nep-env New Economics Papers
on Environmental Economics
Issue of 2013‒10‒18
forty papers chosen by
Francisco S.Ramos
Federal University of Pernambuco

  1. India : Diagnostic Assessment of Select Environmental Challenges, Volume 2. Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability, What Are the Tradeoffs? By World Bank
  2. India : Diagnostic Assessment of Select Environmental Challenges, Volume 3. Valuation of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in India By World Bank
  3. The Arab Republic of Egypt : For Better or For Worse, Air Pollution in Greater Cairo By World Bank
  4. The Environmental Kuznets Curve at Different Levels of Economic Development: A Counterfactual Quantile Regression Analysis for CO2 Emissions By Natina Yaduma; Mika Kortelainen; Ada Wossink
  5. Accessing International Climate Change Related Finance in Latin America and the Caribbean By World Bank
  6. On optimal emission control – Taxes, substitution and business cycles By Lintunen , Jussi; Vilmi, Lauri
  7. India : Diagnostic Assessment of Select Environmental Challenges, Volume 1. An Analysis of Physical and Monetary Losses of Environmental Health and Natural Resources By World Bank
  8. Turkey Green Growth Policy Paper : Towards a Greener Economy By World Bank
  9. Dependence on Environmental Resources and Implications for Household Welfare: Evidence from the Kalahari Drylands, South Africa By Gladman Thondhlana and Edwin Muchapondwa
  10. Embodied Carbon Tariffs By Christoph Bohringer; Jared Carbone; Thomas F. Rutherford
  11. Indonesia : Toward Universal Access to Clean Cooking By World Bank
  12. Bulgaria : Options to Improve Security of Gas Supply By World Bank
  13. Valuing global public goods : a European Delphi stated preference survey of population willingness to pay for Amazon rainforest preservation By Navrud, Stale; Strand, Jon
  14. Improving the Reliability of Weather and Climate Services in Yemen By Lia Carol Sieghart; David Rogers
  15. Optimal Directions for Directional Distance Functions: An Exploration of Potential Reductions of Greenhouse Gases By Hampf, Benjamin; Krüger, Jens
  16. The Strategic Value of Carbon Tariffs By Christoph Bohringer; Jared Carbone; Thomas F. Rutherford
  17. Cost Benefit Studies on Disaster Risk Reduction in Developing Countries By Shyam KC
  18. 2013 Global Hunger Index: The challenge of hunger: Building resilience to achieve food and nutrition security By von Grebmer, Klaus; Headey, Derek; Bene, Christophe; Haddad, Lawrence; Olofinbiyi, Tolulope; Wiesmann, Doris; Fritschel, Heidi; Yin, Sandra; Yohannes, Yisehac; Foley, Connell; von Oppeln, Constanze; Iseli, Bettina
  19. China Carbon Pricing Survey 2013 By Frank Jotzo; Dimitri de Boer; Hugh Kater
  20. The Impact Of Carbon Capture And Storage On A Decarbonized German Power Market By Stephan Spiecker; Volker Eickholt
  21. Inclusive Green Growth and Sustainable Development through Productive Consumption By Dinda, Soumyananda
  22. Coal Consumption, Industrial Production and CO2 Emissions in China and India By Shahbaz, Muhammad; Farhani, Sahbi; Ozturk, Ilhan
  23. Soil Matters: How the Federal Crop Insurance Program should be reformed to encourage low-risk farming methods with high-reward environmental outcomes By O'Connor, Claire
  24. Endogenous Growth with a Ceiling on the Stock of Pollution By Kollenbach, Gilbert
  25. Civil servants’ education and the representativeness of the bureaucracy in environmental policy-making By Jussila Hammes, Johanna
  26. Investment and Adaptation as Commitment Devices in Climate Politics By Clemens Heuson; Wolfgang Peters; Reimund Schwarze; Anna-Katharina Topp
  27. Air Pollution Dynamics and the Need for Temporally Differentiated Road Pricing By Coria, Jessica; Bonilla, Jorge; Grundström, Maria; Pleijel, Håkan
  28. Samoa Post-Disaster Needs Assessment : Cyclone Evan 2012 By Government of Samoa; World Bank
  29. The Use of Ecosystem Services Approach in Guiding Water Valuation and Management: Inland and Coastal Waters By Phoebe Koundouri; Osiel Gonzalez Davila
  30. Would Border Carbon Adjustments prevent carbon leakage and heavy industry competitiveness losses? Insights from a meta-analysis of recent economic studies By Frédéric Branger; Philippe Quirion
  31. Incentivizing Cooperative Agreements for Sustainable Forest Management: Experimental Tests of Alternative Structures and Institutional Rules By David McEvoy; Michael Jones; Michael McKee; John Talberth
  32. The Legal Origins of Corporate Social Responsibility By Leonardo Becchetti; Rocco Ciciretti; Pierluigi Conzo
  33. Impacts of Natural Disasters on Agriculture, Food Security, and Natural Resources and Environment in the Philippines By Danilo C. ISRAEL; Roehlano M. BRIONES
  34. An Investigation of Oil Curse in OECD and Non-OECD Oil Exporting Economies Using Green Measures of Income By Natina Yaduma; Mika Kortelainen; Ada Wossink
  35. Economics of extreme weather events in cities: Terminology and regional impact models By Jahn, Malte
  36. Current Prospects for Bioenergy Crop Production on Marginal Lands: Results from a Farm Survey in Southwestern Wisconsin By Mooney, Daniel; Barham, Brad; Lian, Chang; Ventura, Steve; Hunt, Natalie; Meehan, Tim; Jackson, Randy
  37. Cambiamento climatico, politica ambientale e performance economiche: un'analisi dinamica e settoriale sull’Europa By Massimiliano Mazzanti; Francesco Nicolli; Luca Di Girolamo; Nicola Fogagnolo; Marco Antonio Miglietta; Luca Navarro
  38. The relationship between people’s attitude and willingness to pay for river conservation By Halkos, George
  39. On Refunding of Emission Taxes and Technology Diffusion By Coria, Jessica; Mohlin, Kristina
