the Copenhagen meeting on developing a new framework for climate-change policy there were sharp differences between the positions of developed and developing countries regarding the role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in fostering international technology transfer (ITT). Expanding effective ITT is central to meeting needs for acquiring and adapting environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) in poor nations. Policymakers in developed economies generally view IPRs, particularly patents and trade secrets, as positive and critical inducements to ITT, while those in developing countries often describe them as sources of market power that impede access to new technology. This report reviews the economic logic of these positions and reviews available empirical evidence. The relationships among IPRs, innovation, ITT and local adaptation are complex and neither of the basic views described captures them well. Policy should be based on a more nuanced view. In that regard, to date there is little systematic evidence that patents and other IPRs restrict access to ESTs, which largely exist in sectors based on mature technologies in which there are numerous substitutes among global competitors. This situation may change as new technologies based on biotechnologies and synthetic fuels, which are likely to be more dependent on patent protection, become more prominent. At present, however, there is little evidence to support significant limitations on the issuance and use of IPRs in this area. In particular, it is unlikely that an international agreement on a compulsory licensing regime could achieve significant ITT benefits, while it may raise considerable costs. However, there may be scope for beneficial differentiation in patent rights, which is the primary subject of the report. Among these elements include ex ante extensions of patent terms tied to licensing commitments, expedited patent examinations in ESTs, investments in patent transparency and landscaping efforts, and facilitation of voluntary patent pools. The report argues that such changes are unlikely to achieve significant gains in innovation and ITT unless they are accompanied by broader policy approaches, including publicly financed fiscal supports for local technology needs and adaptation. Perhaps most important are finding means to raise the global costs of using carbon-based energy resources and improving the climate for investments in poor countries.<BR>Avant le Sommet de Copenhague sur l’élaboration d’un nouveau cadre d’action pour la lutte contre le changement climatique, pays développés et pays en développement nourrissaient des conceptions divergentes quant à l’incidence des droits de propriété intellectuelle (DPI) sur la promotion du transfert international de technologies. Or, pour répondre aux besoins d’acquisition et d’adaptation de technologies écologiquement rationnelles dans les pays pauvres, il est indispensable d’accroître l’efficacité de ces transferts. Les décideurs des pays développés considèrent généralement les DPI, en particulier les brevets et les secrets de fabrique, comme des incitations positives essentielles pour le transfert international de technologies, tandis que ceux des pays en développement les présentent souvent comme des sources de pouvoir de marché qui les empêchent d’accéder aux nouvelles technologies. Le présent rapport examine la logique économique de ces positions et passe en revue les données empiriques disponibles. Entre les DPI, l’innovation, le transfert international de technologies et l’adaptation locale, il existe une relation complexe dont aucune des deux conceptions très générales évoquées précédemment ne rend véritablement compte. Les politiques publiques doivent se fonder sur un point de vue plus nuancé. A ce jour, on ne dispose guère d’éléments solides attestant que les brevets et autres DPI restreignent l’accès aux technologies écologiquement rationnelles, car ces droits concernent essentiellement des secteurs basés sur des technologies matures pour lesquelles la concurrence mondiale offre de nombreux produits de substitution. La donne pourrait changer au fur et à mesure de la montée en puissance de nouvelles technologies faisant appel aux biotechnologies et aux carburants de synthèse, qui risquent d’être davantage protégés par des brevets. Pour l’heure toutefois, il n’y a guère d’arguments incitant à limiter notablement l’attribution et l’utilisation des DPI dans ce domaine. En particulier, un accord international sur un régime de licences obligatoires ne serait probablement pas très efficace en termes de transfert international de technologies, alors qu’il risquerait d’imposer des coûts considérables. En revanche, il serait possible d’apporter diverses modifications aux conditions attachées aux brevets, ce qui constitue le principal thème de ce rapport. Parmi les possibilités figurent la prolongation ex ante de la durée de validité du brevet assortie d’engagements en matière d’octroi de licences, l’examen accéléré des demandes de brevets visant les technologies écologiquement rationnelles, les investissements dans les efforts de transparence et de cartographie des brevets, les incitations à créer des communautés volontaires de brevets. D’après le rapport, des changements de ce type ne sauraient procurer des avantages significatifs en termes d’innovation et de transfert international de technologies s’ils ne s’accompagnent pas de stratégies publiques plus larges, comprenant des aides publiques pour répondre aux besoins en technologies et assurer leur adaptation à l’échelle locale. Mais l’essentiel est peut-être de trouver les moyens d’augmenter le coût d’utilisation des ressources énergétiques à base de carbone et d’améliorer le climat de l’investissement dans les pays pauvres. |
