nep-env New Economics Papers
on Environmental Economics
Issue of 2017‒06‒25
28 papers chosen by
Francisco S. Ramos
Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

  1. Assessing the sustainability of optimal pollution paths in a world with inertia By Marc Leandri; Mabel Tidball
  2. Optimal energy policy for a carbon tax in Japan By Shibata, Tsubasa
  3. The Economic Cost of Carbon Abatement with Renewable Energy Policies By Jan Abrell; Mirjam Kosch; Sebastian Rausch
  4. Can money always talk? : implication for environmental compensation by international agribusiness By Zhou, Li; Lei, Lei
  5. Cost of controlling water pollution and its impact on industrial efficiancy By Asha Gunawardena
  6. Long-Run Pollution Exposure and Adult Mortality: Evidence from the Acid Rain Program By Alan I. Barreca; Matthew Neidell; Nicholas J. Sanders
  7. Socially Embedded Preferences, Environmental Externalities, and Reproductive Rights By Dasgupta, A.; Dasgupta, P.
  8. The Integrated Economic-Environmental Modelling Framework: An Illustration with Guatemala's Forest and Fuelwood Sectors By Onil Banerjee; Martin Cicowiez; Renato Vargas; Mark Horridge
  9. Paris after Trump: An inconvenient insight By Christoph Boehringer; Thomas Fox Rutherford
  10. Energy, poverty and the Sustainable Development Goals By Hannah Goozee
  11. Border adjustment mechanisms : Elements for economic, legal, and political analysis By Julien Bueb; Lilian Richieri Hanania; Alice Leclezio
  12. Evaluation of farm programmes in the 2014 US farm bill: A review of the literature By OECD
  13. A viable and cost-effective weather index insurance for rice in Indonesia By Kusuma, Aditya; Noy, Ilan; Jackson, Bethanna
  14. Heterogeneous Yield Impacts from Adoption of Genetically Engineered Corn and the Importance of Controlling for Weather By Jayson L. Lusk; Jesse Tack; Nathan P. Hendricks
  15. Border Adjustment Mechanisms: Elements for Economic, Legal, and Political Analysis By Julien Bueb; Lilian Richieri Hanania; Alice Leclezio
  16. Can Land Fragmentation Reduce the Exposure of Rural Households to Weather Variability? By Stefanija Veljanoska
  17. The cost of being under the weather: Droughts, floods, and health care costs in Sri Lanka By De Alwis, Diana; Noy, Ilan
  18. Optimal Taxation, Redistribution, and Environmental Externalities By Aronsson, Thomas; Sjögren, Tomas
  19. A Retrospective Stated Preference Approach to Assessment of Coastal Infrastructure Investments: An Application to Barbados By Onil Banerjee; Kevin Boyle; Cassandra Rogers; Janice Cumberbatch; Barbara Kanninen; Michele H. Lemay; Maja Schling
  20. Energy, poverty and development: a primer for the Sustainable Development Goals By Hannah Goozee
  21. Faut-il négocier notre avenir climatique au moyen de quantités d’émissions ou de prix du carbone ? By Eloi Laurent
  22. Do the Number of Appropriators from the Commons Matter in Controlled Laboratory Environments? By Neil Buckley; Stuart Mestelman; R. Andrew Muller; Stephen Schott; Jingjing Zhang
  23. A new urban paradigm: pathways to sustainable development By Michael MacLennan
  24. Energia, pobreza y Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenibles By Hannah Goozee
  25. Building the Future: Children and the Sustainable Development Goals in Rich Countries By UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti
  26. Energia, pobreza e os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável By Hannah Goozee
  27. Climat : Trump souffle le chaud et l'effroi By Aurélien Saussay
  28. Construire l’avenir : Les enfants et les objectifs de développement durable dans les pays riches By UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti

  1. By: Marc Leandri (UniversitŽ de Versailles Saint Quentin Ð CEMOTEV); Mabel Tidball (INRA-LAMETA)
    Abstract: Most formal optimal pollution control models assume a constant natural assimilative capacity, despite the biophysical evidence on feedback effects that can degrade this environmental function, as it is the case with the reduction of ocean carbon sinks in the context of climate change. The few models that do consider this degradation establish a bijective relation between the pollution stock and the assimilative capacity, thus ignoring the inertia mechanism at stake. Indeed the level of assimilative capacity is not solely determined by the current pollution stock but by the history of this stock and by the time the ecosystem remains above the degradation threshold. We propose an inertia assessment tool that tests the sustainability of any benchmark optimal pollution path when the inertia of the assimilative capacity degradation process is taken into account. Our simulations show a strong sensitivity to both the inertia degradation speed and the discount rate.
