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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Marc Gronwald; Ngo Van Long; Luise Roepke |
| Abstract: | We analyze the effects of two popular second-best clean energy policies, using an extended resource extraction framework. This model features, first, heterogeneous energy sources and, second, a capacity-constrained backstop technology. This setup allows for capturing the following two empirical observations. First, different types of energy sources are used simultaneously despite different production costs. Second, experiences from various European countries show that a further expansion of the use of climate friendly technologies faces substantial technological as well as political constraints. We use this framework to analyze if under two policy scenarios a so-called “Green Paradox” occurs. A subsidy for the clean energy as well as an expansion of the capacity of the clean energy are considered. The analysis shows that while both policy measures lead to a weak Green Paradox, a strong Green Paradox is only found for the capacity expansion scenario. In addition, the subsidy is found to be welfare enhancing while the capacity increase is welfare enhancing only if the cost of adding the capacity is sufficiently small. Nous analysons les effets de deux politiques encourageant l’énergie verte, en utilisant un cadre élargi d’extraction des ressources. Ce modèle comporte, d’une part, des sources d’énergie hétérogènes et, d’autre part, une technologie verte dont l’exploitation est sous une contrainte de capacité. Cette configuration permet de capturer les deux observations empiriques suivantes. Tout d’abord, plusieurs sources d’énergie sont utilisées simultanément malgré l’écart de coûts de production. Deuxièmement, les expériences de divers pays européens montrent qu’une expansion accrue de l’utilisation de technologies respectueuses du climat fait face à des contraintes technologiques et politiques importantes. Nous utilisons ce cadre pour analyser si sous deux scénarios de politique un soi-disant « Paradoxe Vert » se produit. Une subvention sur le coût de l’énergie verte ainsi qu’une expansion de la capacité de l’énergie verte sont prises en considération. L’analyse montre que tandis que les deux mesures politiques conduisent à un Paradoxe Vert faible, un Paradoxe Vert fort est seulement trouvé pour le scénario d’expansion de la capacité. En outre, la subvention améliore le bien-être, alors que l’accroissement de la capacité ne favorise le bien-être que si le coût d’ajout de la capacité est suffisamment faible. |
| Keywords: | Capacity constraints, Green Paradox, Climate change, Simultaneous resource use, Contrainte de capacité, Paradoxe Vert, Changements climatiques, Utilisation simultanée des ressources |
| JEL: | Q38 Q54 H23 |
| Date: | 2016–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2016s-61&r=env |
| By: | Laurent Meunier (Economics Department of the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME)); Frédéric Gilbert (Ecole des Ponts ParisTech); Eric Vidalenc (Economics Department of the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME)) |
| Abstract: | In order to fight against climate change, ambitious targets have been set, such as decreasing carbon emissions by 75% in France compared to 1990. Yet, focusing on territorial impacts leads to overlook import-embedded impacts. As a matter of fact, French territorial greenhouse gases (henceforth GHG) emissions have slightly decreased since 1990, whereas consumption-based emissions have been shown to increase. This is why we focus in this paper on consumption-based emissions rather than territorial emissions. Moreover, our analysis is not carbon-emissions focused. Indeed, the following environmental impacts are taken into account: air acidification, photochemical oxidation and non-dangerous industrial wastes. This a first contribution. Secondly, we build a scenario of French households final consumption in 2030 aiming at decreasing its environmental impacts. Finally, a deep matrix algebra analysis gives us precious hints on the reliability of the results. |
| Keywords: | input-output analysis, environmental externalities, scenario analysis |
| JEL: | Q40 Q53 Q54 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:ppaper:2015.06&r=env |
| By: | Nachtigall, Daniel |
| Abstract: | The allocation of free allowances for firms belonging to the carbon leakage list of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) was found to lead to substantial overcompensation, which is why some stakeholders recently have called for a phasing out of free allowances in the near term. This paper analyzes the consequences of phasing out free allowances in a dynamic two-period model when one group of countries unilaterally implements climate policies such as an emissions trading scheme. A carbon price induces firms to invest in abatement capital, but may also lead to the relocation of some firms. The social planner addresses the relocation problem by offering firms transfers, i.e. free allowances, conditional on maintaining the production in the regulating country. If transfers are unrestricted in both periods, then the social planner can implement the first best by setting the carbon price equal to the marginal environmental damage and using transfers to prevent any relocation. However, if transfers in the future period are restricted, it is optimal to implement a declining carbon price path with the first period price exceeding the marginal environmental damage. A high carbon price triggers investments in abatement capital and thus creates a lock-in effect. With a larger abatement capital stock, firms are less affected by carbon prices in the future and therefore less prone to relocate in the second period where transfers are restricted. |
| Keywords: | unilateral climate policy,relocation,lock-in effect,rebating |
| JEL: | Q54 Q56 Q58 H23 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fubsbe:201625&r=env |
| By: | Coria, Jessica (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Zhang, Xiao-Bing (School of Economics, Renmin University of China.) |
