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on Environmental Economics |
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Issue of 2022‒05‒02
sixty-six papers chosen by Francisco S. Ramos Universidade Federal de Pernambuco |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | Selected Issues |
| Keywords: | climate mitigation effort; green finance landscape; climate change effect; carbonization effort; staff team of the International Monetary Fund; low-carbon economy; electricity consumption; Climate finance; Climate change; Greenhouse gas emissions; Climate policy; Global |
| Date: | 2022–03–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:2022/070&r= |
| By: | Clemens Fuest; Volker Meier |
| Abstract: | Promoting investment in low carbon “clean” sectors has gained popularity over the last years under the heading of sustainable finance, at the same time raising concerns about adverse welfare effects of such policies. We analyze the economic impact of subsidizing investment in “clean” industries in a stylized two-sector small open economy model. Such a reform increases gross wages, but reduces national income due to the distortion of capital. At given national emissions cap, worldwide emissions rise because imports of the high-carbon good will increase. When adapting the emissions cap, the environmental policy becomes laxer if it is dominated by income effects or by mitigating losses arising from the distortion of the allocation of capital. At the same time, the shrinking high carbon sector reduces income gains from a higher cap and thus works toward a stricter policy. Results are similar if capital in “dirty” industries is taxed. Though sustainable finance policies do seem wasteful, we provide a rationalization in a setting with irreversible investment, where a “green” government” uses such a policy to induce stricter environmental measures after a possible switch to a “conservative” government. |
| Keywords: | climate change, global externalities, sustainable finance, small open economy, political economy |
| JEL: | F41 H23 H87 Q58 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9537&r= |
| By: | Yongyang Cai (The Ohio State University); William Brock; Anastasios Xepapadeas |
| Abstract: | We compute regional social cost of carbon (SCC) in the face of climate change impact on the rate of growth of regional GDP under cooperation and noncooperation between regions with climate feedbacks and heat transfer present or missing. Climate damage to economic growth poses serious challenges for many countries, particularly in the tropic region. We find that in the presence of climate damage to economic growth, regional SCC is high in either a cooperative world or a noncooperative world, implying that it is optimal for each region to choose stringent climate policies. Moreover, relatively to cooperation, noncooperation reduces GDP of countries in both the high northern latitudes and the tropic region while the loss for the developing countries in the tropic region is significant. Our results are robust with different modeling of the climate impact. |
| Keywords: | Integrated Assessment Model of climate and economy, spatial heat transport, regional social cost of carbon, carbon tax, Nash equilibrium, economic growth, climate feedbacks |
| JEL: | Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2022–04–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:2214&r= |
| By: | Dikau, Simon; Volz, Ulrich |
| Abstract: | Chinese monetary and financial authorities have been among the pioneers in promoting green finance. This article investigates the use of one specific monetary policy tool, namely window guidance, by the Peoples’ Bank of China (PBC) and the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) to encourage financial institutions to expand credit to sustainable activities and curb lending to heavy-polluting industries. ‘Window guidance’ is a relatively informal policy instrument that uses benevolent compulsion to ‘guide’ financial institutions to extend credit and allocate lending in line with official (government) targets. We investigate window guidance targets for the period 2001–2020 and find that ‘green’ targets were included by the CBRC from at least 2006 and by the PBC from 2007 to discourage lending to carbon-intensive and polluting industries and/or to increase support to sustainable activities. In 2014, both authorities stopped discouraging lending to carbon-intensive/polluting industries through window guidance. Sustainable objectives were subsequently also removed from the PBC's list of window guidance priority sectors at the start of 2019, ending the practice of green window guidance in China. Sustainability-enhancing window guidance targets were replaced and formalized through new ‘Guidelines for Establishing the Green Financial System’, reflecting efforts to move away from controls-based towards market-based policy instruments. Based on this analysis, the article draws four lessons for the design of green finance policies for other countries that seek to enhance sustainable finance and mitigate climate change and related risks. |
| Keywords: | sustainable finance; central banking and financial supervision; China; ES/R009708/1; ES/P005241/1; 71661137002; T&F deal |
| JEL: | G20 |
| Date: | 2021–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:112725&r= |