    Keywords: Optimal pollution control, Climate Change, Ecosystem Services, Assimilative Capacity, Inertia
    JEL: D62 H23 Q01 Q5 Q54
    Date: 2017–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2017.10&r=env
  2. By: Shibata, Tsubasa
    Abstract: Climate change is a global challenge that must be addressed at the international level. In December 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) held in Paris. The Paris agreement is aimed at keeping global temperature increases below 2 °C. Toward this goal, the Japanese government plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26% by fiscal year 2030 compared with fiscal year 2013. In this study, we evaluate the feasibility of Japan’s energy policy for reducing CO2 emissions. We construct a macroeconometric model linked to an energy model to show the optimal future energy policy for Japan by applying optimal control to the social welfare function.
    Keywords: Energy policy,Climatic change,Environmental problems,Carbon tax,Energy model,Macroeconometric model,Optimal control
    JEL: C30 P28 Q43 Q48
    Date: 2017–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper656&r=env
  3. By: Jan Abrell (ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Mirjam Kosch (ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Sebastian Rausch (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
    Abstract: This paper exploits the randomness and exogeneity of weather conditions to identify the economic cost of decarbonization through renewable energy (RE) support policies. We find that both the aggregate cost and the distribution of cost between energy producers and consumers vary significantly depending on which type of RE technology is promoted reflecting substantial heterogeneity in production cost, temporal availability of natural resources, and market conditions (i.e., time-varying demand, carbon intensity of installed production capacities, and opportunities for cross-border trade). We estimate that the cost for reducing one ton of CO2 emissions through subsidies for solar are EUR 500-1870. Subsidizing wind entails significantly lower cost, which can even be slightly negative, ranging from EUR 5-230. While the economic rents for energy producers always decrease, consumers incur three to five times larger costs when solar is promoted but gain under RE policies promoting wind.
    Keywords: Decarbonization, Renewable Energy Policies, Wind, Solar, Electricity, Economic Cost, Distributional impacts
    JEL: Q28 Q48 Q54 L94 C01
    Date: 2017–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:17-273&r=env
  4. By: Zhou, Li; Lei, Lei
    Abstract: With the development of agricultural industrialization, the environmental issues of intensive animal farming are attracting increasing attention. Using survey data from 313 Chinese households living near the large-scale broiler farms of an international food company, this paper employs a contingent valuation method and discrete choice experiment to quantify the willingness to accept an air pollution compensation scheme. We find the following. (1) 42% of respondents have a nonmonetary preference for compensation; thus, the conventional contingent valuation method is unsuitable for application to them. (2) The results of a probit and tobit model show that in addition to income, “trust and perception” dominate decision-making based on willingness to accept; however, the effect of actual distance is weak. (3) Because of the positive externalities of roads, schools, and job opportunities, the combination of nonmonetary options is feasible and beneficial for both sides (the company and households) in the long term. Thus, from the perspective of the global value chain, it is worth studying nonmonetary compensation strategies in order to explore the sustainable development strategies of multinational corporations.
    Keywords: Agricultural economics,Poultry,Agriculture,Globalization,Willingness to accept,CVM,Choice experiment,Global value chain,Pollution,China
    JEL: F23 Q12 Q51
    Date: 2017–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper641&r=env
  5. By: Asha Gunawardena
    Abstract: This paper estimates the cost of effluent discharge regulations for firms located in the lower Kelani River catchment in Sri Lanka. The river provides water for many economic purposes including drinking water and avariety of ecosystem services. Employing multi-input and multi-output translog production technology, we estimate shadow prices of effluents and technical efficiency of firms belonging to eight industries. We also compute total abatement cost for firms under different policy scenarios related to simultaneous reduction in concentration of three water pollutants including current regulatory standards. Wide variations in firm and industry shadow prices (marginal abatement costs) provide a strong case for a comprehensive redesign of environmental policy to control water pollution by industries in Sri Lanka.