| Abstract: | Road pricing can improve air quality by reducing and spreading traffic flows. Nevertheless, air quality does not depend only on traffic flows, but also on pollution dispersion. In this paper we investigate the effects of the temporal variation in pollution dispersion on optimal road pricing, and show that time-varying road pricing is needed to make drivers internalize the social costs of both time-varying congestion and time- varying pollution. To this end, we develop an ecological economics model that takes into account the effects of road pricing on integrated daily commuting patterns. We characterize the optimal road pricing when pollution dispersion varies over the day and analyze its effects on traffic flows, arrival times, and the number of commuters by car. |
| Keywords: | Air pollution; Road transportation; Road pricing; Pollution dispersion |
| JEL: | Q53 Q58 R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0682&r=env |
| By: | Raha, Saudia; Holvoet, Nathalie |
| Abstract: | This paper is based on a diagnostic exercise of the monitoring and evaluation instrument (MEI) for the Regional Framework for addressing climate change in the Caribbean. The MEI, which operates at the supranational level, was diagnosed to provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the system, understand why they exist and provide guidance on improvements required. The diagnosis covered seven dimensions: institutional readiness; unified system (supply side); results measurement and data management; plans, guidelines, and budgeting; evaluation; verification and demand side. It was elucidated that some of the core requirements for an M&E system shift at various scales (local, national, supranational). For instance, target setting at the supranational level is not driven by the baseline and existing resources, but more so by the aggregation of national priorities which is a function of each country’s political processes. A notable discovery is that there are almost no incentives to promote M&E of mitigation actions outside of the UNFCCC system in the Caribbean. This can result in limited evaluations to detect leakages and document best practices for mitigation programs. Further, the research strongly signaled that investing in a bottom-up approach encourages a unified supply side through the rationalization of indicators and information flows, and can secure buy-in, ownership and ultimately use. Better mainstreaming of M&E across the Caribbean might be attainable through the establishment of a community of practice; release of a policy statement by the CARICOM Secretariat regarding the M&E roles and responsibilities for member states and regional specialized agencies; and the promotion of monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) within the ambit of the newly established Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. |
| Keywords: | climate change; Caribbean; monitoring and evaluation; M&E |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:dpaper:2016002&r=env |
| By: | Ursu, Ana |
| Abstract: | The volume contains the papers accepted and published in the proceedings of the 7th International symposium entitled: “Agrarian Economy and Rural Development - Realities and Perspectives for Romania”, organized by the Institute of Research for Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Bucharest in cooperation with, The Institute for Agrarian Economy Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania, University of Agrarian Sciences and Veterinary Medicine – The Faculty Of Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development, Bucharest, Romania, Institute for Economy, Finance and Statistics, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, Institute of Agricultural Economics, Belgrade – Serbia, Academy of Economic Studies - The Faculty Of Agro-Food And Environment Economy, Bucharest, Romania, under the high scientific patronage of Academy of Agriculture and Forest Sciences "Gheorghe Ionescu Sisesti", held in Bucharest, Romania, November, 24, 2016. The proceedings are structured in accordance with the sessions of the conference and it includes papers and relevant contributions on plenary speakers, Economy, management and agricultural marketing and Rural development and agricultural policies. Publishing this volume represents a term of the interest expressed by the highest academic and research groups in Romania and EU with interests in the agricultural sector. In the symposium proceedings are shared knowledge, experience and the newest results of your research in the agrarian economy and rural development domain related to enhancing competitiveness of all types of agriculture and promoting innovative agricultural technologies; organizing the food chain, including processing and marketing of agricultural products, animal welfare and risk management in agriculture; preserving and strengthening agricultural ecosystems; efficient use of resources and supporting the shift towards a low carbon economy and resilient to climate change in agriculture and food; social inclusion, poverty reduction and economic development in rural areas etc. The symposium proceedings is structured in 4 specialized sections, where the read my find interesting argues regarding this research field. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, rural development, rural economy, CAP |
| JEL: | A1 C1 D2 N50 O1 Q13 Q18 Q57 R11 Z0 |
| Date: | 2016–11–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75599&r=env |