| Keywords: | environment, innovation, intellectual property rights, technology, climate change, environnement, innovation, droit de propriété intellectuelle, changement climatique, technologies |
| JEL: | O31 O34 Q27 Q56 |
| Date: | 2010–05–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:17-en&r=env |
| By: | Katja Coneus; C. Katharina Spieß |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of outdoor and indoor pollution on children¿s health from birth until the age of three years in Germany. We use representative data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), combined with five air pollution levels. These data come from the Federal Environment Agency and cover the years 2002-2007. Our work offers three important contributions. Firstly, we use accurate measures for five different pollutants (CO, NO2, SO2, O3, and PM10) on a (half-)hourly basis. Secondly, we are able to follow the effect of pollution exposure on a child¿s health during the first three years of life, accounting for time-invariant and unobserved neighborhood and mother-specific characteristics. Thirdly, we calculate different pollution intensity measures. Instead of relying solely on mean pollution levels, we are able to use (half-)hourly pollution levels as well as indoor pollution as meas-urements for the total latent pollution exposure. Our results suggest a significantly negative impact for some pollutants on infant health during early childhood. In comparison to outdoor pollution, indoor pollution seems to be more harmful directly after birth, while the relation-ship between indoor and outdoor pollution changes later in childhood. Since smoking is one source of producing carbon monoxide and thus affects child health negatively, our results further support the advice to parents of young children not to smoke. |
| Keywords: | Indoor and outdoor pollution, health, early childhood |
| JEL: | I12 Q53 J13 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp312&r=env |
| By: | Jonathan M. Harris |
| Abstract: | Serious discussion has begun of policies to promote the goal of increasing well-being without material growth. Moving towards this goal requires a profound reorientation of macroeconomic theory. Importantly, the call by ecological economists to move away from traditional growth-oriented models comes at a moment when standard macroeconomics is in considerable turmoil. The financial crisis of 2008/2009 seriously undermined the basis for mainstream macroeconomics and brought renewed attention to various forms of Keynesian analysis and policy previously regarded as outdated. There is a close complementarity between new Keynesian and ecological perspectives. While older Keynesian analysis was oriented towards promoting growth, a true Keynesian analysis of the relationship between investment and consumption does not depend on a growth orientation. What this analysis has in common with an ecological perspective is the rejection of market optimality assumed in classical models. Moving away from the neoclassical goal of inter-temporal utility maximization allows for different, pluralistic economic goals: full employment, provision of basic needs, social and infrastructure investment, and income equity. These goals are compatible with environmental preservation and resource sustainability, whereas indefinite growth is not. But they require a revitalization of the sphere of social investment, seriously neglected (indeed often omitted completely) in standard models. Reintroducing this perspective allows the development of an economic theory suitable for the transition to a stable-population, low-carbon, resource-conserving global economy. The barriers to this transition are primarily political and institutional, not economic. Specifically, an eco-Keynesian perspective emphasizes new macroeconomic categories including: * human-capital-intensive services * investment in energy-conserving capital * investment in natural and human capital The expansion of these categories provides a basis for growth in wellbeing without growth in throughput, while preserving full employment and economic stability. This paper explores some of the implications of this altered macroeconomic perspective for development in both the global "North" and "South". It is suggested that the problems following the global financial crisis cannot be resolved by a return to traditional growth patterns, and will require large-scale practical policies based on eco-Keynesianism. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dae:daepap:10-05&r=env |
| By: | Matthew LaPenta |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to outline a method for evaluating the Environmental Justice (EJ) implications of revising the dust lead hazard standards for floors. For simplicity this paper only addresses populations as defined by poverty status, but the methods described can be applied to evaluate distributional implications by race, ethnicity, and populations defined according to alternative income categories. The method for estimating IQ gains from changes in dust lead levels follows the approach described in EPA’s 2008 report, The Approach Used for Estimating Changes in Children’s IQ from Lead Dust Generated during Renovation, Repair, and Painting in Residences and Child-occupied Facilities (EPA 2008). The results presented indicate that children living below the poverty level are more likely to live where dust lead levels exceed the alternative hazard standard level of 10 µg/ft2 for floors and therefore have the potential to benefit more from a revision to the standard compared to children living above the poverty level. |