  40. Analyse der Effizienz einzelner Maßnahmen zur Reduzierung des CO2-Ausstoßes in der Transportlogistik By Schirdewahn, Frederik

  1. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Environment - Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases Macroeconomics and Economic Growth - Climate Change Economics Environmental Economics and Policies Energy - Energy Production and Transportation Environment - Environment and Energy Efficiency
    Date: 2013–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16028&r=env
  2. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Environment - Ecosystems and Natural Habitats Environmental Economics and Policies Environment - Wildlife Resources Water Resources - Wetlands Environment - Climate Change and Environment
    Date: 2013–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16029&r=env
  3. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Air Quality and Clean Air Environment - Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases Transport Economics Policy and Planning Environmental Economics and Policies Energy - Energy Production and Transportation Transport
    Date: 2013–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16086&r=env
  4. By: Natina Yaduma; Mika Kortelainen; Ada Wossink
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:man:sespap:1322&r=env
  5. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Science and Technology Development - Science of Climate Change Environment - Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases Macroeconomics and Economic Growth - Climate Change Economics Finance and Financial Sector Development - Access to Finance Environmental Economics and Policies
    Date: 2013–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16073&r=env
  6. By: Lintunen , Jussi (Finnish Forest Research Institute); Vilmi, Lauri (Bank of Finland, Monetary Policy and Research Department)
    Abstract: This paper studies the cyclical properties of optimal emission taxes and emissions using a real business cycle model with a stock pollutant. We derive conditions for the procyclicality of optimal emission tax and show that the tax is in typical conditions procyclical. The possibility of a countercyclical behavior of the emission tax increases if 1) the pollution is short-lived and the emission transfer into environmental damages rapidly 2) emissions are countercyclical, 3) marginal damages are strongly increasing and 4), in disutility case, the marginal utility of consumption increases with the increase in the intensity of the harmful environmental process. In the climate change context we show that the optimal carbon tax is procyclical irrespectively on the production technology. Instead, the technology is a key determinant of the cyclicality of the emissions. The optimal carbon tax correlates almost fully with the consumption and as a rule-of thumb, it could be indexed to the consumption level of the economy. The relative scale of tax deviations relative to the consumption deviations is determined by the inverse of the intertemporal elasticity of substitution. Comparison between the optimal emission tax and an optimally set constant emission tax shows that the constant tax leads to very slightly higher emissions but the general economic effects are next to negligible.
    Keywords: optimal emission tax; cyclical properties
    JEL: E32 Q54 Q58
    Date: 2013–10–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofrdp:2013_024&r=env
  7. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Health, Nutrition and Population - Population Policies Health Monitoring and Evaluation Environment - Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases Environment - Brown Issues and Health Environmental Economics and Policies
    Date: 2013–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16027&r=env
  8. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Macroeconomics and Economic Growth - Climate Change Economics Environment - Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases Economic Theory and Research Environmental Economics and Policies Energy - Energy Production and Transportation
    Date: 2013–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16088&r=env
  9. By: Gladman Thondhlana and Edwin Muchapondwa
    Abstract: This paper examines dependence on environmental resources and impacts on household welfare among the indigenous San and Mier rural communities neighbouring Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the arid Kalahari region, South Africa. Data on the various household income types, including environmental income, were collected through a structured survey of 200 households. Environmental income constituted 20% of total income, indicating a substantial dependence on environmental resources. The poorest income quintile had the highest environmental income share (31%), though absolute income from environmental resources increased with total income. Analysis of household income with and without environmental income shows that environmental resources shield households, especially the low-income ones, from poverty. Further, Gini-coefficient analyses revealed an important income inequality reduction potential of environmental resources among households. Given the current proposal to grant local communities access to environmental resources inside the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, our results predict household welfare improvements from such a proposal. However, the findings underscore the need to sustainably manage environmental resources (access and extraction) inside and outside the park to balance ecological and socio-economic needs.