| By: | Soumya Sasidharan (Ph.D. Scholar, School of Business, P O BOX: 345050, MAHE, Dubai, DIAC, UAE Author-2-Name: V.K. Ranjith Author-2-Workplace-Name: Professor, Manipal Institute of Management, MAHE, Manipal, India Author-3-Name: Sunitha Prabhuram Author-3-Workplace-Name: Associate Professor, School of Business, PO BOX: 345050, MAHE, Dubai, DIAC, UAE Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | " Objective - Sustainable insurance is the new concept that emerges in the current state, that every country adopting now. The objective of the study is to identify the insurance industry's role and contribution to promoting environmental sustainability. To outline sustainable insurance and sustainable/green products and services. Methodology – This paper explores the contribution of the insurance industry and its role in promoting environmental sustainability and social development. This is a theoretical paper, focused on the secondary sources of data from research publications, websites, books, journals, and articles. To achieve the objectives, this study will critically review previous literature and assess contemporary views from different perspectives. Findings – Various insurers are frequently focusing on their progress, enhancing their share of the market, and maintaining better risks to achieve marketplace success. Insurers should always be on the lookout for new ways to set themselves apart from the competition. The implication for insurers is that their actions matter a lot when it comes to environmental issues and providing green insurance solutions can open new business opportunities for the industry. The answer may lie in marketing new products related to potential climate change and the corresponding sustainability/green insurance. Novelty – Sustainable insurance is aimed primarily at developing innovative or green products and services, reducing risk, improving company efficiency, and supporting environmental, social, and financial sustainability. There hasn't been a general overview of the role of insurers in enhancing environmental sustainability and social development done yet. Theoretically, our work aids policymakers and other stakeholders in better understanding the role of insurers in enhancing environmental sustainability and social development. Type of Paper - Review" |
| Keywords: | Insurance, Sustainability, Green insurance, Green products and services, Sustainable Development |
| JEL: | G20 G22 G23 |
| Date: | 2021–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:jfbr191&r= |
| By: | Poortinga, Wouter |
| Abstract: | Understanding environmental choices and behaviour is becoming an increasingly important topic for research. Understanding Society has included questions on environmental attitudes and actions from Wave 1 of the survey and allows researchers to look at environmental choices as part of a wider socioeconomic picture. Thirteen years after the first environmental behaviour module was fielded, ISER would welcome anassessment of how useful Understanding Society is for environmental behaviour and climate change research, and how it could better enable research on the topic. This Working Paper reviews the environmental content in the survey and sets out a proposal for a new module on environmental attitudes. |
| Date: | 2022–04–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:ukhlsp:2022-03&r= |
| By: | Luigi Bonatti; Lorenza Alexandra Lorenzetti |
| Abstract: | We study how public policies affects an economy where production emits pollutants and investment in productive assets raises the economy’s overall productivity. We explore two hypotheses about how the accumulation of pollutants affects human well-being. Under the first one, there is no limit to the possibility for households to defend themselves against environmental degradation by increasing the use of manmade artifacts, while under the second one there is a threshold beyond which the effects of the accumulation of pollutants cannot be offset by devoting more output to this scope. Under both hypotheses, we compare the laissez-faire (LF) to the socially optimal (SO) path. Then, we check whether the latter can be decentralized by using the policy instruments available to the government. Under the first hypothesis, GDP and pollutants grow slower along the SO balanced growth path (BGP) than along the LF BGP, while people’s well-being is greater along the former. Therefore, green policies driving the economy along its OP tend to reduce GDP growth. Under the second hypothesis, LF may lead to a “climate catastrophe” by determining unbounded growth, which—without incentives to invest in green technology—drives the amount of pollutants beyond its maximum compatible with life on earth. |
| Keywords: | endogenous growth, green policies, global warming, externalities, human well being, climate catastrophe, defensive expenditures |
| JEL: | H23 O44 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9539&r= |
| By: | Marie-Laure Cabon-Dhersin (LERN - Laboratoire d'Economie Rouen Normandie - UNIROUEN - Université de Rouen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - IRIHS - Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire Homme et Société - UNIROUEN - Université de Rouen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université); Natacha Raffin (LERN - Laboratoire d'Economie Rouen Normandie - UNIROUEN - Université de Rouen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - IRIHS - Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire Homme et Société - UNIROUEN - Université de Rouen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université) |