| By: | Lars Ravensbeck; Ayoe Hoff (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen); Hans Frost (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | The application of ecosystem based management of the marine resources and focus on ecosystem services will influence the methodologies used for assessing the resources as well as the proposed regulation of the fisheries and other marine resources. The paper makes a review of ecosystem services and ecosystem based fishery management with the purpose of integrating these elements in a bioeconomic model. As a part of the model development, a logistic predator-prey model is examined thoroughly. On this basis, a numerical model is created. The model can include several species at different trophic layers, hence simulation a small food web. The key purpose of the numerical analysis is to develop a practical tool that can assess the management policies when a broader range of ecosystem services, species interactions and externalities are taken into account. The model can include several species at different trophic layers and, hence, simulate a small food web, while at the same time assess the economic effects of fishing on this food web. In general, the analyses indicate that species modelled with interaction may sustain less fishing pressure than if they are modelled without species interaction. Besides interaction, the numerical model assesses how the economic result is affected by the inclusion of ecosystem services. This is done through the damage cost functions, which depends on effort and reduces the net value, and a set of non-market values, which are functions that depend on the stock of the species. The inclusion of these tends to favour reduction in effort levels, in some cases quite significantly. Management policies based on conventional MEY targets may in many cases rather well accommodate the broader range of ecosystem-based policy goals, due to the lower effort levels. The paper shows the shortcomings of conventional qualitative analytical approaches because of the complexities of marine ecosystems. Numerical models also show shortcomings, in particular because specific functional forms are used and data are short in many areas. However, it is shown that much insight can be gained from using such relatively simple models. |
| Keywords: | bioeconomics, ecosystem modelling, ecosystem based fisheries management |
| JEL: | Q22 Q57 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:foi:wpaper:2016_12&r=env |
| By: | Handberg, Øyvind Nystad (School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Sense of ownership is often advocated as an argument for local participation within the epistemic development and nature conservation communities. Stakeholder participation in initiating, designing or implementing institutions is claimed to establish a sense of ownership among the stakeholders and subsequently improve the intended outcomes of the given institution. Theoretical and empirical justications of the hypothesis remain scarce. A better understanding of the eects of local participation can motivate more extensive and stronger participation of local stakeholders and improve institutional performance. This paper applies theories from psychology and behavioral economics to better understand sense of ownership. The empirical investigation is a framed eld experiment, in the context of tropical forest conservation and payments for environmental services in Tanzania. The results lend little support to the hypothesis in this context. The participation treatment in the experiment is weak, and a possible explanation is that sense of ownership is sensitive to the form of participation. |
| Keywords: | articipation; sense of ownership; forestry; Tanzania; framed eld experiment |
| JEL: | C93 Q23 |
| Date: | 2016–12–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsseb:2016_005&r=env |
| By: | MALEN, Joel; YAMANOI, Junichi |
| Abstract: | We examine how stronger environmental regulations influence MNE international expansion decisions by attending to two sources of firm heterogeneity that moderate this effect: possession of pollution reduction capabilities and firm multinationality. Empirical tests on 523 cases of international manufacturing expansion into 49 potential host countries by 124 Japanese chemical industry firms between 2001 and 2010 reveal that the market entry deterring effect of stronger environmental regulations is weaker for firms possessing unique capabilities for pollution reduction and for more multinational firms. Moreover, because more multinational firms have greater incentives and skills for modifying capabilities to create value in host-country environments, the positive moderating effect of PR-capabilities are strengthened yet further for high multinationality firms. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:iirwps:16-13&r=env |
| By: | Mojgan Chapariha |
| Abstract: | The population of older people living in urban areas is increasing rapidly, so investigating on the well-being of this important group in urban area is critical. There are many studies that claim green public spaces are very important on human well-being and especially elderly’s’ well-being (Sugiyama & Ward Thompson 2008; Maas et al. 2006). In SDGs, one of the targets is dedicated to green public spaces, but it does not determine the implementation of them. This research will help to facilitate implementing green public spaces in cities through introducing indicators for monitoring SDGs. |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cav:cavwpp:wp147&r=env |
| By: | Xiaoyu Chen; |
| Abstract: | There are few multicity studies to address the effect of short-term effect of particulate matter air pollution on daily Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) mortality in developing countries, much fewer to further discuss its threshold and seasonal effect. This study investigates the season-varying association between particulate matter less than or equal to 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) and daily CHD mortality in seven cities of China. Time series threshold Poisson regression model is specified to estimate the health effect for four cities with the threshold effect, and conventional linear Poisson model is used to analyze the effect for three cities without threshold. We apply the Bayesian hierarchical model to pool the city-specific estimates into overall level. On average, a 10μg/m3 increase of the moving average concentrations of current-day and previous-day PM10 is associated with an increase of 0.81% (95% Posterior Interval, PI: -0.04%, 1.67%) in daily CHD mortality for all the cities as a whole. The associations are smaller than reported in developed countries or regions with lower polluted level, which is consistent to the findings in the literature. The hazardous effect are higher in hot summer and cold winter (1.15% and 0.89%) but lower in relative warm spring and fall (0.85% and 0.69%). In summary, we found significant associations between short-term exposure to PM10 and CHD mortality in China. The sensitivity analyses in the study support the robustness of our results. |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2016-055&r=env |