    Keywords: Shadow prices, Technical efficiency, environmental regulation, water pollution, distance functions
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:snd:wpaper:111&r=env
  6. By: Alan I. Barreca; Matthew Neidell; Nicholas J. Sanders
    Abstract: Though over 90 percent of benefits from environmental quality improvements are attributed to long-term exposure, nearly all quasi-experimental evidence on the effects of pollution on health exploits changes in short-term exposure. Quantifying long-run exposure impacts requires a lasting, exogenous change in ambient pollution. Even if the initial change in pollution is exogenous, the long-run nature allows more time for economic agents to respond to changes in pollution, resulting in endogenous pollution exposure. We estimate the effects of long-run pollution exposure on mortality among adults by exploiting the United States Acid Rain Program (ARP) as a natural experiment. The ARP, which regulated emissions from coal power plants, created a permanent change in pollution across vast distances, enabling us to define broad treatment areas to subsume many potential confounding effects. We use a difference-indifferences design, comparing changes in mortality over time in counties “near” regulated plants to changes in mortality in similar counties “far” from the plants. We find relative mortality in treatment counties decreased after the introduction of the ARP, with mortality improvements growing steadily over time in both economic and statistical significance. The ARP had no significant effect on residential sorting or employment, helping rule out selection or economic mechanisms. Analysis by cause of death supports the role of fine particulate matter as the relevant pollutant.
    JEL: I10 Q51 Q53
    Date: 2017–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23524&r=env
  7. By: Dasgupta, A.; Dasgupta, P.
    Abstract: We review a class of adverse environmental externalities that accompany consumption and procreation. We also identify externalities that are traceable to socially embedded preferences for family size. Those preference structures can give rise to a heightened demand for children, exacerbating the environmental externalities households impose on future generations. Our analysis exposes weaknesses in basing family planning programmes entirely on individuals' reproductive rights. We use ecological data to obtain a feel for the size of global environmental externalities. We estimate the size of world population the biosphere can support at the standard of living enjoyed in the World Bank's list of high middle-income countries. Today's global population and future population projections far exceed our estimate, implying that the UN's Sustainable Development Goals are in all likelihood unsustainable. We conclude that family planning has been undervalued greatly by national governments and international agencies. Our purpose is to pose questions that continue to be neglected in the development literature. We do not offer forecasts nor make policy recommendations.
    Date: 2017–06–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1724&r=env
  8. By: Onil Banerjee; Martin Cicowiez; Renato Vargas; Mark Horridge
    Abstract: This paper develops and operationalizes the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modelling (IEEM) platform which integrates environmental data organized under the first international standard for environmental-economic accounting with a powerful economy-wide modelling approach. IEEM enables the ex-ante economic analysis of public policies and investment on the economy and the environment in a quantitative, comprehensive and consistent framework. IEEM elucidates the two-way interrelationships between the economy and environment, considering how economic activities depend on the environment as a source of inputs and as a sink for its outputs. In addition to standard economic impact indicators such as gross domestic product, income and employment, IEEM generates indicators that describe policy impacts on the use of environmental resources, wealth and environmental quality which together determine prospects for future economic growth and well-being. To illustrate the analytical capacity of IEEM, the model is calibrated with Guatemala's environmental-economic accounts and applied to analysis of its forest and fuelwood sector where negative health and environmental impacts arise from inefficient household fuelwood use.
