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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Jeßberger, Christoph |
| Date: | 2011–01–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:dissen:12625&r=env |
| By: | Viviani, Carlo |
| Abstract: | Climate change, security and cost of energy supplies, and the competitiveness of firms and economies have been focal points of the general political and economic policy debate in recent years. This article examines the choices in this field made at global level with the Kyoto Protocol and in Europe with the more recent “20-20-20” package from the standpoints of the Italian national interests and the negotiating stance adopted by our Government in European and international forums. The European negotiations on renewable energy sources, the reduction of emissions in the sectors with and without emissions trading schemes, automobile emissions, the auctioning of emission rights, and the identification of industries exposed to the risk of delocalization (carbon leakage) are described in detail, including background data not previously available, and the reasons for Italy’s positions set forth. The principle guiding Italian negotiators has been to balance the various policy aims, in an effort to ensure that the necessary action against climate change does not have excessive repercussions on growth and employment. The principle is all the more valid in the global talks on the regime that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol when it expires on 1 January 2013. Without a credible global agreement entailing an equivalent commitment, or sectoral agreements, instruments will be needed to prevent Europe’s climate commitment from producing an unfair competitive disadvantage, with potentially serious social and economic consequences but no appreciable environmental advantage. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change; Energy; UNFCCC; ETS; Emissions Trading Scheme; Auctioning; European Union; Italy; Carbon Leakage; Carbon pricing |
| JEL: | H77 D62 F23 D44 H23 L60 F42 K32 F18 F53 F21 D78 O52 |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28679&r=env |
| By: | Jeffrey J. Schott (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Meera Fickling (Peterson Institute for International Economics) |
| Abstract: | The three NAFTA signatories have a shared interest in harmonizing climate change policy, and while they have made steps in that direction, there is still much that can be done to promote renewable energy development and other measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Authors Jeffrey J. Schott and Meera Fickling examine channels for energy and environmental cooperation among the three North American countries in light of limited progress in international climate talks and scaled back energy legislation being vetted in the US Senate. Suggestions include: harmonizing renewable energy standards and trading of renewable electricity credits, improving cross-border transmission capacity between the United States and Mexico, and using NAFTA institutions for data collection and monitoring of regional climate policies and for capacity building in Mexico. |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:pbrief:pb10-19&r=env |
| By: | Andrade, André luiz |
| Abstract: | This article aims to identify the debate on the triad economy, energy and environment, providing a greater focus to the issue of climate change. After historically contextualize the economic use of energy and expose the current global energy picture, describes the environmental issue in the light of economic science, stating the two main theoretical approaches of environmental economics. Finally, the article devoted to the important and urgent but controversial debate about the impact of energy model on climate change. Pointed out that, despite a current minority dissenting, the world has significant and reliable evidence that the economic system through several segments, especially the intensive use of energy, may be contributing to the changes in climatic conditions of planet. Energy use and the need to readjust it, both in terms of greater efficiency on the issue of replacing the current fossil energy sources to less carbon-intensive, was one of the main conclusions of the discussion about how to direct the economic system to a path of greater sustainability. |
| Keywords: | energía; medio ambiente; economía; cambio climático. |
| JEL: | Q5 O13 N5 |
| Date: | 2010–11–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28744&r=env |
| By: | James Heintz; Heidi Garrett-Peltier; Ben Zipperer |
| Abstract: | In this study commissioned by Ceres, James Heintz, Heidi Garrett-Peltier, and Ben Zipperer examine the economic impacts of air pollution regulations forthcoming from the Environmental Protection Agency: the Clean Air Transport Rule governing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, and the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Utility Boilers rule, which will set limits for hazardous air pollutants. Focusing on 36 states, the study assesses the potential employment impacts of the transformation of the nation’s energy generation plants to a cleaner, more efficient fleet, through investments in pollution controls and the retirement of outdated plants. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uma:perips:ceres_peri_feb11&r=env |
| By: | Andrade, André Luiz; MATTEI, LM |
| Abstract: | This article aims to identify the debate on the triad economy, energy and environment, providing a greater focus to the issue of climate change. After historically contextualize the economic use of energy and expose the current global energy picture, describes the environmental issue in the light of economic science, stating the two main theoretical approaches of environmental economics. Finally, the article devoted to the important and urgent but controversial debate about the impact of energy model on climate change. Pointed out that, despite a current minority dissenting, the world has significant and reliable evidence that the economic system through several segments, especially the intensive use of energy, may be contributing to the changes in climatic conditions of planet. Energy use and the need to readjust it, both in terms of greater efficiency on the issue of replacing the current fossil energy sources to less carbon-intensive, was one of the main conclusions of the discussion about how to direct the economic system to a path of greater sustainability. |
| Keywords: | energia; meio ambiente; mudanças climáticas. |
| JEL: | O1 Q5 N7 |
| Date: | 2010–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28743&r=env |
| By: | Richard J. Smith |