| Abstract: | This article compares taxes and standards as environmental policies in a duopoly model where production generates pollution. To lower their emissions, firms invest in upstream green R&D (in the presence of technological spillovers) either cooperatively or non-cooperatively, and then compete in quantities. The outcomes of the two policies are identical when firms do not cooperate in R&D; R&D cooperation under taxes always improves social welfare by increasing abatement efforts and increasing consumer surplus. Conversely, R&D cooperation under standards pushes firms to reduce production, which is harmful for consumers but better for the environment. |
| Keywords: | R&D Cooperation,Spillovers,taxes,standards,Cournot competition. Code JEL: L13,032,P48,Q55 |
| Date: | 2022–03–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03610541&r= |
| By: | Gerard Cornelis van der Meijden; Cees A. Withagen; Hassan Benchekroun |
| Abstract: | Inspired by empirical evidence from the oil market, we build a model of an oligopoly facing a fringe as well as competition from renewable resources. We explore different subclasses of HARA utility functions (Cobb-Douglas, power and quadratic utility) to check the robustness of results found in the previous literature. For isoelastic demand, we characterize the equilibrium extraction rates of the fringe and the oligopolists. There always exists a phase of simultaneous supply of the oligopolists and the fringe, implying an inefficient order of use of resources since the oligopolists have smaller unit extraction costs and carbon emissions than the fringe. We calibrate our model to the oil market to quantify this sequence effect. In our benchmark calibration, we find for the three HARA subclasses that the sequence effect is responsible for almost all of the welfare loss compared to the first-best. It becomes smaller as market power decreases. Furthermore, we show that climate damage and Green Paradox effects depend non-monotonically on the degree of market power. |
| Keywords: | oligopoly-fringe, climate policy, non-renewable resource, Herfindahl rule, limit pricing, oligopoly, HARA preferences |
| JEL: | Q31 Q42 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9585&r= |
| By: | Shiiba, Nagisa (Asian Development Bank Institute); Maekawa, Miko (Asian Development Bank Institute); Vegh, Tibor (Asian Development Bank Institute); Virdin, John (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Ocean conservation and sustainable use cannot be pursued or achieved without consideration of the planetary impacts of climate change, and particularly the role of the oceans in both mitigation and adaptation. For this reason, the international community has increasingly committed to providing aid to help finance public goods for ocean conservation and climate action. Although many organizations have set up mechanisms to track both aid and climate finance, such trackers are usually not focused on financial flows related to ocean conservation and climate action. In the absence of such coordinated tracking and monitoring of aid, policy makers cannot assess the attention or priority of international funding mechanisms on oceans and ocean-related climate issues. As such, we aim to contribute to efforts to track aid for ocean conservation and climate action by providing a comprehensive baseline of international flows, by relevant global goal and target. We will build upon recent efforts that have established a baseline for international institutions operating at the global level. According to the data collected, we estimate that the cumulative public financing for ocean conservation and climate action grew from $579 million in 2013 to over $3.5 billion in 2019. |
| Keywords: | ocean financing; sustainability and climate change; international aid |
| JEL: | F35 F64 H84 Q54 |
| Date: | 2022–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1308&r= |
| By: | CANFORA Paolo (European Commission - JRC); ARRANZ PADILLA Maria (European Commission - JRC); POLIDORI Olivier; PICKARD GARCIA Nicolas (European Commission - JRC); OSTOJIC Suzana; DRI Marco |
| Abstract: | The European Union has introduced a new policy tool to define which investments can be considered environmentally sustainable: a taxonomy of environmentally sustainable economic activities (“the EU Taxonomy”). Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and the Council (the ‘Taxonomy Regulation’), establishes the framework for its development and use. It empowers the European Commission to define the actual taxonomy, i.e. the list of economic activities and associated technical screening criteria setting out the required level of environmental performance. This list of economic activities and the accompanying technical screening criteria will be adopted in delegated acts. This report is an input to the work of developing technical screening criteria for activities substantially contributing to four remaining environmental objectives defined in the Taxonomy Regulation. It proposes a methodological framework and a step-by-step process to draft criteria for economic activities substantially contributing to an objective: from the identification of the type of substantial contribution the economic activity can make, the selection of the most suitable approach to draft the technical screening criteria and the setting of the level of ambition expected to consider that contribution substantial. The report then explores how the conceptual framework can be applied in practice for each of the four environmental objectives considered. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable finance, EU taxonomy, sustainable economy activities, substantial contribution, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and control, Protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems, Platform on Sustainable Finance, Technical Working Group |