| Keywords: | environmental justice, lead, children |
| JEL: | Q56 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nev:wpaper:wp201011&r=env |
| By: | Tol, Richard S. J. |
| Abstract: | The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has a monopoly on the provision of climate policy advice at the international level and a strong market position in national policy advice. This may have been the intention of the founders of the IPCC. I argue that the IPCC has a natural monopoly, as a new entrant would have to invest time and effort over a longer period to perhaps match the reputation, trust, goodwill, and network of the IPCC. The IPCC is a not-for-profit organization, and it is run by nominal volunteers; it therefore cannot engage in the price-gouging that is typical of monopolies. However, the IPCC has certainly taken up tasks outside its mandate; the IPCC has been accused of haughtiness; innovation is slow; quality may have declined; and the IPCC may have used its power to hinder competitors. There are all things that monopolies tend to do, against the public interest. The IPCC would perform better if it were regulated by an independent body which audits the IPCC procedures and assesses its performance; if outside organizations would be allowed to bid for the production of reports and the provision of services under the IPCC brand; and if policy makers would encourage potential competitors to the IPCC. |
| Keywords: | Climate change/IPCC/natural monopoly/regulation/policy advice/Climate change/Climate policy/Policy |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp350&r=env |
| By: | Hellerstein, Daniel; Higgins, Nathaniel |
| Abstract: | Conservation programs faced with limited budgets often use a competitive enrollment mechanism. Goals of enrollment might include minimizing program expenditures, encouraging broad participation, and inducing adoption of enhanced environmental practices. We use experimental methods to evaluate an auction mechanism that incorporates bid maximums and quality adjustments. We examine this mechanism’s performance characteristics when opportunity costs are heterogeneous across potential participants, and when costs are only approximately known by the purchaser. We find that overly stringent maximums can increase overall expenditures, and that when quality of offers is important, substantial increases in offer maximums can yield a better quality-adjusted result. |
| Keywords: | conservation auctions; Conservation Reserve Program; CRP; bid caps; experimental economics |
| JEL: | D44 C91 Q58 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:25268&r=env |
| By: | Alberto Gomez Torres |
| Abstract: | This document presents the results of the analysis of environmental conditions and how they might influence the performance of the shipbuilding industry in Colombia, Specifically, one that serves the needs river development in the context of recovery of the navigability of Magdalena River. |
| Date: | 2010–09–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000162:007531&r=env |
| By: | Cassimon, Danny; Prowse, Martin; Essers, Dennis |
| Abstract: | The vital role of forests in limiting the likelihood of dangerous climate change has precipitated renewed interest in debt-for-nature swaps. This article uses evidence on past debt-for-nature swaps and similar debt mechanisms to assess the recent second wave of debt swaps. It outlines five typical shortcomings of this form of financial transaction: that they often fail to deliver additional resources to the debtor country; often fail to deliver more resources for conservation/climate purposes; often have a negligible effect on overall debt burdens, and, as such, do not generate more ‘indirect’ benefits; and are often in conflict with the new aid delivery paradigm’s emphasis on alignment with government policy and systems. Our analysis is applied to a recent debt-for-nature swap initiative between the United States and Indonesia. We show that this case, which we consider as a litmus test for current swap practice, performs unevenly across the five shortcomings identified. On the one hand, the swap does not create additional resources for the Government of Indonesia, is too insignificant to create indirect (positive) economic effects, and appears at odds with the new aid delivery paradigm’s insistence on system alignment. On the other hand, the swap does not reduce Government of Indonesia resources, and is very much in line with current national policy. The extent to which the resources provided by the swap are additional to other donor support and reserved domestic budget lines for conservation goals is unclear. Whilst a second generation of debt-for-nature swaps should clearly be avoided, there is a need to debate broader ways of linking debt service repayments to forest conservation. |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:2009007&r=env |
| By: | M Mahajan; R Sengupta; R B P Singh |
| Abstract: | This paper reports the results of a study undertaken by PSI in the autumn of 2002 to assess the impact of protection on the quality of the forest in the Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. |
| Keywords: | Madhya Pradesh, forest, tiger, pench, India, biodiversity |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2918&r=env |