| By: | Ponce, Roberto; Parrado, Ramiro; Stehr, Alejandra; Bosello, Francesco |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the economic impacts of changes in water availability due to climate change. We develop a new modeling approach as an alternative to include water as a production factor within a global CGE model. We tailor the structure of the ICES model to characterize the key features of the world economy with a detailed representation of the agricultural sector. In order to reach this objective, a new database has been built to explicitly consider water endowments, precipitation changes, and unitary irrigation costs. Results suggest different economic consequences of climate change depending on the specific region. Impacts are related to change in crop production, endowment demands, and international trade. |
| Keywords: | CGE Models, Climate Change, Agriculture, Irrigation, Water Resources, Environmental Economics and Policy, C68, Q54, Q15, Q25, |
| Date: | 2016–12–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemei:251813&r=env |
| By: | Cristiano Codagnone; Giuseppe Alessandro Veltri; Francesco Bogliacino; Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva; George Gaskell; Andriy Ivchenko; Pietro Ortoleva; Francesco Mureddu |
| Abstract: | This article presents the results of a laboratory experiment and an online multi-country experiment testing the effect of motor vehicle eco-labels on consumers. The laboratory study featured a discrete choice task and questions on comprehension, while the ten countries online experiment included measures of willingness to pay and comprehension. Labels focusing on fuel economy or running costs are better understood, and influence choice about money-related eco-friendly behaviour. We suggest that this effect comes through mental accounting of fuel economy. In the absence of a cost saving frame, we do not find a similar effect of information on CO2 emissions and eco-friendliness. Labels do not perform as well as promotional materials. By virtue of being embedded into a setting designed to capture the attention, the latter are more effective. We found also that large and expensive cars tend to be undervalued once fuel economy is highlighted. |
| Keywords: | Eco-label; Nudge; Willingness to pay; Fuel economy; Experiments; CO2 emission |
| JEL: | C9 D3 Q56 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:68683&r=env |
| By: | Sven Rudolph; Takeshi Kawakatsu; Toru Morotomi |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kue:epaper:d-16-001&r=env |
| By: | Lucas W. Davis; Christopher R. Knittel |
| Abstract: | Despite widespread agreement that a carbon tax would be more efficient, many countries use fuel economy standards to reduce transportation-related carbon dioxide emissions. We pair a simple model of the automakers' profit maximization problem with unusually-rich nationally representative data on vehicle registrations to estimate the distributional impact of U.S. fuel economy standards. The key insight from the model is that fuel economy standards impose a constraint on automakers which creates an implicit subsidy for fuel-efficient vehicles and an implicit tax for fuel-inefficient vehicles. Moreover, when these obligations are tradable, permit prices make it possible to quantify the exact magnitude of these implicit subsidies and taxes. We use the model to determine which U.S. vehicles are most subsidized and taxed, and we compare the pattern of ownership of these vehicles between high- and low-income census tracts. Finally, we compare these distributional impacts with existing estimates in the literature on the distributional impact of a carbon tax. |
| JEL: | H22 L5 L91 Q48 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22925&r=env |
| By: | Mathias Reynaert; James M. Sallee |
| Abstract: | Firms sometimes comply with externality-correcting policies by gaming the measure that determines policy. We show theoretically that such gaming can benefit consumers, even when it induces them to make mistakes, because gaming leads to lower prices by reducing costs. We use our insights to quantify the welfare effect of gaming in fuel-consumption ratings for automobiles, which we show increased sharply following aggressive policy reforms. We estimate a structural model of the car market and derive empirical analogs of the price effects and choice distortions identified by theory. We find that price effects outweigh distortions; on net, consumers benefit from gaming. |
| JEL: | H2 L5 Q5 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22911&r=env |
| By: | Daniel A. Brent; Lata Gangadharan; Allison Lassiter; Anke Leroux; Paul A. Raschky |
| Abstract: | Decentralized stormwater management systems deliver a number of environmental services that go beyond the reduction of flood risk, which has been the focus of con-ventional stormwater systems. Not all of these services may be equally valued by the public, however. This paper estimates households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for im-provements in water security, stream health, amenity values, as well as the reduction in flood risk and urban heat island effect. We use data from nearly 1,000 personal interviews with residential homeowners in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Our re-sults suggest that the WTP for the highest levels of all environmental services is A$409 per household per year. WTP is mainly driven by the residents’ positive valuation for exemptions in water restrictions, improvements in local stream health, and decreased peak urban temperatures. We further conduct a benefit transfer analysis and find that the WTP is not significantly different between the study areas. Our findings provide additional support that decentralized stormwater management systems have large non-market benefits and that, under certain conditions, benefit values can be transferred to different locations. |