| Date: | 2022–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc126045&r= |
| By: | Ming Deng (University of Zurich - Department of Banking and Finance); Markus Leippold (University of Zurich; Swiss Finance Institute); Alexander F. Wagner (University of Zurich - Department of Banking and Finance; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Swiss Finance Institute); Qian Wang (University of Zurich - Department of Banking and Finance; Inovest Partners AG) |
| Abstract: | An extraordinary mix of factors affected firm values in early 2022. In the build-up to and in the weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stocks strongly exposed to the regulatory risks of the transition to a low-carbon economy did well. This was true especially of US stocks. However, in Europe, these stocks tended to underperform after the invasion, arguably because of stronger expected policy responses supporting renewable energy sources in the face of the pronounced dependence of Europe on Russian oil and gas. Investors thus expect the speed of transition to a low-carbon economy to be diverging between the US and Europe. Relating six different Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings with stock price performance yields mixed results, suggesting that investors cannot blindly rely on such ratings in general to indicate corporate resilience against crises. Companies which more frequently refer to inflation in their conference calls with analysts performed worse than their peers. Internationally oriented firms did poorly, and investors were particularly concerned regarding companies' exposure to China. Overall, the results offer a preview of the future economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. |
| Keywords: | Climate transition risk, energy, ESG, event study, inflation, resilience, Russia-Ukraine war, stock returns |
| JEL: | E3 G14 G01 Q54 |
| Date: | 2022–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2229&r= |
| By: | Vos, Cora; Rösemann, Claus; Haenel, Hans-Dieter; Dämmgen, Ulrich; Döring, Ulrike; Wulf, Sebastian; Eurich-Menden, Brigitte; Freibauer, Annette; Döhler, Helmut; Schreiner, Carsten; Osterburg, Bernhard; Fuß, Roland |
| Abstract: | The report at hand (including a comprehensive annex of data) serves as additional document to the National Inventory Report (NIR) on the German green house gas emissions and the Informative Inventory Report (IIR) on the German emissions of air pollutants (especially ammonia). The report documents the calculation methods used in the German agricultural inventory model Py-GAS-EM as well as input data, emission results and uncertainties of the emission reporting submission 2022 for the years 1990 - 2020. In this context the sector Agriculture comprises the emissions from animal husbandry, the use of agricultural soils and anaerobic digestion of energy crops. As required by the guidelines, emissions from activities preceding agriculture, from the use of energy and from land use change are reported elsewhere in the national inventories. The calculation methods are based in principle on the international guidelines for emission reporting and have been continuingly improved during the past years by the Thünen Institute working group on agricultural emission inventories, partly in cooperation with KTBL. In particular, these improvements concern the calculation of energy requirements, feeding and the N balance of the most important animal categories. In addition, technical measures such as air scrubbing (mitigation of ammonia emissions) and digestion of animal manures (mitigation of emissions of methane and laughing gas) have been taken into account. For the calculation of emissions from anaerobic digestion of animal manures and energy crops (including spreading of the digestate), the aforementioned working group developed, in cooperation with KTBL, a national methodology. [...] |
| Keywords: | emission inventory,agriculture,livestock husbandry,agricultural soils,anaerobic digestion,energy crops,renewable primary products,greenhouse gases,air pollutants,methane,laughing gas,ammonia,particulate matter,Emissionsinventar,Landwirtschaft,Tierhaltung,landwirtschaftliche Böden,anaerobe Vergärung,Energiepflanzen,nachwachsende Rohstoffe,Treibhausgase,Luftschadstoffe,Methan,Lachgas,Ammoniak,luftgetragene Partikel,Staub |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:jhtire:91&r= |