    Keywords: Kalahari drylands, environmental resources, indigenous people, dependence, income diversification, household welfare
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:370&r=env
  10. By: Christoph Bohringer; Jared Carbone (University of Calgary); Thomas F. Rutherford
    Abstract: Embodied carbon tariffs tax the direct and indirect carbon emissions embodied in trade — an idea popularized by countries seeking to extend the reach of domestic carbon regulations. We investigate their effectiveness using simulations from an applied general equilibrium model of global trade and energy use. We find that the tariffs do reduce foreign emissions, but their ability to improve the global cost-effectiveness of climate policy is limited. Their main welfare effect is to shift the burden of developed-world climate policies to the developing world.
    Date: 2013–10–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:clg:wpaper:2013-24&r=env
  11. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Energy - Renewable Energy Energy Conservation and Efficiency Macroeconomics and Economic Growth - Markets and Market Access Environmental Economics and Policies Energy - Energy Production and Transportation Environment
    Date: 2013–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16068&r=env
  12. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Water Resources - Water and Industry Environment - Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases Macroeconomics and Economic Growth - Climate Change Economics Oil Refining and Gas Industry Energy - Energy Production and Transportation Industry
    Date: 2013–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16080&r=env
  13. By: Navrud, Stale; Strand, Jon
    Abstract: The Amazon Rainforest is a global public good. As such, and given that 15 percent of the original Amazon forest area has already been lost, households worldwide might be willing to pay to reduce or avoid additional losses. A full elicitation of global preferences for valuing preservation of the current forest, using stated-preference population surveys, would be costly and time consuming. Alternatively, this paper uses a Delphi stated-preference technique in which 48 European environmental valuation experts were asked to provide"best guesses"on the possible outcomes of population surveys in their own countries and Europe as a whole. The expert judgments indicate willingness to pay in Europe for preserving the current Amazon Rainforest of about 28 Euro per household per year on average; a slightly lower value is inferred for a plan that allows a 10 percent future reduction from the current rainforest area. The income elasticity of experts'stated willingness to pay with respect to per-capita income in their own countries is in the range 0.5-0.8. These findings indicate that Delphi studies might be used more widely as a tool for global benefit transfer.
    Keywords: Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Wildlife Resources,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Population Policies
    Date: 2013–10–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6637&r=env
  14. By: Lia Carol Sieghart; David Rogers
    Keywords: Environment - Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases Rural Development - Common Property Resource Development Water Supply and Sanitation - Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions Water Supply and Sanitation - Town Water Supply and Sanitation Science and Technology Development - Science of Climate Change
    Date: 2013–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16112&r=env
  15. By: Hampf, Benjamin; Krüger, Jens
    Abstract: This study explores the reduction potential of greenhouse gases for major pollution emitting countries of the world using nonparametric productivity measurement methods and directional distance functions. In contrast to the existing literature we apply optimization methods to endogenously determine optimal directions for the efficiency analysis. These directions represent the compromise of output enhancement and emissions reduction. The results show that for reasonable directions the adoption of best-practices would lead to sizable emission reductions in a range of about 20 percent compared to current levels.
    Keywords: climate policy, nonparametric frontier functions, directional distance functions
    Date: 2013–03–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dar:ddpeco:60952&r=env
  16. By: Christoph Bohringer; Jared Carbone (University of Calgary); Thomas F. Rutherford
    Abstract: Unilateral carbon policies are inefficient due to the fact that they generally involve emission reductions in countries with high marginal abatement costs and because they are subject to carbon leakage. In this paper, we ask whether the use of carbon tariffs—tariffs on the carbon embodied in imported goods—might lower the cost of achieving a given reduction in world emissions. Specifically, we explore the role tariffs might play as an inducement to unregulated countries adopting emission controls of their own. We use an applied general equilibrium model to generate the payoffs of a policy game. In the game, a coalition of countries regulates its own emissions and chooses whether or not to employ carbon tariffs against unregulated countries. Unregulated countries may respond by adopting emission regulations of their own, retaliating against the carbon tariffs by engaging in a trade war, or by pursuing no policy at all. In the unique Nash equilibrium produced by this game, the use of carbon tariffs by coalition countries is credible. China and Russia respond by adopting binding abatement targets to avoid being subjected to them. Other unregulated countries retaliate. Cooperation by China and Russia lowers the global welfare cost of achieving a 10% reduction in global emissions by half relative to the case where coalition countries undertake all of this abatement on their own.