| Keywords: | quasi-public goods, non-market goods, stated preference |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2016-35&r=env |
| By: | Yoosoon Chang (Department of Economics, Indiana University); Robert K. Kaufmann (Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University); Chang Sik Kim (Department of Economics, Sungkyunkwan University); J. Isaac Miller (Department of Economics, University of Missouri); Joon Y. Park (Department of Economics, Indiana University and Sungkyunkwan University); Sungkeun Park (Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade) |
| Abstract: | We analyze a time series of global temperature anomaly distributions to identify and estimate persistent features in climate change. Temperature densities from globally distributed data between 1850 and 2012 are treated as a time series of functional observations that change over time. We employ a formal test for the existence of functional unit roots in the time series of these densities. Further, we develop a new test to distinguish functional unit roots from functional deterministic trends or explosive behavior. Results suggest that temperature anomalies contain stochastic trends (as opposed to deterministic trends or explosive roots), two trends are present in the Northern Hemisphere while one stochastic trend is present in the Southern Hemisphere, and the probabilities of observing moderately positive anomalies have increased, but the probabilities of extremely positive anomalies has decreased. These results are consistent with the anthropogenic theory of climate change, in which a natural experiment causes human emissions of greenhouse gases and sulfur to be greater in the Northern Hemisphere and radiative forcing to be greater in the Southern Hemisphere. This Version: |
| Keywords: | attribution of climate change, temperature distribution, global temperature trends, functional unit roots |
| JEL: | C14 C23 C33 Q54 |
| Date: | 2015–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:1622&r=env |
| By: | Galindo, Luis Miguel; Samaniego, Joseluis; Ferrer, Jimy; Alatorre, José Eduardo; Reyes, Orlando |
| Abstract: | El objetivo de este estudio es analizar e identificar un valor medio y los orígenes de la variación en las estimaciones empíricas de las elasticidades ingreso y precio de corto y largo plazos de la demanda de energía y gasolina en América Latina y derivar de estos valores algunas conclusiones de política pública. |
| Keywords: | RECURSOS ENERGETICOS, GASOLINA, OFERTA Y DEMANDA, PRECIOS, CONSUMO DE ENERGIA, POLITICA ENERGETICA, CAMBIO CLIMATICO, ENERGY RESOURCES, GASOLINE, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, PRICES, ENERGY CONSUMPTION, ENERGY POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col022:40841&r=env |
| By: | Daniel A. Brent; Lana Friesen; Lata Gangadharan; Andreas Leibbrandt |
| Abstract: | Many environmental decisions are based on intrinsic motivations in addition to traditional economic incentives. Field experiments allow researchers to isolate a specific causal mechanism which can help advance our understanding of consumer and firm behavior in environmental markets. This article summarizes the literature on the use of field experiments in environmental economics, focusing on framed and artefactual field experiments as well as natural experiments targeting municipal energy and water demand. We set out a theoretical framework to improve the interpretation of results from field experiments in environmental economics. In addition to providing an overview of experimental methods and findings we also lay out a set of challenges for researchers interested in running a field experiment in environmental economics. |
| Keywords: | field experiments; environmental economics, intrinsic incentives, extrinsic incentives, behavioral economics |
| JEL: | C93 Q50 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2016-34&r=env |
| By: | Cristina Joanaz (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, IHC); Lígia Costa Pinto (Universidade do Minho, NIMA); Paulo Ramísio (Universidade do Minho, CTAC); Estelita Vaz (Universidade do Minho, Departamento de Matemática) |
| Abstract: | The waterscape defined by the Afife creek (Portugal) is a hotspot of time and cultural cross-references. In the 1200s, the presence of Benedictine monks, in the Convent of S. João de Cabanas, suggest the existence of a Catholic agrarian landscape. Benedictine monks ought to provide shelter, food, wool for blankets, and products for religious sacred services to pilgrims. Therefore, wheat, hay or barley, vineyards and olive trees would be cultivated. As such, the landscape should reveal the cultivation of cereals, olive trees, vineyards, and grazing lands, and mills to mow the cereals, produce olive oil, and saw the wood. The design of the former landscape on cereals, wine, olive trees, sheep, goats and sawing industry in the area, under the Benedictine convent of S. João de Cabanas, together with its architectural structure, is strongly related to the XVIth century. In particular, the cross of S. Tiago de Compostela (Spain), indicating a route of pilgrimage, and the concentration of seven water mills in a 100 meters upstream distance to the convent, reveal a great presence of permanent water power. The present irregular distribution of the remaining pine-trees, oaks, eucalyptus and acacias indicate changes in the agrarian exploitation throughout the XIXh and XXth centuries. The Ecalyptus, original from Australia and New-Zeeland, was introduced in Portugal in the 1800s, while the Acacia was introduced in the 1900s, to sustain moving sands. Their expansion in the slopes of the Afife creek suggests very recent farming abandonment (after 1940s). This paper proposes to discuss agro-forest sustainable adjustments to changing culturaleconomic drivers in the long run, through a case study. The case study is the Afife waterscape transformation, located in the village of Afife in the North of Portugal. The analyses will adopt an interdisciplinary approach crossing diverse sources of information and methodologies. |