| By: | Sinha, Avik (Asian Development Bank Institute); Shah, Muhammad Ibrahim (Asian Development Bank Institute); Mehta, Atul (Asian Development Bank Institute); Sharma, Rajesh (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | In order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Asian countries are trying to realize the potential of energy innovation. However, several structural issues might deter the expected impact of energy innovation on GHG emissions. Given the ecologically unsustainable economic growth trajectory of Asian countries, achieving the full potential of energy innovation is necessary, and therefore an efficient development and diffusion of these solutions requires a policy reorientation. Given the present situation of Asian countries in attaining SDG objectives, there is a void in the academic literature in terms of a policy framework, and there lies the contribution of our study. We shed light on how regional integration and social inequality can moderate the desired environmental impact of energy innovation. Based on the outcomes of the study conducted on 24 Asian countries over the period 1990–2019, we recommend a multipronged SDG-oriented policy framework. This policy framework is developed by considering the internal and external structural issues with Asian countries, and, using a phase-wise policy implementation approach, a way to address the objectives of SDGs 7, 9, and 13 is discussed. |
| Keywords: | energy innovation; GHG emissions; Asia; regional integration; social inequality |
| JEL: | Q48 Q53 Q55 Q56 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1304&r= |
| By: | Raphael Corbi; Chiara Falco |
| Abstract: | Do generations affected by natural disasters during the critical years of adolescence and early adulthood form different preferences towards the environment than generations who are not? Consistent with the theories of social psychology, we show that an environmental shock experienced during the impressionable years (18-25 years old) help shape positive environmental preferences. Individuals tend not to change beliefs in response to natural disasters experienced in other age ranges. Using information from the General Social Survey and World Values Survey, we exploit yearly natural disasters variation both within the US and across countries to identify these effects. |
| Keywords: | beliefs formation; natural disasters; environmental policy; impressionable |
| JEL: | P16 Q54 Z18 D90 |
| Date: | 2022–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2022wpecon07&r= |
| By: | Ahmad, Ehtisham |
| Abstract: | COVID-19 has amplified existing imbalances, institutional and financing constraints associated with a development strategy that did not take sufficient account of challenges with emissions, environmental damage and health risks associated with climate change in a number of countries, including China. The recovery from the pandemic can be combined with appropriately designed investments that take into account human, social, natural and physical capital, as well as distributional objectives, that can also address commitments under the Paris agreement. An important criterion for sustainable development is that the tax regimes at the national and sub-national levels should reflect the same criteria as the investment strategy. Own-source revenues, are essential to be able to access private financing, including local government bonds and PPPs in a sustainable manner. Governance criteria are also important including information on the buildup of liabilities at all levels of government, to ensure transparent governance. Despite differences in political systems, the Chinese experiences are relevant in a wide range of emerging market countries as the measures utilize institutions and policies reflecting international best practices, including modern tax administrations for the VAT, and income taxes, and benefit-linked property taxes, as well as utilization of balance sheets information consistent with the IMF’s Government Financial Statistics Manual, 2014. The options have significant implications for policy advice and development cooperation for meeting global climate change goals while ensuring sustainable employment generation with transparency and accountability. |
| Keywords: | environmental policy; human capital; intergovernmental fiscal relations; investment; taxation and subsidies |
| JEL: | R14 J01 F3 G3 |
| Date: | 2021–05–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:114565&r= |
| By: | Oluc, Ihsan; Ben Jebli, Mehdi; Can, Muhlis; Guzel, Ihsan; Brusselaers, Jan |
| Abstract: | There are many economic parameters that may affect environmental degradation. At the forefront of these parameters is the productive economic structures of the countries The present paper discusses the dynamic relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, economic growth and productive capacity index (PCI) for a panel of 38 OECD countries spanning the period 2000-2018. The empirical study applied PMG-ARDL approach, panel cointegration techniques and Granger causality tests the examine the short and long-run association between the variables. The cross-sectional dependence test of Pesaran (2004) revealed the use of the second generation panel unit root tests (CADF and CIPS). The cointegration relationships between the variables are proved using Westerlund and Pedroni cointegration tests. The estimated coefficients of PMG-ARDL revealed that the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is established. Besides, the empirical findings obtained from long-run estimation confirm that productive capacity has a significant role on increasing environmental quality. |
| Keywords: | Product Capacity Index; CO2 Emissions; Economic Complexity; Economic Structure; Environment |
| JEL: | E2 F1 F14 Q5 Q54 Q55 Q57 |
| Date: | 2022–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:112590&r= |
| By: | Chuku Chuku (International Monetary Fund); Victor Ajayi (Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom) |