    Keywords: Environmental economics, Ecosystem services, Environmental Policy, Deforestation, Computable General Equilibrium, Land Use, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Energy consumption, ecosystem services, natural capital, wealth, economic and environmental indicators, system of national accounting, computable general equilibrium model, system of environmental-economic accounting, ex-ante economic impact evaluation
    JEL: Q56 D58
    Date: 2016–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:97062&r=env
  9. By: Christoph Boehringer (University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics); Thomas Fox Rutherford (University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA)
    Abstract: With his announcement to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement US President Donald Trump has snubbed the international climate policy community. Key remaining parties to the Agreement such as Europe and China might call for carbon tariffs on US imports as sanctioning instrument to coerce US compliance. Our analysis, however, reveals an inconvenient insight for advocates of carbon tariffs: Given the possibility of retaliatory tariffs across all imported goods, carbon tariffs do not constitute a credible threat for the US. A tariff war with its main trading partners China and Europe might make the US worse off than compliance to the Paris Agreement but China, in particular, should prefer US defection to a tariff war.
    Keywords: Paris Agreement, US withdrawal, carbon tariffs, optimal tariffs, tariff war, computable general equilibrium
    Date: 2017–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:old:dpaper:400&r=env
  10. By: Hannah Goozee (IPC-IG)
    Abstract: "The seventh goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is dedicated to ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. While energy was only implicit in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDGs emphasise the direct linkage between household energy access and consumption and poverty and development. This attention is closely related to the expanded understanding of poverty, as it moves beyond a monetary definition, to be seen as a holistic measure of overall quality of life. The SDGs clearly recognise the centrality of energy to economic and social well-being, as well as to issues such as health and climate change, and reflect United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's statement at the Rio+20 conference that 'energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, social equity and sustainable development' ". (...)
    Keywords: Energy, poverty, Sustainable Development Goals
    Date: 2017–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opager:351&r=env
  11. By: Julien Bueb (Centre d’analyse, de prévision et de stratégie (CAPS)); Lilian Richieri Hanania (Centre for Studies on Society and Technology (CEST)); Alice Leclezio (Centre de recherches internationales)
    Abstract: This paper examines, from a multidisciplinary perspective, plausible hypotheses for implementation of border carbon adjustment mechanisms, seen as a complement to strong environmental regulation. It highlights economic, legal, and political difficulties raised by border carbon adjustments. After thoroughly reviewing their economic practicability, it analyses these mechanisms from an International Trade Law perspective, particularly vis-à-vis the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, sustainable development, and the principle of shared but differentiated responsibilities. It concludes with an assessment of policy-related implications of such mechanisms and outlines, in particular, how border carbon adjustments may be used as an engine of economic and energy transition, for developed and developing countries equally.
    Keywords: environmental regulation; border carbon adjustment; international trade law; General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; sustainable development; political economy
    Date: 2016–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1gt6nhe6vs8pbb86oi81bt6838&r=env
  12. By: OECD
    Abstract: Main changes to US farm programmes under the 2014 Farm Bill aim to strengthen instruments for risk management, both in commodity and in crop insurance programmes. In addition, the 2014 Farm Bill consolidated voluntary conservation programmes supporting agricultural land preservation and the adoption of environmentally friendly production practices. In the literature reviewed, analysts generally acknowledge the reinforced capacity of farm programmes to reduce farm revenue losses and the diversity of options offered to farmers to manage risk. They also discuss farmers' choices of participation in programmes and coverage level in terms of optimisation of their benefits. They also outline the scope for higher budget costs if prices keep falling, but note that some provisions limit the increase. Regarding the impact of programmes on land and markets, the consensus is that by design, the two new crop commodity programmes do not influence current planting decisions, but they could generate small wealth and risk effects. Similarly the new dairy programme could affect the decisions of risk adverse farmers. Support to crop insurance on the other hand is based on current parameters, and unlimited, thus it is expected to encourage higher input use to maximise profit, in addition to the wealth and risk effects. Empirical analyses find very small effects of crop insurance subsidies on total land use, but some suggest a non-negligible impact on crop rotation, and variable input use. Overall, the literature finds that conservation payments seem to have had a positive impact on the environment. In particular, they have encouraged farmers to adopt more environmentally-friendly practices and address a broader set of environmental objectives. Some experts note, however, that some programmes may not necessarily bring additional benefits. Experts consider that cross-compliance mechanisms have partly contributed to reduce soil erosion by encouraging farmers to use less erosive cropping practices (e.g. conservation tillage, conservation crop rotations) and to retire particularly erodible land.