    Date: 2013–10–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:clg:wpaper:2013-25&r=env
  17. By: Shyam KC
    Keywords: Environment - Adaptation to Climate Change Macroeconomics and Economic Growth - Climate Change Economics Environment - Natural Disasters Conflict and Development - Disaster Management Urban Development - Hazard Risk Management
    Date: 2013–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16111&r=env
  18. By: von Grebmer, Klaus; Headey, Derek; Bene, Christophe; Haddad, Lawrence; Olofinbiyi, Tolulope; Wiesmann, Doris; Fritschel, Heidi; Yin, Sandra; Yohannes, Yisehac; Foley, Connell; von Oppeln, Constanze; Iseli, Bettina
    Abstract: The 2013 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report—the eighth in an annual series—presents a multidimensional measure of national, regional, and global hunger. It shows that the world has made some progress in reducing hunger since 1990, but still has far to go. The 2013 GHI report focuses on resilience in theory and in practice. The relief and development communities have long struggled to understand why some people fare better than others when confronting stresses or shocks. Given that world hunger remains “serious†according to the index, resilience-building efforts are much needed to help poor and vulnerable people cope with hunger seasons, droughts, and other natural and manmade disasters both short-term and long-term. Building resilience will involve boosting food and nutrition security. In order to achieve that goal, the humanitarian and development communities must work together.
    Keywords: Africa South of Sahara; Caribbean; CIS; Commonwealth of Independent States; South Asia; Southeast Asia; Latin America; Developing countries; Middle East; North Africa; OECD countries; India; East Africa; East Asia; Eastern Europe; Food availability; food crises; food crisis; food prices; food security; Global Hunger Index; GHI; Gross income; indicators; Children; Land; Land degradation; Nutrition; Malnutrition; Undernutrition; Hunger; Mortality; Natural resources; Climate change; Data; Policies; Poverty; property rights; smallholders; Stress; Sustainable development; sustainable livelihoods; transition economies; Undernutrition; Underweight; Water; resilience; natural disasters; disaster relief; environmental disasters; emergencies; environmental shocks; environmental risks
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:issbrf:9780896298330&r=env
  19. By: Frank Jotzo; Dimitri de Boer; Hugh Kater
    Abstract: This paper summarises results from the inaugural China Carbon Pricing Survey. The survey elicited expectations about the future of China’s carbon price from China-based experts on carbon pricing and carbon markets during July to September 2013. The results indicate confidence that all seven of China’s pilot schemes will be under way by 2015, with prices rising over time and having an effect on investment decisions; however there is significant uncertainty about price levels. There is strong confidence that China will proceed to introduce national emissions trading, probably in conjunction with a carbon tax. Carbon price levels are expected to rise, in time exceeding those currently prevailing in the EU emissions trading scheme. A large majority of respondents expect that China’s 2020 emissions intensity target will be achieved or surpassed, and almost all expect further targets to be adopted in 2025 and 2030, possibly in the form of absolute limits on emissions.
    Keywords: Carbon pricing, emissions trading, carbon tax, public policy, expert survey, China
    Date: 2013–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:1305&r=env
  20. By: Stephan Spiecker; Volker Eickholt (Chair for Management Sciences and Energy Economics, University of Duisburg-Essen)
    Abstract: The European energy policy is substantially driven by the target to reduce the CO2-emissions significantly and to mitigate climate change. Nevertheless European power generation is still widely based on fossil fuels. The carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) could be part of an approach to achieve ambitious CO2 reduction targets without large scale transformations of the existing energy system. In this context the paper investigates in how far the CCS-technology could play a role in the European and most notably in the German electricity generation sector. To account for all the interdependencies with the European neighboring countries, the embedding of the German electricity system is modeled using a stochastic European electricity market model (E2M2s). After modeling the European side constraints, the German electricity system is considered in detail with the stochastic German Electricity market model (GEM2s). The focus is thereby on the location of CCS plant sites, the structure of the CO2-pipeline network and the regional distribution of storage sites. Results for three different European energy market scenarios are presented up to the year 2050. Additionally, the use of CCS with use of onshore and offshore sites is investigated.
    Keywords: stochastic optimization, carbon capture and storage, power system economics
    JEL: Q3 Q4 C61
    Date: 2013–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dui:wpaper:1304&r=env
  21. By: Dinda, Soumyananda
    Abstract: This paper analyses development mechanism through which natural resource capital regenerates and contributes to economic growth. Climate change challenges economic development in the 21st century but it also provides opportunity to grow with developing green. New development strategy is the inclusive green growth that leads towards sustainable development. Regeneration of natural resource is a crucial productive capital in the economy. This paper suggests a theoretical model and explains sustainable development mechanism through productive consumption. Empirical observations also support this model. This paper suggests policy inputs regarding regeneration of natural resource capital and its preservation in term of water shed development, flood control or development of ecosystem services through creation of jobs in the channel of productive consumption. Policy makers should focus on employability, regeneration and preservation of natural resource capital for sustaining livelihoods in the economy.
    Keywords: Green Growth, Climate Change, Social Capital, Productive Consumption, Reciprocity, Flood Control, Watershed Development, Natural Resource Capital, Human Capital, Inclusive Growth, Sustainable Development.