| Abstract: | Discussions about green growth transition in Africa have mostly been silent on quantifying Africa's progress and assessing countries' "green" versus "brown" growth performance. We construct a measure of Africa's green growth performance using an emissionsadjusted production technology framework that jointly accounts for the production of desirable and undesirable outputs over the period 2000-2019. We also identify the important country-level characteristics that drive green productivity growth. The computed green Malmquist-Luenberger productivity indexes penalize countries for the production of "bad" outputs and credit countries for the reduction in emissions and production of "good" outputs. Our main results indicate that Africa's productivity growth is overstated when undesirable outputs are ignored in the measurement of Africa's growth performance. Second, it is technological progress and not efficiency change-i.e., the catch-up effect-that has been the primary source of Africa's green economy transition, implying a reduction in the gap to the technological frontier for most countries. Our analysis of the drivers of green growth shows that high-income levels, tradeembodied R&D, and domestic R&D are the main enablers of green growth, while high energy intensity is the main barrier to green productivity growth. We also find evidence of nonlinearities between income level and green growth performance, consistent with the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. The paper ends with far-reaching policy recommendations for accelerating Africa's green growth transition. |
| Keywords: | Green TFP growth, greenhouse gas emissions, Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index, trade-embodied R&D JEL classification: Q54, Q52, Q43, D24 |
| Date: | 2022–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adb:adbwps:2489&r= |
| By: | Gözlügöl, Alperen A.; Ringe, Wolf-Georg |
| Abstract: | Global consensus is growing on the contribution that corporations and finance must make towards the net-zero transition in line with the Paris Agreement goals. However, most efforts in legislative instruments as well as shareholder or stakeholder initiatives have ultimately focused on public companies: for example, most disclosure obligations result from the given company's status of being listed on a stock exchange. This article argues that such a focus falls short of providing a comprehensive approach to the problem of climate change. In doing so, it examines the contribution of private companies to climate change, the relevance of climate risks for them, as well as the phenomenon of brown-spinning. We show that one cannot afford to ignore private companies in the net-zero transition and climate change adaptation. Yet, private companies lack several disciplining mechanisms available to public companies such as institutional investor engagement, certain corporate governance arrangements, and transparency through regular disclosure obligations. At this stage, only some generic regulatory instruments such as carbon pricing and environmental regulation apply to them. The article closes with a discussion of the main policy implications. Primarily, we propose extending sustainability disclosure requirements to private companies. Sustainability disclosures aim at promoting a transition to a greener economy, rather than (only) protecting investors by addressing information asymmetry. Therefore, these disclosures should encompass private companies that are of relevance for the net-zero transition. Such disclosures can be a powerful tool in shedding light on the polluting private companies that have so far been in the dark as well as serving as a disciplining mechanism. |
| Keywords: | private companies,net zero transition,sustainability disclosures,brown-spinning,climate change,private equity |
| JEL: | G38 K22 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:342&r= |
| By: | Azhgaliyeva, Dina (Asian Development Bank Institute); Kapsalyamova, Zhanna (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Private green finance is imperative for climate change mitigation and adaptation, but the share of private green finance remains small, and the studies that have tackled the efficacy of policy instruments in promoting green finance are limited. Many economies, especially in Asia, have implemented different policies to incentivize the private sector to issue green bonds. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of such policies. We provide empirical evidence on the effectiveness of a broad range of green bond policies on the issuance of green bonds. Given the nascent nature of green bonds, we document the effects of several policy instruments supporting green bonds on the private sector’s issuance of green bonds in 58 green-bond-issuing economies, including 11 economies in Asia, over the period January 2010–June 2020. Using the difference-in-difference specification within the multilevel longitudinal model, we find that some green bond policies, such as green bond grants and tax incentives, as well as cooperation and policy signals, are effective in promoting the issuance of green bonds in the private sector in Asia. Regional cooperation and standardization have incentivized private green bond issuance in the European Union but not in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region. Global cooperation and international standardization have had a positive impact on the issuance of private green bonds. |