| Abstract: | The 1987 Montreal Protocol to address ozone layer depletion was a pivotal agreement in the history of global environmental negotiations. It established a process that remains an important precedent for dealing with global environmental problems, including global warming. What made the negotiation of that agreement such an iconic event, and what useful lessons does it hold for climate change negotiators? Richard Smith cites a number offactors that were critical to the success of the Montreal Protocol. For example: (1) the United States played a leadership role from the beginning, including banning the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in most aerosols and appointing a chief negotiator with responsibility for developing the U.S. position well before the negotiations began; (2) from the outset all countries that were parties to the agreement, both developed and developing countries, made specific commitments to reduce the production and use of ozone-depleting substances; and (3) the protocol set up a procedure for regularly reviewing and revising its provisions at follow-up meetings, thus accommodating new information rapidly and efficiently. A central lesson that climate change negotiators should learn from the Montreal Protocol is that it set a process in motion, which ultimately led to all parties to the agreement making the necessary commitments to arrest and eventually reverse the deterioration of the stratospheric ozone layer. Clearly, climate change negotiators face a more complex and far-reaching challenge today. The phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals and related infrastructure involved major industries such as refrigeration, electronics, fire fighting, and aerosols and cost billions of dollars. But reducing greenhouse gas emissions will require fundamentally rethinking the present carbon-based societies and taking steps that will affect virtually every aspect of economic activity. Despite this significant difference in the impact on the economic structure of the countries concerned, however, there are similarities between the two challenges, and climate change negotiators would be well advised to reflect on the Montreal Protocol and the lessons that can be learned from it. |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:pbrief:pb10-21&r=env |
| By: | Rupayan Pal (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); Bibhas Saha (University of East Anglia) |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that, in case of differentiated products mixed duopoly, environmental damage increases (decreases) with the level of privatization, if the level of privatization is less (more) than certain level. It also shows that partial privatization is optimal from the social welfare point of view. However, the social welfare maximizing level of privatization damages the environment most. |
| Keywords: | Privatization, mixed duopoly, environmental damage, environmental tax, social welfare |
| JEL: | H23 Q50 Q58 L13 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2010-018&r=env |
| By: | M. Fadaee; L. Lambertini |
| Abstract: | Acquired wisdom has it that the allocation of pollution rights to firms hinders their willingness to undertake uncertain R&D projects for environmental-friendly technologies. We revisit this issue in a model where firms strategically choose whether to participate in an auction to attain pollution permits, or instead invest in green R&D, to show that, somewhat counterintuitively, a side effect of the auction is in fact that of fostering environmental R&D in an admissible range of the model parameters. |
| JEL: | L13 Q55 |
| Date: | 2011–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp729&r=env |
| By: | Asproudis, Elias |
| Abstract: | I investigate the influence of the union structure on firms' environmental technological choice when the unions care for the environmental protection. Specifically, I compare the decentralised with the centralised structure under a Cournot duopoly. I show that the decentralised structure could always provide higher incentives to the firms for the adoption of a better (less polluting) technology. In addition, the firms prefer the decentralised unionisation than the centralised although the unions prefer the centralised structure. Furthermore, there is an inverse U-shape relation between the firm's emissions and the size of the market. Finally, the emissions could be less under the centralised case compared to the decentralised for relatively low market's size. |
| Keywords: | trade unions; environmental concern; emissions; technological choice |
| JEL: | O30 Q5 J51 |
| Date: | 2011–01–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28767&r=env |
| By: | Trevor Houser (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Shashank Mohan (Rhodium Group); Ian Hoffman (Rhodium Group) |
| Abstract: | On May 12, 2010, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) released details of their proposed American Power Act, a comprehensive energy and climate change bill developed over the preceding nine months by the two senators, chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations and Homeland Security Committees respectively, along with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).1 With US unemployment just below 10 percent and the sunken Deepwater Horizon drilling rig's ruptured well pouring thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day, the senators promised that if passed the bill will: (1) reduce US oil consumption and dependence on oil imports; (2) cut US carbon pollution 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and over 80 percent by 2050; and (3) create jobs and restore US global economic leadership. In this policy brief the authors evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed American Power Act in achieving those goals. |
| Date: | 2010–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:pbrief:pb10-12&r=env |
| By: | Halkos, George; Tzeremes, Nickolaos |
| Abstract: | Due to the fact that norms govern individual behavior, which in turn it is related to the environmental behaviour, this study tries to establish a link between human behavior (in terms of cultural values) and the environment. With the use of robust frontiers this paper constructs countries’ environmental efficiency ratios. Then it conditions these ratios with countries’ cultural values in order to capture their effect on the calculated environmental efficiency measures. The empirical results of the conditional and unconditional robust nonparametric frontiers of a sample of 17 OECD countries (for the census years of 1980, 1990 and 2000) reveal that countries’ national culture values have changed over the years from a neutral posture towards the enhancement of countries’ environmental efficiency. In addition, the results indicate that there is still much work to be done from countries’ environmental policy makers for the enhancement of an efficient environmental culture. |
| Keywords: | National culture; Environmental Efficiency; Robust Estimators |
| JEL: | Q50 Q00 C67 C60 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28690&r=env |
| By: | Sarah L. Stafford (Department of Economics, College of William and Mary) |