    JEL: J62 O13 O15 Z13 Z18
    Date: 2013–03–17
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:50574&r=env
  22. By: Shahbaz, Muhammad; Farhani, Sahbi; Ozturk, Ilhan
    Abstract: The present study explores the relationship between coal consumption, industrial production and CO2 emissions in case of China and India for the period of 1971-2011. The structural break unit root test and cointegrating approach have been applied. The direction of causal relationship between the variables is investigated by applying the VECM Granger causality test. Our results validate the presence of cointegration among the series in both countries. We also find the existence of inverted U-shaped curve between industrial production and CO2 emissions for India but for China it is U-shaped relationship. Coal consumption adds in CO2 emission. The causality analysis reveals that industrial production and coal consumption Granger cause CO2 emission in India. In case of China, the feedback effect exists between coal consumption and CO2 emissions.
    Keywords: Coal consumption, Industrial production, CO2 emissions, China, India
    JEL: C4
    Date: 2013–10–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:50618&r=env
  23. By: O'Connor, Claire
    Abstract: Although significant research has been done on managing farmers’ financial risk through federal programs such as federal crop insurance, to date, little attention has been paid to the ability of on-farm management’s potential to mitigate agricultural risk. Federal crop insurance could empower farmers to use their farm management skills to become more resilient to extreme weather conditions. This paper proposes a federal crop insurance pilot program that reduces premium rates for farmers who lower their risk of crop loss by investing in technically sound management practices that both reduce the risk of loss in the near-term and build soil health and increase productive capacity in the long-term. For example, soil moisture management practices, such as conservation tillage, cover cropping, and improved irrigation scheduling, reduce weather-related risks, such as droughts and floods. In the short-term, encouraging practices that increase soil moisture and water infiltration, as well as combat pest pressures, will help decrease yield fluctuation due to unfavorable weather in a given year. In the long-term, farmers who invest in soil health will increase their fields’ yield potential and be better prepared to face the challenge of a changing climate, in which extreme weather events are predicted to be more frequent and intense. Because these practices reduce the risk of crop loss, federal crop insurance can and should encourage them through an actuarially sound premium reduction pilot program.
    Keywords: crop insurance, no-till, cover crop, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty,
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaeaci:156789&r=env
  24. By: Kollenbach, Gilbert
    Abstract: The effects of an agreement such as the Kyoto Protocol, which implicitly imposes a ceiling on the stock of pollution, have recently been studied in Hotelling models. We add pollution and a ceiling to the endogenous growth model of \cite{tsur2005scarcity} to study the effects of the ceiling on capital accumulation and research investments. The ceiling increases the scarcity of the exhaustible resource in the short run, which boosts backstop utilization. This implies that R\&D becomes more beneficial compared with capital accumulation. How the short run development path of an economy is affected depends on its capital endowment or richness, respectively. Only economies which are neither too rich nor too poor may invest more into research. In the long run an economy with a ceiling follows basically the same long run development path as an economy without the ceiling.
    Keywords: Endogenous growth, Environmental agreements, Fossil fuels, Nonrenewable resources, Research and Development
    JEL: O44 Q32 Q54 Q55 Q56
    Date: 2013–10–14
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:50641&r=env
  25. By: Jussila Hammes, Johanna (VTI)
    Abstract: We model and test the representativeness of environmental policy-making, as implied by cost-benefit analysis (CBA) results, in governmental agencies assuming that individual civil servants maximize their personal utility. Education may also influence civil servants’ behavior. The biologists in our sample have the highest valuation of environmental quality. We suspect that their training does not teach them about societal welfare maximization and that they consequently do not adjust their policy recommendation to CBA results, while the economists, who learn about welfare economics, do. The empirical results indicate that the economists adjust their private valuation of the environment by a factor giving a sufficient weight to the CBA results to make their average choice a cost-efficient one. Even the economists in our sample chose on average a policy that is costlier than the cost-efficient one yet clearly less expensive than the policy chosen by the biologists and social scientists.
    Keywords: Biologists; Bureaucracy; Civil servants; Education; Economists; Environmental policy; Political Economics; Representative bureaucracy; Surveys; Use of cost-benefit analysis; Weighted welfare
    JEL: H23 H83 Q25 Q53 Q58
    Date: 2013–10–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2013_030&r=env
  26. By: Clemens Heuson; Wolfgang Peters (Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)); Reimund Schwarze; Anna-Katharina Topp (Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder))
    Abstract: It is well established that adaptation and technological investment in each case may serve as a commitment device in international climate politics. This paper for the …first time analyzes the combined impact of these two strategic variables on global mitigation within a non-cooperative framework where countries either decide on mitigation before or after adaptation. By investment, which is assumed to be made in the fi…rst place due to its considerable lead time, countries commit to lower national contributions to the global public good of mitigation. We fi…nd that the sequencing of adaptation before mitigation reinforces this strategic effect of technological investments at least for sufficiently similar countries. As a consequence, the subgame-perfect equi- librium yields a globally lower level of mitigation, and higher global costs of climate change when adaptation is decided before mitigation. Besides this theoretical contribution, the paper proposes some strategies to combat the unfortunate rush to adaptation which can be currently observed in climate politics.