    Keywords: Agricultural policy, conservation programmes, crop insurance, risk management
    JEL: Q18
    Date: 2017–06–21
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:104-en&r=env
  13. By: Kusuma, Aditya; Noy, Ilan; Jackson, Bethanna
    Abstract: The potentially adverse effects of droughts on agricultural output are obvious. Indonesian rice farmers have no financial protection from climate risk via catastrophic weather risk transfer tools. Done well, a weather index insurance (WII) program can not only provide resources that enable recovery, but can also facilitate the adoption of prevention and adaptation measures and incentivise risk reduction. Here, we quantify the applicability, viability, and likely cost of introducing a WII for droughts for rice production in Indonesia. To reduce basis risk, we construct district specific indices that are based on the estimation of Panel Geographically Weighted Regressions models. With these spatial tools, and detailed district level data on past agricultural productivity and weather conditions, we present an algorithm that generates an effective and actuarially sound WII, and measure its effectiveness in reducing income volatility for farmers. We use data on annual paddy production in 428 Indonesian districts, reported over the period 1990-2013, and climate data from 1950-2015. We use the monthly Palmer Drought Severity Index and identify district-specific trigger and exit points for the insurance plan. We quantify the impact of this hypothetical insurance product using past production data to calculate an actuarially-robust and welfare-enhancing price for this scheme.
    Keywords: Indonesia, Weather index insurance, Droughts,
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vuw:vuwecf:6393&r=env
  14. By: Jayson L. Lusk; Jesse Tack; Nathan P. Hendricks
    Abstract: Concern about declining growth in crop yields has renewed debates about the ability of biotechnology to promote food security. While numerous experimental and farm-level studies have found that adoption of genetically engineered crops has been associated with yield gains, aggregate and cross-country comparisons often seem to show little effect, raising questions about the size and generalizability of the effect. This paper attempts to resolve this conundrum using a panel of United States county-level corn yields from 1980 to 2015 in conjunction with data on adoption of genetically engineered crops, weather, and soil characteristics. Our panel data contain just over 28,000 observations spanning roughly 800 counties. We show that changing weather patterns confound simple analyses of trend yield, and only after controlling for weather do we find that genetically engineered crops have increased yields above trend. There is marked heterogeneity in the effect of adoption of genetically engineered crops across location partially explained by differential soil characteristics which may be related to insect pressure. While adoption of genetically engineered crops has the potential to mitigate downside risks from weeds and insects, we find no effects of adoption on yield variability nor do we find that adoption of presently available genetically engineered crops has led to increased resilience to heat or water stress. On average, across all counties, we find adoption of GE corn was associated with a 17 percent increase in corn yield.
    JEL: C23 O47 Q16
    Date: 2017–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23519&r=env
  15. By: Julien Bueb (Centre d’analyse, de prévision et de stratégie (CAPS)); Lilian Richieri Hanania (Centre for Studies on Society and Technology (CEST)); Alice Leclezio (Centre de recherches internationales)
    Abstract: [...] Based on the discrepancy between the urgency of climate issues and the meagre results achieved in international negotiations, this chapter weighs the usefulness of BCAs as a complement to strong regional or domestic environmental regulation. This leads us to discuss the interplay of economic competitiveness and climate change, before the economic challenges posed by BCAs in order to reach fairness in its design and implementation (Section 4.2). Section 4.3 sheds light upon the legality of BCAs according to international trade law, while Section 4.4 provides an assessment of policy-related implications. It outlines, in particular, how BCAs could be used as an engine of a necessary economic transition, for developed and developing countries equally, according to the common but differentiated responsibilities principle [...]