| Abstract: | Over the past two decades the role of private parties in the policing of environmental regulation has grown dramatically. In some cases the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has led the effort to involve private parties, either formally or informally. In other situations, private parties have provided the impetus for the new activities and the activities are, for the most part, conducted independently from EPA. Private policing can be beneficial from a public policy perspective, as long as the increased involvement of the private sector either decreases the overall costs of achieving a particular level of environmental performance or increases environmental performance in a cost-effective manner. However, private parties could also divert regulated entities away from regulatory objectives. This article explores the privatization of environmental enforcement, presenting examples of six private programs and activities and highlighting both the benefits and costs of these activities. Some private activities do have a positive effect on environmental performance: EPA’s self-policing policy has increased overall compliance while participation in the international environmental certification program ISO 14001 is correlated with an increase in both compliance and environmental performance more generally. However, studies of other private initiatives show that privatization can have a deleterious effect on the achievement of regulatory goals. For example, an analysis of private citizen suits finds that such suits decreases public enforcement rather than supplementing it. Additionally, we have no real understanding of the effect of many private policing initiatives either because no analyses have been conducted or because the existing studies do not focus on the effectiveness of such initiatives in achieving regulatory goals. Although the examples cited in this article are not necessarily representative of all private policing, the mixed evidence on the effectiveness of private sector participation in environmental regulation does suggest the need for careful evaluation of these initiatives. The article concludes by making a case for a more deliberate approach to evaluating the role of the private sector in the enforcement of environmental regulation. I argue that before responding to continuing calls to further privatize environmental regulation and enforcement, we must first determine whether existing private participation is helping to achieve regulatory goals. Where it is not, we must modify the existing initiatives, and potentially the underlying regulations and enforcement mechanisms as well, to maximize their benefits. Only then should we look to expand the role of the private sector in the policing of environmental regulations. |
| Keywords: | Privatization, Out-sourcing, Self-Policing |
| JEL: | L33 Q2 |
| Date: | 2011–02–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwm:wpaper:111&r=env |
| By: | Acs, Szvetlana; Armsworth, Paul R.; Dallimer, Martin; Gaston, Kevin J.; Graves, Anil; Hanley, Nick; Morris, Joe |
| Abstract: | Recent decades have witnessed substantial losses of biodiversity in Europe, partly driven by the ecological changes associated with intensification of agricultural production. These changes have particularly affected avian (bird) diversity in marginal areas such as the uplands of the UK. We developed integrated ecological-economic models, using eight different indicators of biodiversity based on avian species richness and individual bird densities. The models represent six different types of farms which are typical for the UK uplands, and were used to assess the outcomes of different agricultural futures. Our results show that the impacts of these future agricultural scenarios on farm incomes, land use and biodiversity are very diverse across policy scenarios and farm types. Moreover, each policy scenario produces un-equal distributions of farm income changes, and gains and losses in alternative biodiversity indicators. This shows that generalisations of the effects of land use change on biodiversity can be misleading. Our results also suggest that a focus on umbrella species or indicators (such as total richness) can miss important compositional effects. |
| Keywords: | agri-environmental policy; biodiversity; farm models; ecological-economic models; policy scenarios |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stl:stledp:2010-14&r=env |
| By: | Paul Lanoie; Alexandra Rochon-Fabien |
| Abstract: | The Enviroclub initiative was developed by three federal government agencies—Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, Environment Canada and the National Research Council Canada—and launched in 2001 to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in improving their profitability and competitiveness through enhanced environmental performance. An Enviroclub consists of a group of 10 15 SMEs involved in training sessions on environmental management and carrying out at least one profitable in-plant pollution prevention project. The objective of this article is to provide a cost benefit analysis (CBA) of this original initiative in order to inform policy makers as to the social desirability of such programs. One of the main social benefits of this initiative is to reduce emissions of various pollutants, so that one of our largest challenges is to place a value on these environmental improvements. To do so, we use the “environmental value transfer” method to obtain values from previous relevant studies. We conduct our CBA at three different levels: we consider the costs and benefits first for the whole of society, then from the participating firms’ point of view and, finally, from the governments’ perspective. We conclude that, whichever perspective we choose, the Enviroclub initiative has been highly profitable. <P>L’initiative des Enviroclubs a été développée par trois agences fédérales – Développement économique Canada pour les régions du Québec, Environnement Canada et le Conseil national de recherche du Canada – et lancée en 2001 pour aider les petites et moyennes entreprises (PMEs) à améliorer leur profitabilité et compétitivité via une meilleure performance environnementale. Un Enviroclub consiste en un groupe de 10 à 15 PMEs impliquées dans des séances de formation en gestion de l’environnement et engagées à mettre en œuvre au moins un projet rentable de prévention de la pollution. L’objectif de cet article est de fournir une analyse coûts-bénéfices de cette initiative originale de façon à éclairer les décideurs publics quant au bien-fondé de tels programmes. Un des plus importants bénéfices sociaux de cette initiative est de réduire les émissions de plusieurs types de polluants, ce qui fait que l’un des défis principaux de cette recherche est de trouver la valeur monétaire de ces améliorations environnementales. Pour ce faire, nous ferons du “transfert de valeurs environnementales” pour obtenir des valeurs qui viennent d’études existantes pertinentes. Nous menons notre analyse à trois niveaux. Premièrement, nous considérons les coûts et les bénéfices pour l’ensemble de la société, ensuite pour les firmes qui participent aux programmes et enfin, pour les instances gouvernementales concernées. Nous concluons que, peu importe la perspective choisie, l’initiative des Enviroclubs s’avère rentable. |