    Keywords: adaptation, climate policy, investment, mitigation, non-cooperative behavior
    JEL: Q54 H41 H87 C72
    Date: 2013–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:euv:dpaper:011&r=env
  27. By: Coria, Jessica (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Bonilla, Jorge (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Grundström, Maria (Dept of Biological and Environmental Sciences); Pleijel, Håkan (Dept of Biological and Environmental Sciences)
    Abstract: In this paper we investigate the effects of the temporal variation of pollution dispersion, traffic flows and vehicular emissions on pollution concentration and illustrate the need for temporally differentiated road pricing through an application to the case of the congestion charge in Stockholm, Sweden. By accounting explicitly for the role of pollution dispersion on optimal road pricing, we allow for a more comprehensive view of the economy-ecology interactions at stake, showing that price differentiation is an optimal response to the physical environment. Most congestion charges in place incorporate price bans to mitigate congestion. Our analysis indicates that, to ensure compliance with air quality standards, such price variations should also be a response to limited pollution dispersion.
    Keywords: air pollution; road transportation; road pricing; assimilative capacity
    JEL: L91 Q53 R48
    Date: 2013–10–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0572&r=env
  28. By: Government of Samoa; World Bank
    Keywords: Environmental Economics and Policies Urban Development - Hazard Risk Management Environment - Natural Disasters Conflict and Development - Disaster Management Rural Development Knowledge and Information Systems Rural Development
    Date: 2013–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:15977&r=env
  29. By: Phoebe Koundouri; Osiel Gonzalez Davila
    Abstract: In this chapter we develop an interdisciplinary methodology for identifying water-related ecosystem functions into ecosystem services for humans, which are then monetarily evaluated using market and non-market valuation methods. We then apply this methodology to selected case studies on inland and coastal waters and show how these results facilitate the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:1334&r=env
  30. By: Frédéric Branger (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement [CIRAD] : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales [EHESS] - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - AgroParisTech); Philippe Quirion (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement [CIRAD] : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales [EHESS] - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - AgroParisTech)
    Abstract: The efficiency of unilateral climate policies may be hampered by carbon leakage and competitiveness losses. A widely discussed policy option to reduce leakage and protect competitiveness of heavy industries is to impose Border Carbon Adjustments (BCA) to non regulated countries, which remains contentious for juridical and political reasons. The estimation of carbon leakage as well as the assessment of different policy options led to a substantial body of litterature in energy-economic modeling. In order to give a quantitative overview on the most recent research on the topic, we conduct a meta-analysis on 25 studies, altogether providing 310 estimates of carbon leakage ratios according to different assumptions and models. The typical range of carbon leakage ratio estimates are from 5% to 25% (mean 14%) without policy and from -5% to 15% (mean 6%) with BCA. The output change of Energy Intensive Trade Exposed (EITE) sectors varies from -0.1% to -16% without BCA and from +2.2% to -15.5% with BCA. A meta-regression analysis is performed to further investigate the impact of different assumptions on the leakage ratio estimates. The decrease of the leakage ratio with the size of the coalition and its increase with the binding target is confirmed and quantified. Providing flexibility reduces leakage ratio, especially the extension of coverage to all GHG sources. High values of Armington elasticities lead to higher leakage ratio and among the BCA options, the extension of BCA to all sectors is in the meta-regression model the most efficient feature to reduce the leakage ratio. Our most robust statistical finding is that, all other parameters being constant, BCA reduces leakage ratio by 6 percentage points.
    Keywords: Carbon leakage, Competitiveness, Border Carbon Adjustments, Meta-analysis, Meta-regression analysis, Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models
    Date: 2013–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00870689&r=env
  31. By: David McEvoy; Michael Jones; Michael McKee; John Talberth
    Abstract: Non-industrial private forestland owners (NIPFs) manage the majority of US forestland. But land use conversion is highest amongst this group, in part due to the relative paucity of income earned from active forest management relative to sale of land to developers. Cooperative forest management agreements can help reduce this differential, but participation remains low. If structured well, these agreements can provide opportunities for long term payments from sales of timber and ecosystem services at levels sufficient to reduce the temptation to convert. In this paper we investigate various means of encouraging meaningful participation in cooperative agreements for forests that emphasize conservation. We report on the results obtained through a series of laboratory market experiments in which the participants play the role of NIPFs and make resource allocation decisions facing real financial incentives. Our results shed light on the relative factors that affect the success of these agreements. In particular, we find that when agreements include contribution thresholds (with money back guarantees) coupled with relatively long contract lengths, groups are able to preserve a significant fraction of forested lands through conservation agreements. Key Words: conservation agreement, participation, economic laboratory experiment
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apl:wpaper:13-23&r=env
  32. By: Leonardo Becchetti (University of Rome "Tor Vergata"); Rocco Ciciretti (University of Rome "Tor Vergata"); Pierluigi Conzo (University of Turin)
    Abstract: The legal origin literature documents that civil and common law traditions have different impact on rules and economic outcomes. We contribute to this literature by investigating the relationship between corporate social responsibility and legal origins. Consistently with the main differences in historical and legal backgrounds and net of industry specific effects, the common law origin has a significant and positive impact on the Corporate Governance and Community Involvement domains, while the French legal tradition of civil law on the Human Resources domain. We also document that the lack of observable differences in the environmental domain can be explained by firms' progressive convergence to industry sustainability standards.