| By: | Marcela Ibáñez (Georg-August-University Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | Agricultural production is an important source of income and employment for developing countries, yet it is the cause of serious environmental problems. Though ECO-labels appear as a promising alternative to control the negative effects of agriculture on the environment and to increase the income of rural poor, the proportion of agricultural land and exports certified as is quite small. We investigate the factors that affect the adoption of certified organic coffee in Colombia and in particular study the effect of economic incentives on adoption. We find that those who have lower cost of adoption are more likely to be certified as organic. Correcting for sample selection, we find that certified organic production is 40% less productive and 31% less costly than non-certified production. Given the price premium in 2007, certified organic production is 15% less profitable than non-organic production. We find that in order to make organic production attractive, the price premium of certified organic coffee should be about 5 times higher than in 2007. |
| Keywords: | Technology adoption; Switching regression models; Organic Coffee; Colombia useful |
| Date: | 2010–08–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:039&r=env |
| By: | Natalia Melgar; Maximo Rossi |
| Abstract: | Past research has provided evidence of the role of some personal characteristics as risk factors for depression. However, few studies have examined jointly their specific impact and whether country characteristics change the probability of being depressed. In general, this is due to the use of single-country databases. The aim of this paper is to extend previous findings by employing a much larger dataset and including the country effects mentioned above. The paper estimates probit models with country effects and explores linkages between specific environmental factors and depression using data from the 2007 Gallup Public Opinion Poll. Findings indicate that depression is positively related to being a woman, adulthood, divorce, widowhood, unemployment and low income. Moreover, there is evidence of the significant positive association between inequality and depression, especially for those living in urban areas. Finally, some population’s characteristics facilitate depression (age distribution and religious affiliation). |
| Keywords: | Depression, Health, Well-being, Cross-country research |
| JEL: | D01 I10 I12 J18 Z13 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:wpaper:4684&r=env |
| By: | Itziar Lazkano |
| Date: | 2010–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:clg:wpaper:2010-21&r=env |
| By: | Nariné Udumyan (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - Université de la Méditerranée - Aix-Marseille II - Université Paul Cézanne - Aix-Marseille III - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - CNRS : UMR6579); Dominique Ami (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - Université de la Méditerranée - Aix-Marseille II - Université Paul Cézanne - Aix-Marseille III - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - CNRS : UMR6579); Pierre Cartigny (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - Université de la Méditerranée - Aix-Marseille II - Université Paul Cézanne - Aix-Marseille III - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - CNRS : UMR6579) |
| Abstract: | In the Gordon-Schaefer model (G-S model), widely used to design fisheries management policy, only resource stock dynamic is considered and carrying capacity is constant. We propose an extension to the G-S model that incorporates the dynamics of carrying capacity as an indicator of dynamics of the marine habitats. The study yields two main findings. First, we demonstrate that habitats matter, by showing that the main outcomes of the G-S model are dramatically modified if habitats are included in the analysis. Second, through a heuristic model and simulations, we show, for the first time, that our extended model provides an appropriate framework to analyse the putative contribution of MPAs and ARs. The model presented in this article opens the way to a better understanding of the benefits of MPAs and ARs, as well as other habitat protection policies. |
| Keywords: | Bioeconomics, Gordon-Schaefer model, Marine habitats, Artificial reefs |
| Date: | 2010–09–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00520328_v1&r=env |
| By: | Sylvie Démurger (Université de Lyon, Lyon, F-69003, France; CNRS, GATE Lyon St Etienne, UMR 5824, 93, chemin des Mouilles, Ecully, F-69130, France; ENS-LSH, Lyon, France); Martin Fournier (Université de Lyon, Lyon, F-69003, France; CNRS, GATE Lyon St Etienne, UMR 5824, 93, chemin des Mouilles, Ecully, F-69130, France; ENS-LSH, Lyon, France) |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the determinants of firewood consumption in a poor township in rural northern China, with a special focus on the relationship between households’ economic wealth and firewood consumption. We find strong support for the poverty-environment hypothesis since household economic wealth is a significant and negative determinant of firewood consumption. Firewood can therefore be considered as an inferior good for the whole population in the rural area under study, although further evidence shows that at the top of the wealth distribution, there might be a floor effect in the decreasing firewood consumption. Besides economic wealth, our analysis also shows that the own-price effect is important in explaining firewood consumption behavior, the price effect gaining importance with rising incomes. Finally, increasing education is also found to be a key factor in energy consumption behavior, especially when dealing with energy source switching behavior. |
| Keywords: | firewood consumption, poverty, natural resources protection, China |
| JEL: | Q23 Q28 I31 O12 C3 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:1020&r=env |