| Keywords: | Cultural landscpes, Agro-forest sustainable adjustments, Watersacape, Environmental Impacts |
| JEL: | Q2 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nim:nimawp:66/2016&r=env |
| By: | Shuddhasattwa Rafiq; Ingrid Nielsen; Russell Smyth |
| Abstract: | We examine the effect of inter-provincial migration on air and water pollution for a panel of Chinese provinces over the period 2000-2013. To do so, we employ linear and non-linear panel data models in a Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) framework. Our findings from both the linear and non-linear models suggest that inter-provincial migration has contributed to air and water pollution. Results from the second-generation linear panel data models suggest that for every additional 10,000 inter-provincial migrants, chemical oxygen demand (COD) increases 0.33-0.58 per cent and sulphur dioxide (SO2) increases 0.15-0.33 per cent. Our results from the non-linear threshold panel model are that for every additional 10,000 inter-provincial migrants, COD increases 0.2-0.5 per cent and SO2 increases 0.10-0.20 per cent. These estimates mean that over the period 2000-2013 average interprovincial migration was responsible for 7-12.4 per cent of wastewater discharge and 3.2-7 per cent of SO2 emissions in China based on the second-generation linear panel data models and 4.3-10.7 per cent of wastewater discharge and 2.1-4.3 per cent of SO2 emissions based on the non-linear threshold panel model. |
| Keywords: | China, internal migration, air pollution, water pollution. |
| JEL: | J10 Q20 Q25 R11 R23 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2016-27&r=env |
| By: | Ujjayant Chakravorty (Department of Economics, Tufts University (TSE, CESifo)); Marie-Hélène Hubert (CREM, Department of Economics, University of Rennes 1); Michel Moreaux (Toulouse School of Economics (IDEI, LERNA)); Linda Nostbakken (Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | More than 40% of US corn is now used to produce biofuels, which are used as substitutes for gasoline in transportation. Biofuels have been blamed universally for past increases in world food prices, and many studies have shown that these energy mandates in the US and EU may have a large (30-60%) impact on food prices. In this paper, we use a partial equilibrium framework to show that demand-side effects – in the form of population growth and income-driven preferences for meat and dairy products rather than cereals – may play as much of a role in raising food prices as biofuel policy. By specifying a Ricardian model with differential land quality, we find that a significant amount of new land will be converted to farming, which is likely to cause a modest increase in food prices. However, biofuels may increase aggregate world carbon emissions, due to leakage from lower oil prices and conversion of pasture and forest land for farming. |
| Keywords: | Clean Energy, Food Demand, Land Quality, Renewable Fuel Standards, Transportation |
| JEL: | Q24 Q32 Q42 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:ppaper:2015.04&r=env |
| By: | Walid Oueslati |
| Abstract: | The provision of open space is at the heart of a complex arbitration of local public finance and urban quality of life. The amount of open space varies substantially across urban areas. This variation raises some natural questions: What determines the amount of open space in an urban area? How does the amount of open space affect housing prices and local tax revenues? How can we assess whether the amount of open space in urban areas is socially optimal? This paper conducts theoretical and empirical analysis to address these issues. The theoretical analysis reveals that price elasticities of housing demand and supply, economies of scale in providing public services, and capitalized and non-capitalized values of environmental benefits from open space are key parameters affecting the optimal amount of open space. The effects of these parameters are tested on the basis of a sample of U.S. urban areas. Empirical results suggest that a significant share of U.S. urban areas has too little open space, in the sense that additional open space conservation could increase land values and social welfare. L’offre des espaces ouverts en milieu urbain est au coeur d’un complexe arbitrage entre les finances publiques locales et la qualité de la vie. Les surfaces dédiées aux espaces ouverts varient considérablement à travers les aires urbaines. Cette variabilité soulève naturellement plusieurs questions : quels sont les déterminants de cette offre ? Comment la mise en place des espaces verts affecte les prix des logements et les recettes fiscales locales ? Comment peut-on évaluer si l’offre des espaces verts est socialement optimale ? Ce papier conduit des analyses théorique et empirique pour répondre à ces questions. L’analyse théorique révèle que les élasticités prix de l’offre et de demande des logements, les économies d’échelle liées aux services publics, ainsi que les valeurs, capitalisée ou non, des bénéfices environnementaux sont les facteurs clés pour déterminer le niveau optimal des espaces ouverts. Les effets de ces paramètres ont été empiriquement testés sur la base d’un échantillon d’aires urbaines américaines. Les résultats empiriques suggèrent qu’une part significative des aires urbaines américaine dispose de peu d’espaces ouverts. Ainsi une offre supplémentaire peut accroître la valeur des terres et le bien-être social. |
| Keywords: | environmental amenities, land values, local public finances, Open space conservation |
| JEL: | H4 Q2 R3 |
| Date: | 2016–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:112-en&r=env |
| By: | Lemeilleur, S.; Allaire, G. |