    Keywords: legal origins, corporate social responsibility, environmental standards, corporate governance, civil law, common law
    JEL: K10 K20 K31 K32 D60
    Date: 2013–10–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:291&r=env
  33. By: Danilo C. ISRAEL (Philippine Institute for Development Studies); Roehlano M. BRIONES (Philippine Institute for Development Studies)
    Abstract: This study quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed the impacts of natural disasters (particularly typhoons, floods and droughts) on agriculture, food security and the natural resources and environment in the Philippines. It aimed to propose recommendations as to how best to respond to the impacts of natural disasters and to suggest further studies that can be undertaken. In general, the study found that: a) typhoons, floods and droughts have an insignificant impact on overall agricultural production at the national level, yet typhoons may have a significant negative impact on paddy rice production at the provincial level; b) typhoons, as exemplified by Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009, have a significant negative impact on the food security of the households in the affected areas; c) households have varying consumption and non-consumption strategies to cope with the impacts of typhoons; and d) the different impacts of typhoons, floods and droughts on the natural resources and environment have not been quantitatively assessed in detail, however available evidence suggests that these are also substantial. Based on its results and findings, the study recommends the following: a) Since typhoons may have significant negative impacts on rice production at the local level as opposed to the national level, assistance for rice farmers and the agriculture sector as a whole should be made more site-specific, zeroing in on the affected areas that actually need it; b) Those assisting affected households and areas in overcoming the resulting ill-effects of natural disasters should consider not only consumption strategies, such as the provision of emergency food aid, but also non-consumption strategies, such as the provision of post-disaster emergency employment; and c) While the available evidence suggests that the natural resources and environment sector is significantly affected by natural disasters, it is currently less considered, as attention is presently focused on agriculture. It may now be high time to provide concrete assistance to this sector, in particular the provision of defensive investments and rehabilitation expenditures to cope with these natural disasters.
    Keywords: Naturaldisasters, typhoons, floods, droughts, agriculture, food security, natural resources and the environment, Agricultural Multi-Market Model for Policy Evaluation (AMPLE)
    JEL: Q54 Q51 Q18 O53
    Date: 2013–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:era:wpaper:dp-2013-15&r=env
  34. By: Natina Yaduma; Mika Kortelainen; Ada Wossink
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:man:sespap:1321&r=env
  35. By: Jahn, Malte
    Abstract: Impacts of extreme weather events are relevant for cities in many aspects. Cities are the cores of economic activity and the amount of people and assets endangered by extreme weather events is large, even under the current climate. A changing climate with changing extreme weather patterns and the process of urbanization will make the whole issue even more relevant in the future. In this paper, definitions and terminology in the field of extreme weather events are discussed. Possible impacts of extreme weather events on cities are collected and the human influences are emphasized. Economic impacts are discusses along a temporal and a sectoral dimension. Finally, common economic impact models are compared, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. -- Extremwetterereignisse betreffen Städte in vielfältiger Weise. Städte sind Zentren ökonomischer Aktivität und die Anzahl der durch Extremwetter gefährdeten Menschen und Vermögenswerte steigt, selbst unter dem heutigen Klima. Ein sich veränderndes Klima mit sich verändernden Extremwetterereignissen wie auch der Prozess der Verstädterung erhöhen die Relevanz des Themas in der Zukunft. In diesem Artikel werden Definitionen und Terminologie im Bereich Extremwettereignisse diskutiert. Mögliche ökonomische Auswirkungen verschiedener Arten von Extremwetter auf Städte werden untersucht, wobei auch der menschliche Einfluss hervor gehoben wird. Die Auswirkungen werden in einer zeitlichen und sektoralen Dimension genauer betrachtet. Abschließend werden ökonomische Modelle zur Analyse der Folgen von Extremwetterereignissen verglichen und die Modellunterschiede herausgearbeitet.
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hwwirp:143&r=env
  36. By: Mooney, Daniel (University of WI); Barham, Brad (University of WI); Lian, Chang (University of WI); Ventura, Steve (University of WI); Hunt, Natalie (University of WI); Meehan, Tim (Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of WI); Jackson, Randy (University of WI)
    Abstract: This report describes initial findings from the 2011 Bioenergy Crop Production Study, a mail survey of active farmers in southwestern Wisconsin. Overall, the near-term prospects for widespread bioenergy crop production appear limited, primarily due to on-going commitments that these farms have to their integrated crop and livestock enterprises. However, spatial agglomerations or 'hotspots' of bioenergy crop production, and the lower logistical biomass collection costs that come with it, may arise in locations where attitudes towards bioenergy policy and environmental stewardship are favorable.