| Keywords: | cost-benefit analysis, SMEs, environment training, environmental performance, analyse coûts-bénéfices, PMEs, formation environnementale, performance environnementale |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2011s-28&r=env |
| By: | Kingston, Kato Gogo |
| Abstract: | This study empirically investigates the causal relationship between mineral exploration and environmental pollution in Nigeria with specific focus on natural gas and crude oil in Niger Delta region. The model of Granger causality tests was used. Quarterly data covering 2008 and 2009 were used in accordance with the Akaike (1976) minimum lag length for time-series analysis. The ADF unit root tests show that the null hypothesis of unit root is rejected and, the KPSS stationarity test result accepts the null hypothesis of "stationarity" implying that the variables are fit for the purpose of Granger causality analysis. The test for cointegration show that the variables are cointegrated at the trace level; this imply that gas flaring, environmental pollution and foreign direct investment are statistically linked. The regression on the ordinary least square illustrates that the impact of oil and natural gas exploration on the Nigerian environment is persistent in the long-run. The Granger-causality test result shows that there is one-way causality flowing from the flaring of gas by the foreign firms to the environmental pollution in Nigeria. The study finds a long-run uni-directional causal relationship flowing from mineral exploration to air, soil and water pollution. |
| Keywords: | Economy; Nigeria; Mineral; Pollution; Africa; Environment |
| JEL: | D0 K2 F18 K3 D12 F02 Q56 O13 K1 K4 |
| Date: | 2011–01–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28603&r=env |
| By: | Rainer Holst (Georg-August-University Göttingen); Xiaohua Yu (Georg-August-University Göttingen); Carola Grün (Georg-August-University Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | This paper employs the production function-based method proposed by Just and Pope (1978, 1979) to explicitly analyze production risk in the context of Chinese grain farming and climate change, and test for potential endogeneity of climate factors in Chinese grain production. Our results indicate that grain production in south China might, at least in the short run, could be a net beneficiary of global warming. In particular, we find that a 1 °C increase in annual average temperature in South China could entail an increase of grain output by 3.79 million tons or an economic benefit of around USD 798 million due to the increasing mean output. However the impact of global warming in north China is negative, small and insignificant. In addition, Hausman tests reveal no endogeneity of climate variables in Chinese grain production. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture; grain production; climate change; production risk; China |
| JEL: | Q1 Q54 |
| Date: | 2011–02–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:068&r=env |
| By: | Mariam Camarero (cDepartamento de Economía. Universidad Jaume I. Campus del Riu Sec. Castellón, Spain); Yurena Mendoza (Departamento de Economía Aplicada II. Universidad de Valencia. Valencia, Spain); Javier Ordoñez (cDepartamento de Economía. Universidad Jaume I. Campus del Riu Sec. Castellón, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This paper sets out to re-examine CO2 emissions for 22 OECD countries over the period 1870–2006. The aim is to help explain mixed evidence regarding convergence in per capita emissions among countries. The paper revolves around two potential sources of inconclusive findings regarding CO2 emissions convergence: firstly, neglecting the step prior to convergence analysis could mislead researchers as the stationary nature of series negates the possibility of convergence; secondly, the nonlinear dynamics of CO2 have not been considered to date. The empirical evidence provided by our methodological strategy suggests that the original per capita CO2 emissions are non-stationary from 1950 onwards, allowing for further convergence study. By the novelty appeal of using nonlinear methods, we conclude that there is strong evidence of divergence among these 22 OECD countries. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions, convergence, non linear test, stationarity, smooth transition |
| JEL: | C22 Q5 |
| Date: | 2011–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:1104&r=env |
| By: | Rupayan Pal (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); Bibhas Saha (University of East Anglia) |
| Abstract: | We show under general demand and cost conditions that in a mixed duopoly with pollution the government can (and will) implement the socially optimal outputs and abatements by a tax-subsidy scheme and keeping the public firm fully public. The scheme requires taxing outputs and subsidizing abatements at different rates, unlike a pollution tax. Our result contradicts some of the recent claims that social optimum is not implementable and privatization is necessary. We also show that when the private firm is foreign-owned, the government will adopt some privatization and will not implement the social optimum, though the social optimum is implementable. |
| Keywords: | Environmental damage, mixed duopoly, privatization, tax-subsidy scheme, foreign firm |
| JEL: | H23 Q50 Q58 L13 L33 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2011-005&r=env |
| By: | Jie He (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | To get better understanding on trade's impact on environment, we construct a four-equation simultaneous system, in which emission is determined by the three economic determinants: scale, composition and technical effects and directly by trade. Supposing the three economic determinants are also endogenous to trade, we check in the following three functions the indirect impacts of trade on environment through the intermediation of the three effects. The model is then estimated by 29 Chinese provinces' panel data on industrial SO2 emission (1993-2001). Our estimation results reveal totally opposite role of export expansion and accumulation of manufactured goods import in industrial SO2 emission determination. The results do not support “pollution haven” hypothesis; the reinforced competition faced by exporters is a positive factor encouraging technology progress in pollution abatement. China's actual comparative advantage resides in labor-intensive industries, exporting to world market actually helps to reduce pollution increasing caused by its heavy-industry-oriented development strategy, which is traditionally supported by import activities. |
| Keywords: | cerdi |
| Date: | 2011–02–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00564702&r=env |