| Abstract: | The legitimacy of certification for agricultural products depends on the belief that product labelling can provide information and guarantee the quality that consumers want. The neoclassic paradigm actually suggests that the problem of quality is to do with simple asymmetric information between economic agents. In our paper, however, we consider that the notion of quality is by no means objective: practices required (to obtain the given quality) and the credibility and legitimacy of quality control used in the different guarantee systems (to ensure standard compliance), constitute an institutionalised compromising device. This situation results from the balance of power and beliefs that exists between the organisations concerned. In this paper, we compare two different organisational mechanisms when examining the agricultural product standards designed to improve sustainable development: (i) the third party certification (TPC) is a mechanism that most public bodies recognise as being legitimate for the certification of sustainability standards; and (ii) the alternative mechanism of participatory guarantee systems (PGS), which is struggling to gain recognition from public authorities. Finally, we argue that the effectiveness of proximity and social control for guaranteeing sustainability standards in PGS seems just as credible and legitimate as the effectiveness of the independence and neutrality claimed by the TPC in the framework of international standards. In fact, TPC and PGS are alternative and complementary systems, rather than competitive systems, for implementing different sustainability standards. ....French Abstract: La légitimité de la certification des produits agricoles repose sur la croyance de la possibilité de garantir une qualité recherchée aux consommateurs, en apposant un label sur les produits concernés. Alors que le paradigme néoclassique postule que la qualité relève seulement d’une problématique liée à la distribution d’information entre les agents du marché, nous pensons que le concept de qualité ne peut pas être considéré comme objectif. De ce point de vue, les pratiques requises pour obtenir cette qualité, ainsi que la crédibilité de la manière de les contrôler pour garantir le respect de ce cahier des charges, deviennent également des compromis institutionnels, issus d’un équilibre entre des rapports de forces et des croyances des organisations concernées. Dans cet article, nous nous comparons deux dispositifs rencontrés lorsque l’on s’intéresse aux normes relevant du développement durable : (i) la certification tierce partie (CTP) qui est le dispositif le plus fréquent pour la certification de standards de durabilité internationaux (ii) les dispositifs alternatifs que constituent les systèmes de garantie participatifs (SPG) qui luttent pour obtenir une reconnaissance légale dans de nombreux pays. Nous concluons que la proximité et le contrôle social pour garantir les labels dans les SPG pourraient donc apparaitre largement autant crédibles et légitimes en termes d’efficacité que la CTP. La CTP et les SPG seraient donc des dispositifs alternatifs et complémentaires pour la mise en œuvre de standards de durabilité. |
| Keywords: | VOLUNTARY SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS; THIRD PARTY CERTIFICATION; PARTICIPATORY GUARANTEE SYSTEMS; QUALITY; ORGANIC FARMING; INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH; STANDARDS VOLONTAIRES DE DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE; CERTIFICATION TIERCE PARTIE; SYSTEME PARTICIPATIF DE GARANTIE; QUALITE; AGRICULTURE BIOLOGIQUE; APPROCHE INSTITUTIONNELLE |
| JEL: | Q18 Q56 O13 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umr:wpaper:201605&r=env |
| By: | Caterina Conigliani; Nadia Cuffaro; Giovanna D'Agostino |
| Abstract: | Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in land-based investments for food, feed, fuel and fiber, driven by volatility in commodity prices, economic growth of emerging economies, policy drivers of biofuel demand and investor strategies in the wake of the global economic crisis. This has led to a surge of foreign and local investments in developing countries, where land can be obtained at lower cost, and has led to fears of land grabbing. In this paper we consider the problem of identifying the determinants of large scale land acquisitions in Africa, and employ unilateral beta regression to explore the link between investments and a number of indicators related both to land supply and to institutional features. The results on the resource seeking nature of investments and on the impact of the land governance indicators are mostly in line with the findings of other studies; on the contrary, the results on forest land being a driver for large scale land acquisitions in Africa differ from previous findings, and indicate commercial pressure on African forests that may lead to accelerating degradation and deforestation. |
| Keywords: | beta regression, foreign direct investments, land grabbing, large scale land acquisitions |
| JEL: | F21 O13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtr:wpaper:0213&r=env |
| By: | Alejandro Toledo (Stanford University) |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emf:glpapr:2016povertyineq&r=env |
| By: | Villas-Boas, Sofia B; Taylor, Rebecca; Krovetz, Hannah |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2016–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:qt9vh3x180&r=env |
| By: | Joshua Graff Zivin; Matthew E. Kahn |
| Abstract: | How will a nation’s aggregate urban productivity be affected by climate change? The joint distribution of climate conditions and economic activity across a nation’s cities will together determine industrial average exposure to climate risk. Air conditioning (AC) can greatly reduce this heat exposure. We develop a simple model of air conditioning adoption by heterogeneous firms within an industry. Our analysis suggests that high productivity firms are more likely to adopt AC since they suffer larger productivity losses when it is hot. Given that the most productive firms produce a disproportionate share of industry-level output, we present aggregation results highlighting how the industry’s output is insulated from the heat. Our empirical analysis of the impacts of heat on total factor productivity in U.S manufacturing yields findings broadly consistent with our model’s predictions. |