    Date: 2013–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:wisagr:569&r=env
  37. By: Massimiliano Mazzanti; Francesco Nicolli; Luca Di Girolamo; Nicola Fogagnolo; Marco Antonio Miglietta; Luca Navarro
    Abstract: L’obiettivo del lavoro è sfruttare la teoria delle Environmental Kuznets Curves per testare la dinamica relativa all'intensità di emissioni di anidride carbonica (intesa come rapporto tra emissioni e valore aggiunto) ed alla produttività del lavoro (calcolata come valore aggiunto su ore lavorate). Utilizzando il modello economico-ambientale IPAT e la nuova banca dati settoriale Wiod, uno degli strumenti più completi di accounting ambientale a livello europeo, si testa la relazione tra intensita' emissiva settoriale e driver economici, commerciali, di politica. Sebbene la relazione ad U rovesciata teorizzata dalla letteratura sulle curve di Kuznets ambientali sembri non verificarsi, si denotano dinamiche interessanti riguardanti la produttività del lavoro, il grado di apertura commerciale e le politiche, in merito al loro impatto sull'intensità di emissioni di anidride carbonica, con evidenze differenti tra Europa del nord e del sud.
    Keywords: IPAT; WIOD; Decoupling; ETS; trade; Europe
    JEL: O3 Q5
    Date: 2013–09–15
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udf:wpaper:2013192&r=env
  38. By: Halkos, George
    Abstract: This research advances the understanding of people’s attitude towards water resources valuation. Specifically, it aims to improve confidence in the interpretation of people’s willingness to pay (WTP) for water resources protection by enhancing understanding of value relationships. Primary data were obtained from a sample of 510 people living in and visiting the Pinios River in the eastern part of Central Greece. Respondents’ behavior was explored by measuring and comparing use and non-use values with the help of a proposed constructed scale for measuring the dimensions of Total Economic Value of a water resource. For this purpose, a combination of applied methodological research techniques like Principal Component and Cluster Analyses together with logistic regression was used. The results indicated the relative importance of particular value components in determining water resources conservation preferences, as well as individuals’ WTP for protecting them. We have extracted four factors and explored their influence on respondents’ WTP and the general attitude towards the area. There were high associations between WTP of individuals towards river protection in relation to their characteristics (like education, income and origin).
    Keywords: River; Contingent Valuation; WTP; Total Economic Value.
    JEL: C80 D12 Q25 Q28 Q51 Q57
    Date: 2013–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:50560&r=env
  39. By: Coria, Jessica (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Mohlin, Kristina (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)
    Abstract: We analyze diffusion of an abatement technology in an imperfectly competitive industry under a standard emission tax compared to an emission tax which is refunded in proportion to output market share. The results indicate that refunding can speed up diffusion if firms do not strategically influence the size of the refund. If they do, it is ambiguous whether diffusion is slower or faster than under a non-refunded emission tax. Moreover, it is ambiguous whether refunding continues over time to provide larger incentives for technological upgrading than a non-refunded emission tax, since the effects of refunding dissipate as the overall industry becomes cleaner.
    Keywords: emisson tax; refund; abatement technolgy; technology diffusion; imperfect competition
    JEL: H23 O33 O38 Q52
    Date: 2013–10–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0573&r=env
  40. By: Schirdewahn, Frederik
    Abstract: [Zielsetzung der Arbeit] Die in Kapitel 1 vorgestellten Sachverhalte bilden den Rahmen für die vorliegende Ausarbeitung. Die in Folge des Klimawandels stetig ansteigende globale Durchschnittstemperatur bedingt, dass ein entschlossenes Handeln unausweichlich wird, um die heutigen Lebensbedingung auch für nachfolgende Generationen zu erhalten (vgl. Stern 2009: 46). Die Maßnahmen der Regierung zur Reduktion der CO2-Emissionen sind dabei vielfältig und ihre Wirkungsweise selten trivial. Dennoch werden viele der Maßnahmen weitläufig als wirkungsvoll angesehen, ohne dass Effekte und Potential tatsächlich bekannt sind. Den Aussagen von Politik und Wirtschaft wird nur allzu häufig ohne kritisches Hinterfragen vertraut. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, einzelne dieser Ansätze zur CO2-Reduktion innerhalb der Transportlogistik hinsichtlich ihrer tatsächlichen Wirkung zu untersuchen. Es stellt sich die Frage, ob diese so effizient zu einer Reduzierung der Treibhausgasemissionen beitragen, wie es von Politik und Wirtschaft behauptet wird. Es wird die These formuliert, dass die vorgeschlagenen Maßnahmen zum Teil deutlich weniger effizient sind als weitläufig angenommen und ihnen oftmals die hohe klimafreundliche Wirkung zu Unrecht zugesprochen wird. Innerhalb der zur Überprüfung gewählten Ansätze soll diese These bestätigt oder widerlegt werden. --
    JEL: K32 L92 Q51
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hswwdp:042013&r=env

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