| By: | Natalia Melgar (Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República); Máximo Rossi (Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study is to extend previous findings by showing that involvement in environmental issues is shaped by personal attributes such as education and the subjective income but also by country characteristics. The dataset for this research comes from the 2005 World Value Survey and the 2008 Latin-barometer survey that allow us to consider a large and heterogeneous set of countries. The contributions of the paper are three-fold. Firstly, we provide clear evidence that the economic performance plays a relevant role, one direct consequence of this finding is that policies that change the macroeconomic arena would also change people’s attitudes. Secondly, we find that environmental quality could be considered as a luxury good by richer people because people’s attitudes depend not only on their income but also on the economic performance. Finally, richer people are aware of the availability of resources and of the quality of the institutions, hence their behavior changes depending on the characteristics of the country: in relatively poorer countries (where there are fewer resources), they tend to participate more than richer people that live in relatively richer countries. |
| Keywords: | environmental economics, environmental quality, income, human development, cross-country research |
| JEL: | K32 O12 O13 Q50 Q56 |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ude:wpaper:2110&r=env |
| By: | Michael Greenstone; John A. List; Chad Syverson |
| Abstract: | Whether and to what extent environmental regulations influence the competitiveness of firms remains a hotly debated issue. Using detailed production data from tens of thousands of U.S. manufacturing plants drawn from Annual Survey of Manufactures, we estimate the effects of environmental regulations—captured by the Clean Air Act Amendments’ division of counties into pollutant-specific nonattainment and attainment categories—on manufacturing plants’ total factor productivity (TFP) levels. We find that among surviving polluting plants, a nonattainment designation is associated with a roughly 2.6 percent decline in TFP. The regulations governing ozone have particularly discernable effects on productivity, though effects are also seen among particulates and sulfur dioxide emitters. Carbon monoxide nonattainment, on the other hand, appears to increase measured TFP, though this appears to be concentrated among refineries. When we apply corrections for two likely sources of positive bias in these estimates (price mismeasurement and sample selection on survival), we estimate that the total TFP loss for polluting plants in nonattaining counties is 4.8 percent. This corresponds to an annual lost output in the manufacturing sector of roughly $14.7 billion in 1987 dollars ($24.4 billion in 2009 dollars). These costs have important implications for both the intensity and location of firm expansions. |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:11-03&r=env |
| By: | B. Sudhakara Reddy (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); P. Balachandra (Indian Institute of Science) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to analyse urban mobility patterns and consequent impacts on energy and environment in India. We investigate the quantity of energy use in 23 metropolitan regions for the period 1981-2005 and present empirical results obtained using national and urban data sets. It explores the underlying relationship among three dependent variables-energy intensity, type of mode and passenger km. Patterns of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in private and public transport are examined. Some policy recommendations are outlined to reduce urban transport energy use and greenhouse gases and provide suggestions to achieve sustainable urban mobility. |
| Keywords: | Energy, Environment, Intensity, Transport, Urban |
| JEL: | Q4 L94 L95 L98 |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2010-023&r=env |
| By: | Xiao, Junji; Ju, Heng |
| Abstract: | A concomitant of the rapid development of the automobile industry in China is the serious air pollution and carbon dioxide emission. There are various regulation instruments to reduce the air pollution from automobile sources. China government chooses a small-displacement oriented consumption tax as well as fuel tax to alleviate the worse air pollution. This paper evaluates the effects of both policy instruments on fuel consumption and social welfare. Our empirical results show that fuel tax decreases the total sale of new cars, which leads to a decline of total consumption of fuel from the new cars, but does not change the sale distribution over various fuel efficiency models; while consumption tax adjustment results in a skewed sale distribution toward more efficient new cars but increases the total consumption of fuel due to an enlarged sale. The effects of these two taxes on pollution depend on our assumption about the average fuel efficiency of outside goods. On the other hand, consumption tax leads to less social welfare loss; in particular, consumer surplus decreases in an order of magnitude less than that caused by fuel tax. Fuel tax actually transfers more welfare from private sector to the government. |
| Keywords: | China auto industry; welfare analysis; tax incidence; BLP model; tax progressivity |
| JEL: | A13 C35 H23 |
| Date: | 2011–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:27743&r=env |
| By: | Jérémy Laurent-Lucchetti; Justin Leroux; Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné |
| Abstract: | Most natural commons are subject to discontinuities and threshold effects, so their gradual depletion may result in a sudden irreversible loss of the associated ecological services. Yet, it is often impossible to locate these thresholds with certainty. We analyze this context using a variant of the divide-the-dollar game, in which the amount to be split among players follows a discrete or multimodal probability distribution. “Cautions equilibria” – where agents collectively behave as if the worst-case scenario were certain – are found to coexist with “dangerous equilibria” – where overall demand for ecological services might lead to their collapse – and “dreadful equilibria” – where agents collectively request so much natural capital that a collapse of ecological services is certain, even if all agents are risk averse. Communication/cooperation among agents, however, which raises the possibility of coordinated group deviations, would eliminate dreadful equilibria and reduce the occurrence of dangerous equilibria, while cautions equilibria are robust to such deviations. A direct corollary is that dangerous equilibria are Pareto-dominated by any cautions equilibrium in which all agents claim less natural capital. These results shed light on the management of common-pool resources, international climate change negotiations, and the implementation of precautionary policies. |