    Keywords: environmental regulation; border carbon adjustment; international trade law; General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; sustainable development; political economy
    Date: 2017–04–13
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/3fenpfdsd19soqn2m1kt5noml0&r=env
  16. By: Stefanija Veljanoska (Paris School of Economics, UniversitŽ de Paris 1 PanthŽon-Sorbonne, UniversitŽ Paris-Sud)
    Abstract: Climate change continuously affects African farmers that operate in rain-fed environments. Coping with weather risk through credit and insurance markets is almost inexistent as these markets are imperfect in the African economies. Even though land fragmentation is often considered as a barrier to agricultural productivity, this article aims at analyzing whether land fragmentation, as an insurance alternative, is able to reduce farmers' exposure to weather variability. In order to address this research question, I use the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) data on Uganda. After dealing with the endogeneity of land fragmentation, I find that higher land fragmentation decreases the loss of crop yield when households experience rain deviations. Therefore, policy makers should be cautious with land consolidation programs.
    Keywords: climate change, land fragmentation, rainfall, yield, insurance
    JEL: Q12 Q15 Q54
    Date: 2017–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2017.08&r=env
  17. By: De Alwis, Diana; Noy, Ilan
    Abstract: We measure to cost of extreme weather events (droughts and floods) on health care in Sri Lanka. We find that frequently occurring local floods and droughts impose a significant risk to health when individuals are exposed directly to these hazards, and when their communities are exposed, even if they themselves are unaffected. Those impacts, and especially the indirect spillover effects to households that are not directly affected, are associated with the land-use in the affected regions and with access to sanitation and hygiene. Finally, both direct and indirect risks associated with flood and drought on health have an economic cost; our estimates suggest Sri Lanka spends 52.8 million USD per year directly on the health care costs associated with floods and droughts, divided almost equally between the public and household sectors, and 22% vs. 78% between floods and droughts, respectively. In Sri Lanka, both the frequency and the intensity of droughts and floods are likely to increase because of climatic change. Consequently, the health burden associated with these events is only likely to increase, demanding precious resources that are required elsewhere.
    Keywords: Sri Lanka, Flood, Drought, Health impact,
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vuw:vuwecf:6397&r=env
  18. By: Aronsson, Thomas (Department of Economics, Umeå University); Sjögren, Tomas (Department of Economics, Umeå University)
    Abstract: This paper surveys research on optimal redistributive taxation in economies with environmental externalities. A major question is whether externality correction only motivates an adjustment of the tax policy rule for the externality-generating activity, or whether the marginal value of the externality directly enters the policy rules for other tax instruments as well. In a static benchmark model with an atmospheric consumption externality, where the government uses a mix of a nonlinear income tax and linear commodity taxes, we show that Sandmo’s (1975) additivity property applies. This means that externality correction leads to an additional term (measuring the marginal value of the externality) in the commodity tax formula for the externality generating good, while the policy rules for commodity taxation of clean goods and marginal income taxation take the same form as in the absence of any externality. We also extend this benchmark model to capture a number of scenarios (such as non-atmospheric externalities, border trade in the externality generating good, and competition between governments in a multi-country framework), where the additivity property no longer applies. We end by examining an intertemporal model of optimal taxation with a stock-externality, allowing us to integrate the study of optimal redistributive taxation with literature on environmental economics and policy based on dynamic models.
    Keywords: Environmental externalities; optimal taxation; redistribution; income taxation; commodity taxation
    JEL: D60 D62 H21 H23 Q51
    Date: 2017–06–19
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:0950&r=env
  19. By: Onil Banerjee; Kevin Boyle; Cassandra Rogers; Janice Cumberbatch; Barbara Kanninen; Michele H. Lemay; Maja Schling
    Abstract: Ex-post economic impact evaluations are standard requirements for loans and grants from multilateral international development institutions. In many cases, however, lack of sufficient baseline or historical data, or the very nature of the investment itself renders orthodox economic impact evaluation approaches unviable. Nonetheless, evaluations are required to provide an indication of the benefits generated by the investment and insights for future program design. Addressing this challenge, this paper develops an ecosystem service, retrospective stated preferences approach to assess the benefits of a coastal infrastructure investment in Barbados. Results show that the investment generated cultural and aesthetic ecosystem service benefits for tourists and residents, and that local businesses derived value and avoided some damage costs from the enhancement of regulatory ecosystem services. The approach is versatile facing data constraints and generates policy-relevant information to support decisions to scale up interventions, catalyze additional investment, and provide data on user preferences that can be incorporated in the design of future interventions.