| JEL: | L25 L6 O44 O47 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22962&r=env |
| By: | Pyddoke , Roger (VTI) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to review the modelling used for the planning of infrastructure and design of policy instruments for transport in cities in Scandinavia, and to survey elasticities of transport demand with respect to policy instruments and important background variables. There are a number important objectives governing policy, maximizing welfare, reducing CO2 and other emissions, curbing congestion on roads and crowding in public transport in cities and improving the conditions for walking and cycling. The current transport demand models in Sweden and Norway were originally built to serve the purpose of forecasting for national infrastructure planning, primarily outside cities. They were not designed to represent the adaption of car use, congestion on roads or crowding in public transport or the effects of improving of conditions for walking and cycling. Therefore, recent discussions on the needs to develop planning for cities has raised these issues. The central results from the survey of effects are that, car use is shown to be more price sensitive in urban than in rural areas, and larger the larger the city. Although the benefits of a given congestion charging system are considerably and non-linearly dependent on initial congestion levels, traffic effects and adaptation costs are surprisingly stable across transport system modifications. car and energy use in many cross-sectional studies. The idea that density could induce |
| Keywords: | Traffic |
| JEL: | R40 |
| Date: | 2016–12–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2016_029&r=env |
| By: | W. Walker Hanlon |
| Abstract: | While the Industrial Revolution brought economic growth, there is a long debate in economics over the costs of the pollution externalities that accompanied early industrialization. To help settle this debate, this paper introduces a new theoretically-grounded strategy for estimating the impact of industrial pollution on local economic development and applies this approach to data from British cities for 1851-1911. I show that local industrial coal use substantially reduced long-run city employment growth over this period. Moreover, a counterfactual analysis suggests that plausible improvements in coal use efficiency would have led to substantially higher urbanization rates in Britain by 1911. |
| JEL: | N13 N53 Q52 R11 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22921&r=env |
| By: | Roger Alejandro Banegas-Rivero (Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales 'José Ortiz Mercado' (IIES-JOM), Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno.); Luis Fernando Escobar Caba (Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales 'José Ortiz Mercado' (IIES-JOM), Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno.); Marco Alberto Núñez Ramírez (Instituto tecnológico de Sonora) |
| Abstract: | In this document the transmission channel between natural resource dependence and its dynamic effects on growth is evaluated (Dutch disease hypothesis). An exemplification is done through a small open economy (Bolivia case) according to representative characteristics of high concentration in exports of hydrocarbon and minerals, and their implications in the productive sectors: boom (B), tradable (T), and non-tradable (NT) [Boom TNT model], plus the addition of domestic demand and relative prices (foreign and domestic) in alternative econometric specifications by structural restrictions (SVAR) for quarterly period from 2000 to 2015. The results show statistical predominance of long-terms responses over short-term specifications, and different magnitudes between positive and negative shocks. |
| Keywords: | Dutch disease, Growth, Resource booms, Dependence, Tradable, Non-tradable. |
| JEL: | O13 P28 Q33 O41 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grm:wpaper:201610&r=env |
| By: | Lorenzo, Fernando |
| Abstract: | En este documento se analiza las experiencias de uso de instrumentos fiscales con propósitos ambientales en los países de América Latina y el Caribe. Con este propósito, se realiza un inventario de las principales acciones emprendidas, tratando de identificar casos exitosos que sirvan para delinear caminos que podrían recorrer las economías de la región para avanzar en la implementación de reformas fiscales ambientales. |
| Keywords: | MEDIO AMBIENTE, ASPECTOS ECONOMICOS, POLITICA FISCAL, REFORMA TRIBUTARIA, SUBSIDIOS, RECURSOS ENERGETICOS, AGRICULTURA, POLITICA ECONOMICA, ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMIC ASPECTS, FISCAL POLICY, TAX REFORM, SUBSIDIES, ENERGY RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE, ECONOMIC POLICY |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col022:40833&r=env |
| By: | Julie Ing (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | Governments design taxation schemes to capture resource rent. However, they usually propose contracts with limited duration and possess less information on the resources than the extractive firms do. This paper investigates how information asymmetry on costs and an inability to commit to long-term contracts affect tax revenue and the extraction path. This paper assumes that governments maximize the tax revenue contingent on the quantity extracted. This study gives several unconventional results. First, when information asymmetry exists, the inability to commit does not necessarily lower tax revenues. Second, under asymmetric information without commitment, an efficient firm may produce during the first period more or less than under symmetric information. Hence, the inability to commit has an ambiguous effect on optimal contract duration. Third, an increase in the discount factor may shift the extraction towards the first period which contradicts Hotelling's rule. |
| Keywords: | resource taxation, asymmetric information, commitment |
| JEL: | Q38 D86 H21 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:16-263&r=env |