| Keywords: | Common-pool resources, ecological thresholds, divide-the-dollar game, coalition-proof Nash equilibrium |
| JEL: | Q50 C72 D74 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:lacicr:1105&r=env |
| By: | Rainer Holst (Georg-August-University Göttingen); Xiaohua Yu (Georg-August-University Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | Drawing on the method developed by Just and Pope (1978, 1979), this paper separately analyzes the marginal contributions of both regular input factors and climate factors to mean output and to production risk in Chinese inland aquaculture. Furthermore, the net change in output following a 1°C increase in annual average temperature will be determined. According to the results obtained, the impending changes in global climate will have both positive and negative impacts. While an increment in annual average temperatures will increase mean output and decrease production risk, an increase in temperature variability will reduce mean output and cause a higher level of production risk. The corresponding measures of precipitation however have no significant impact on mean output and production risk. Finally, a 1°C increase in annual average temperature is, ceteris paribus, likely to increase national mean output by 1.47 million tons. |
| Keywords: | Aquaculture; climate change; production risk; China |
| JEL: | Q1 Q54 |
| Date: | 2011–02–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:064&r=env |
| By: | Shingo Kimura; Jesús Antón |
| Abstract: | This report analyzes the agricultural risk management system in Australia, applying a holistic approach that considers the interactions between all sources of risk, farmers. strategies and policies. The policy analysis is structured around three layers of risk that require a differentiated policy response: normal (frequent) risks that should be retained by the farmer, marketable intermediate risks that can be transferred through market tools, and catastrophic risk that requires government assistance. The main focus of risk management policy in Australia is drought risk and this paper assesses the objective and instruments of the country.s national drought policy framework. |
| Keywords: | climate change, risk-management, agricultural policy, catastrophic risk, drought policy, bio-security, cost sharing, index insurance |
| JEL: | Q18 |
| Date: | 2011–02–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:39-en&r=env |
| By: | Östberg, Katarina (CERE, Centre for Environmental and Resource Economics); Håkansson, Cecilia (KTH, Royal Institute of Technology); Hasselström, Linus (Enveco Environmental Economics Consultancy Ltd); Bostedt, Göran (CERE, Centre for Environmental and Resource Economics) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we used choice experiment data to analyze the accuracy of benefit transfer (BT) between two case study areas in Sweden for attributes relevant to the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and special consideration zones in marine areas. The accuracy and reliability of a BT based on a model including only easily available socioeconomic information is similar to the accuracy of a BT based on a model that gives the best statistical fit, but requires time-consuming data collection. Further, the former model has almost as good a fit as the latter. The BT error varies significantly across the attributes, regardless of which model is used. The results are inconclusive as to whether socioeconomic adjustments improve transfer or not. |
| Keywords: | Choice experiments; Benefits transfer; Water Framework Directive |
| JEL: | Q51 |
| Date: | 2011–02–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slucer:2011_002&r=env |
| By: | Martine Audibert (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | Contrary to Asian countries, the agricultural sector in Africa had not benefited from the green revolution success. After a long time of disinterest in the agriculture sector in Africa, several voices arise now in favour of greater efforts towards this sector. Several studies tend to show the crucial role of agriculture in African countries' growth and highlight the huge need of increasing the productivity in this sector. If increase in agriculture productivity requires both an expansion of irrigated areas and the adoption of high yield varieties, those innovations and their high development could be the source of negative health (and environmental) effects. Using a mega-analysis, this paper highlights first the links between health, disease and development and then agricultural productivity. The literature review shows that the negative effect of bad health was not systematically checked, and that the intensity of this effect depends of the disease, but also of the work productivity and the existence or not of a coping process. The second part of the paper focused on the development of high intensive agriculture as a risk factor for farmers' and rural inhabitants' health. This survey shows that whether irrigation and fertilizer and pest intensive use could be considered as highly health (and environmental) risk factors, appropriate control measures (such as for examples systematic maintenance of irrigation canals, alternate wetting and drying of irrigated fields or integrated pest management) considerably reduce this risk, while at the same time, increase the agriculture productivity. |
| Keywords: | agriculture;productivity;endemic disease;health risk factor;Africa |
| Date: | 2011–02–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00563389&r=env |
| By: | Jie He (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, basing on panel data on Chinese provincial level from 1991-2000, we test, firstly, the existence of EKC for industrial SO2 emission density. Following, we decompose the economical determinants of this SO2 emission density into: income effect (GDPPC), scale effect (Industrial GDP per km2) and composition effect (industrial capitalistic ratio). And in the third step, we study the direct and indirect role of international trade intensity ((X+M)/GDP). Instead of a supposed EKC, we find ever-increasing trend in industrial SO2 emission density with respect to income growth for most Chinese provinces when the three largest cities (Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai) directly under central government are taken off from our database. Following, confirming Grossman (1995), we succeed in decomposing industrial SO2 emission density into its three famous economic “effects”. However, different from our expectation, the composition effect, measured by industrial capitalistic ratio K/L in this paper, instead of being a pollution-increasing role as generally accepted idea, turns out to lead industrial SO2 density to reduce as a technology-reinforcing factor. For the role of trade, besides the positive direct impact on industrial SO2 density, we find equally some “pollution haven” evidences. In addition, our results show for most provinces, their