    Keywords: Coastal areas, Ecosystem services, Impact evaluation, Tourism, Hurricanes, Disaster Risk Management, Infrastructure Investment, Monitoring & Evaluation, Climate Change
    JEL: C51 F21 Q51 Q57
    Date: 2016–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:95856&r=env
  20. By: Hannah Goozee (IPC-IG)
    Abstract: "The seventh goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is dedicated to ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. While energy was implicit in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDGs explicitly recognise the direct linkage between energy access and consumption and poverty and development. This evolution of the development agenda is closely related to an expanded understanding of poverty, as it moves beyond a monetary definition, to be seen as a more holistic measure of overall quality of life. Energy has thus become recognised as an important aspect of alleviating extreme poverty. However, what remains unclear is the impact that poverty reduction will have on worldwide energy consumption. There is a significant amount of literature concerning the connection between energy consumption?in particular electricity?and development, ranging from engineering modelling to development policy. Nevertheless, there is a lack of attention given to the direct causal relationship between poverty reduction and energy consumption. This paper reviews a variety of the current literature concerning energy and electricity consumption and poverty and development, to show that there is a need to directly address how poverty levels will shape future energy consumption. This relationship will have an impact on a number of issues critical to the achievement of the SDGs ranging from health to gender and the environment". (?)
    Keywords: Energy, poverty, development, Sustainable Development Goals
    Date: 2017–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:wpaper:156&r=env
  21. By: Eloi Laurent (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques)
    Abstract: Cet article se propose de discuter la pertinence de l’unité actuelle des négociations climatiques : la tonne de CO2. Après avoir montré les limites fondamentales de cette approche par les quantités au regard des dynamiques passées, actuelles et prévisibles d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre, l’article propose de développer en vue de la COP 21 les jalons d’une approche par le prix du carbone. Celle-ci ouvre sur une négociation ayant pour fondement la valeur sociale du carbone qui renvoie aux enjeux de justice intra-générationnelle et intergénérationnelle dont la mise en lumière est susceptible de faire progresser des négociations climatiques encore trop peu avancées.
    Keywords: Négociation; Climat; Prix du carbone
    Date: 2015–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/3qdig6e43o821robjnpoop1teu&r=env
  22. By: Neil Buckley; Stuart Mestelman; R. Andrew Muller; Stephen Schott; Jingjing Zhang
    Abstract: Many controlled laboratory experiments have shown non-binding communication among appropriators from a common pool to be an effective way to reduce over-appropriation from the commons. The controlled laboratory environments have tended to be environments with fewer than 10 participants. Recent work by Buckley et al. (2017) found that non-binding communication is not successful in reducing appropriation effort in a controlled laboratory environment with 12 participants. A conjecture was that there might be a difference between 12 participants and 8 participants (the typical number used by Ostrom et al. 1994 in their seminal work and used in many subsequent studies by others). This paper presents an environment that utilizes the CPR setting identical to that used by Buckley et al. (2017) reduces the number of appropriators from 12 to 8. Eight sessions (4 with and 4 without non-binding communication) are run using the Buckley et al. (2017) environment with 8 participants. The results suggest that the number of participants may not be an important factor in driving the differences between the impact that non-binding communication has on the Buckley et al. (2017) and Ostrom et al. (1994) environments. Alternate conjectures are presented to account for the differences.
    JEL: Q20 C72 C92
    Date: 2017–06–19
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:deptwp:2017-09&r=env
  23. By: Michael MacLennan (IPC-IG)
    Abstract: "Humankind has entered a new 'urban era', where the majority of the population lives in urban areas. It is, therefore, not surprising that sustainable urban development has become an integral pillar of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the adoption of a specific goal dedicated to cities". (...)