comparative advantage stays still in labour-intensive sectors, increase in the capitalistic ratio is proven to be environment-friendly through its technological “pollution-abatement” effect until this ratio reach the level of 83333 yuan/person, which can be considered as the threshold to distinguish capital-intensive sector. Due to these different aspect's effects, corresponding to the conclusion of ACT (1998, 2001), the total effect of trade on industrial SO2 pollution does not turn out to be an important factor for industrial SO2 emission density. Including all these co-related economic determinants into a more general graphical analysis, we find that, for most provinces whose actual income and capitalistic ratio stay still at moderate level, further income growth and capital accumulation are generally environment-friendly factor in openness process. However, the further enlargement of openness degree will result in environment deterioration for the provinces that have relatively low income and too low or too high capitalistic ratio. The necessary policy to reduce this possible deterioration is to adopt besides the open policy, the complementary policies aiming at reinforcing public consciences on environment quality (through income effect) and encouraging R&D activities to increase technological efficiency in pollution abatement. |
| Keywords: | “pollution haven” hypothesis.;Decomposition;industrial SO2 emission;international trade;EKC;China |
| Date: | 2011–02–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00564688&r=env |
| By: | Perini Praveena Sri (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research; Institute of Economic Growth) |
| Abstract: | The fast growing demand for fresh water-coupled with the need to protect the environment has made many areas of India and the rest of the World vulnerable to water shortages for various uses of the economy. As they interact with Electricity Industry, water availability is critical to power generation. With out access to adequate amounts of water for steam generation and cooling, power plants that rely on heat energy to generate electricity cannot operate. Seasonal anomalies in water systems and electricity production are inextricably linked. A change in one of these systems induces a change in the other. Therefore, there is an imperative need to better understand the interrelationship of Electric Energy- water for effective management of serious water related power generation issues. This paper gauges the effects of the some of overlaps and gaps between seasonal anomalies in water availability and growth of power generation in rainy, summer, winter and post monsoon season for power plants of different energy types (Both non-renewable and renewable sources. |
| Keywords: | Andhra Pradesh (AP), Electric -Energy Water Nexus, Water Withdrawals (WD), Loss of generation (LG), Water Shortage, Seasonal Variation Index, cooling effectiveness |
| JEL: | C Q Q40 Q Q Q54 Q |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2010-017&r=env |
| By: | L. BOUTEN; P. EVERAERT |
| Abstract: | Previous research on the determinants of voluntary social and environmental disclosure assumes that the determinants underlying the decision to disclose and the disclosure level are the same. This paper addresses the influence of this assumption on: (i) the operationalization of the dependent variables; (ii) the estimation method; and (iii) the subsequent empirical results, using a sample of 108 listed Belgian firms. Overall, the findings suggest that not distinguishing between the determinants underlying the decision to disclose and the disclosure level may be misleading. |
| Keywords: | content analysis, corporate social responsibility, disclosure, estimation methods, Global Reporting Initiative, Heckman |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:10/689&r=env |
| By: | Kingston, Kato Gogo |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the She oil company, through investment and crude oil exploration, benefits socio-economic growth in Nigeria in general and in the Niger Delta of Nigeria in particular. In 1998, the United Nations Special Rapporteur's report on Nigeria accused Nigeria and Shell of violating human rights and failing to protect the environment, and called for an investigation into Shell activities in Nigeria. The report condemned Shell for arming the security forces which it regularly deploy to use lethal force civilians that protest against the oil firm.” The paper explores the matrix within which the socio-economic rights (human rights, development rights and environment rights) have been significantly marginalised and the implications of the lack corporate social responsibility and the lack of accountability of Shell to the inhabitants of the Niger Delta of Nigeria. With respect to environmental obligations, the paper discusses how environmental degradation in the Niger Delta has infringed on human rights thereby impeding growth and economic development. The paper suggests possible future directions and initiatives for civil society in making corporations more accountable to states, citizens and the planet. |
| Keywords: | Shell; Crude oil; Nigeria; Development; Economy |
| JEL: | K2 K12 K21 K14 K11 K32 K33 K13 K22 K23 K1 K42 |
| Date: | 2010–10–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28608&r=env |
| By: | Pierre-André Jouvet (EconomiX - CNRS : UMR7166 - Université de Paris X - Nanterre, CORE - Center for Operations Research and Econometrics - Université Catholique de Louvain); Grégory Ponthière (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris - ENS Paris, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris) |
| Abstract: | This paper re-examines the spaceship problem, i.e. the design of the optimal population under a fixed living space, by focusing on the dilemma between adding new beings and extending the life of existing beings. For that purpose, we characterize, under time-additive individual welfare depending negatively on population density, the preference ordering of a utilitarian social planner over lifetime-equal histories, i.e. histories with demographic conditions yielding an equal finite number of life-periods (imposed by resources constraints). The analysis of the spaceship problem contradicts widespread beliefs about the populationism of Classical Utilitarianism and the antipopulationism of Average Utilitarianism. We also study the invariance property exhibited by various utilitarian rankings to the total space available and to individual preferences. Finally, we compare histories for a spaceship with a stationary population, and try to accomodate intuitions about posterity and renewal of populations. |
| Keywords: | environmental congestion ; fertility ; longevity ; population ethics ; utilitarianism ; renewal |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00564865&r=env |
| By: | Angela Münch (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena); Wolfgang Völkl (Ökologische Planung) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores possible interdependence of biodiversity and several socioeconomic and political factors at the county level. It is aimed at the empirical identification of direct and indirect effects between biodiversity (loss) and their theoretical major impact factors. To date, research shows that in addition to geography, agriculture is one major determinant of biodiversity status. However, the impact of regional socioeconomic structures on biodiversity should not be underestimated. Specifically, in regard to biodiversity loss, the socioeconomic structure counteracts political measures instituted to protect biodiversity and change agricultural practice. |
| Keywords: | biodiversity, socioeconomic interdependence, Bavaria, Thuringia |
| JEL: | Q15 Q57 R14 |
| Date: | 2011–02–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2011-007&r=env |
| By: | Hallward-Driemeier, Mary; Pritchett, Lant |
| Abstract: | This paper examines de jure and de facto measures of regulations, finding the relationship between them is neither one for one, nor linear."Doing Business"provides indicators of the formal time and costs associated with fully complying with regulations. Enterprise Surveys report the actual experiences of a wide range of firms. First, there are significant variations in reported times to complete the same transaction by firms facing the same formal policy. Second, regulatory compliance appears"under water"as firms report actual times much less than the Doing Business reported days. Third, the data reveal substantial differences between favored and disfavored firms in the same location. Favored firms show minimal variation, so Doing Business has little predictive power for the times they report. For disfavored firms, the variation is greater, although still not significantly correlated with Doing Business. Fourth, where multiple Enterprise Surveys are available, there is little association over time, with reductions in Doing Business days as likely to be accompanied by increases in Enterprise Surveys days. Comparing these two types of measures suggests very different ways of thinking about policy versus policy implementation, what"a climate"for firms in a country might mean, and what the options for"policy reform"really are. |
| Keywords: | E-Business,Microfinance,Access to Finance,Climate Change Economics,Banks&Banking Reform |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5563&r=env |
| By: | Lukas Schweiger |
| Abstract: | This paper seeks to analyse the evolution of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) as a Community tool for the management of a common-pool resource in the context of European integration. The theoretical framework, comprising different levels of analysis, employs European integration theories (Neo-Functionalism and Liberal Intergovernmentalism), paradigms of fisheries management (conservation, economic and social/community) and the concept of common goods. Spillover contributed to the development of the two pillars of the original policy, the structural policy and the common market organisation, which was complemented by a resource conservation regime and a common external policy regarding fisheries. Also, the European Court of Justice has played a significant role in confirming the supremacy of Community law in this field. At the same time, domestic interests in several Member States led to the extenuation of Commission proposals and to perennial stalemates, also due to the Luxembourg Compromise and especially in negotiations on distributive matters. Furthermore, since the adoption of the first CFP in 1970, overdue reforms have not been undertaken (particularly the introduction of individual transferable quotas as a market-based management tool and a definitive end to subsidising overcapacity). Partial reforms, especially concerning equal access, enshrined the status quo through repeatedly renewing derogations, thereby making them de facto permanent. The CFP has evidently failed to prevent the Tragedy of the Commons as most major fish stocks in Community waters are far below their 1983 levels, the year the common conservation regime went into effect. This trend has been exacerbated not only due to the CFP’s ambiguous objectives that stem from its common heritage with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) but also through a tendency of the policy to be oriented toward the social/community paradigm of fisheries management. |
| Keywords: | political science; neo-functionalism; integration theory; agriculture policy; intergovernmentalism; European Court of Justice; Luxembourg |
| Date: | 2010–11–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:eifxxx:p0015&r=env |
| By: | Nelly Exbrayat (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Carl Gaigné (INRA-ESR - Unité d'économie et de sociologie rurales - INRA); Stéphane Riou (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines) |
| Abstract: | Nous analysons l'impact et les déterminants d'une taxe carbone globale dans une économie imparfaitement intégrée composée de pays de différente taille. A l'aide d'un modèle de commerce et de localisation, nous montrons tout d'abord que la concentration de firmes dans le pays disposant d'un avantage de taille de marché accroît les émissions totales de C O2 . L'introduction d'une taxe carbone globale conduit alors à des délocalisations de firmes du grand pays vers le petit pays de sorte que même fixée à un taux unique, une fiscalité carbone ne serait pas neutre du point de vue de la géographie économique. Enfin, parce qu'elles conduisent à une réduction des émissions mondiales de C O2 , ces relocalisations améliorent l'effcacité environnementale de la taxe carbone. |
| Keywords: | fiscalité environnementale; mobilité des firmes; intégration économique |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00565146&r=env |
| By: | Nelly Exbrayat (CERDI-CNRS, Université d'Auvergne); Carl Gaigné (INRA, UMR1302, 4 Allée Bobierre, F-35000 Rennes, France); Stéphane Riou (UMR CNRS 5824 GATE Lyon-Saint-Etienne, Université de Saint-Etienne) |
| Abstract: | Nous analysons l’impact et les déterminants d’une taxe carbone globale dans une économie imparfaitement intégrée composée de pays de différente taille. A l’aide d’un modèle de commerce et de localisation, nous montrons tout d’abord que la concentration de firmes dans le pays disposant d’un avantage de taille de marché accroît les émissions totales de C O2 . L’intro- duction d’une taxe carbone globale conduit alors à des délocalisations de firmes du grand pays vers le petit pays de sorte que même fixée à un taux unique, une fiscalité carbone ne serait pas neutre du point de vue de la géographie économique. Enfin, parce qu’elles conduisent à une réduction des émissions mondiales de C O2 , ces relocalisations améliorent l’effcacité environnementale de la taxe carbone. |
| Keywords: | fiscalité environnementale, mobilité des firmes, intégration économique |
| JEL: | F12 F15 F18 Q28 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:1105&r=env |