    Keywords: new, urban, paradigm, pathways, sustainable, development
    Date: 2016–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:ifocus:37&r=env
  24. By: Hannah Goozee (IPC-IG)
    Abstract: "El séptimo objetivo de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenibles (ODS) es dedicado a la aseguración del acceso a energía moderna accesible, confiable, y sostenible para todos para el año 2030. Mientras que la energía fue solo implícita en los Objetivos de Desarrollo de Milenio (ODM), los ODS crean un énfasis sobre la conexión entre el acceso de energía casero, su consumo, y la pobreza y el desarrollo. Esta atención está relacionada a la expansión del entendimiento de lo que es la pobreza, y como esta se ha expandido a más allá de una definición monetaria a ser vista como una medida de calidad de vida holística. Los ODS reconocen claramente la centralidad de la energía para el bien estar económico y social, como también para asuntos de salud y cambio climático, y reflejan los comentarios del Secretario-General de las Naciones Unidas, Ban Ki-moon, en la conferencia de Rio+20, que dice que "la energía es un hilo dorado que conecta el crecimiento económico, la equidad social, y el desarrollo sostenible.' "
    Keywords: Energia, pobreza, Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenibles
    Date: 2017–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opespa:351&r=env
  25. By: UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti
    Keywords: child poverty; child well-being; inequality; social inequality; sustainable development;
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucf:inreca:inreca890&r=env
  26. By: Hannah Goozee (IPC-IG)
    Abstract: "O sétimo Objetivo de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS) dedica-se a garantir o acesso ? para todos ? à energia barata, confiável, sustentável e moderna até 2030. Enquanto a energia estava presente apenas de maneira implícita nos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio (ODM), os ODS enfatizam a ligação direta entre o acesso e o consumo de energia dos agregados familiares, e a pobreza e o desenvolvimento. Esse fato está intimamente relacionado ao crescente entendimento acerca da pobreza, que vai além de uma simples definição monetária, e é vista hoje como uma medida holística de qualidade geral de vida. Os ODS, claramente, reconhecem o papel fundamental da energia para o bem-estar econômico e social das pessoas, bem como para questões, como saúde e mudanças climáticas, refletindo o enunciado do Secretário-Geral das Nações Unidas, Ban Ki-moon, na conferência Rio +20, de que a 'energia é o fio dourado que interliga o crescimento econômico, a igualdade social e o desenvolvimento inclusivo'". (...)
    Keywords: Energia, pobreza, Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável
    Date: 2017–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opport:351&r=env
  27. By: Aurélien Saussay (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques)
    Abstract: Donald Trump a donc une nouvelle fois respecté une de ses promesses de campagne. Le retrait des Etats-Unis de l’Accord de Paris ne semblait pourtant pas acquis. Des personnalités centrales du lobby pétrolier américain comme le Secrétaire d’Etat, Rex Tillerson, ancien patron d’Exxon-Mobil, son actuel PDG, Darren Woods, ou encore le gouverneur du Texas, principal Etat producteur de pétrole aux Etats-Unis, conseillaient au président de maintenir les Etats-Unis au sein de l’accord – ne serait-ce que pour en influencer l’application. Ce retrait n’est assurément pas une bonne nouvelle. Il n’en constitue pas pour autant la catastrophe que l’on pourrait redouter.
    Keywords: Etats Unis; Changement climatique; Accord de Paris
    Date: 2017–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/cht9mb4sl9tgp5jiimsdlgi6m&r=env
  28. By: UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti
    Abstract: Le présent Bilan propose une évaluation du bien-être des enfants dans une perspective de développement durable dans 41 pays de l’Union européenne (UE) et de l’Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (OCDE). Le rapport cherche notamment à exploiter de façon pertinente les cibles des objectifs de développement durable (ODD) visant les enfants des pays à revenu élevé (tout en restant fidèle aux ambitions du programme mondial) et à établir un postulat pour la révision du cadre des ODD dans ces pays. Il s’attache essentiellement aux objectifs et cibles touchant directement au bien-être des enfants dans les milieux à revenu élevé. Le cas échéant, il adapte l’indicateur relatif aux ODD convenu afin de mieux rendre compte des problèmes rencontrés par les enfants dans ces pays. Ces résultats mettent donc en évidence les nouveaux défis posés par les ODD.
    Keywords: child poverty; child well-being; social inequality; sustainable development;
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucf:inreca:inreca891&r=env

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