| Keywords: | green bonds; green finance; policy support; Asia |
| JEL: | G23 Q28 Q42 Q48 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1275&r= |
| By: | Phoebe Koundouri (Dept. of International and European Economic Studies, Athens University of Economics and Business); Georgios I. Papayiannis (Athens University of Economics & Business); Athanasios Yannacopoulos |
| Abstract: | Optimal sustainable management of natural resources has been one of the major lines of research in environmental economics at least for the last two decades. Several attempts have been made in order to describe in a quantitative fashion the notion of sustainability and distinguish management policies between sustainable and non sustainable ones. Important aspects of this task are (a) appropriate modeling of the spatio-temporal dynamics of the state of the system, including the sources of uncertainty affecting either directly or indirectly the problem at hand (e.g. climate conditions, population growth, biological evolution, etc), and (b) the development of appropriate criteria for evaluating the welfare of the system under study that guarantee sustainability and viability. In this chapter, we present and discuss popular and established optimization approaches for investigating policy selection problems within the sustainability framework, from the perspective of viability and optimal control theory. |
| Keywords: | Model Uncertainty, Optimal Control, Robust Optimal Control, Sustainability, Viability Theory |
| Date: | 2022–04–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:2215&r= |
| By: | Bracht, Felix; Verhoeven, Dennis |
| Abstract: | Existing estimates of the economic costs of air pollution do not account for its effect on inventive output. Using two weather phenomena as instruments, we estimate this effect in a sample of 1,288 European regions. A decrease in exposure to small particulate matter of 0.17µg/m3 - the average yearly reduction in Europe - leads to 1.7% more patented inventions. After ruling out reallocation of human capital, inventor mortality and R&D expenditures as drivers of the effect, we conclude that air pollution's harm to economic output increases by at least 10% when accounting for innovation. |
| Keywords: | air pollution; air quality; innovation; patent; productivity |
| JEL: | O30 Q53 O13 |
| Date: | 2021–11–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:113818&r= |
| By: | Francis X. Diebold; Glenn D. Rudebusch; Maximilian Goebel; Philippe Goulet Coulombe; Boyuan Zhang |
| Abstract: | Rapidly diminishing Arctic summer sea ice is a strong signal of the pace of global climate change. We provide point, interval, and density forecasts for four measures of Arctic sea ice: area, extent, thickness, and volume. Importantly, we enforce the joint constraint that these measures must simultaneously arrive at an ice-free Arctic. We apply this constrained joint forecast procedure to models relating sea ice to cumulative carbon dioxide emissions and models relating sea ice directly to time. The resulting "carbon-trend" and "time-trend" projections are mutually consistent and predict an effectively ice-free summer Arctic Ocean by the mid-2030s with an 80% probability. Moreover, the carbon-trend projections show that global adoption of a lower emissions path would likely delay the arrival of a seasonally ice-free Arctic by only a few years. |
| Date: | 2022–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2203.04040&r= |
| By: | Kamiar Mohaddes; Ryan N. C. Ng; M. Hashem Pesaran; Mehdi Raissi; Jui-Chung Yang |
| Abstract: | We investigate the long-term macroeconomic effects of climate change across 48 U.S. states over the period 1963.2016 using a novel econometric strategy which links deviations of temperature and precipitation (weather) from their long-term moving-average historical norms (climate) to various state-specific economic performance indicators at the aggregate and sectoral levels. We show that climate change has a long-lasting adverse impact on real output in various states and economic sectors, and on labour productivity and employment in the United States. Moreover, in contrast to most cross-country results, our within U.S. estimates tend to be asymmetrical with respect to deviations of climate variables (including precipitation) from their historical norms. |
| Keywords: | climate change, economic growth, adaptation, United States |
| JEL: | C33 O40 O44 O51 Q51 Q54 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9542&r= |
| By: | Anushia Chelvarayan (Multimedia University, Jalan Ayer Keroh Lama, 75450, Melaka, Malaysia Author-2-Name: S. Thayalan Sandrasegaran Author-2-Workplace-Name: Multimedia University, Jalan Ayer Keroh Lama, 75450, Melaka, Malaysia Author-3-Name: Yeo Sook Fern Author-3-Workplace-Name: Multimedia University, Jalan Ayer Keroh Lama, 75450, Melaka, Malaysia Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | "Objective - In recent years, rapid economic growth coupled with overconsumption of products and services contributed to environmental degradation, prompting escalated consumption related environmental concerns. As such, this study aims to explore the factors influencing green purchase behaviour among students in higher learning institutions in Malaysia – a setting where the market is experiencing expansion and changes in consumption patterns. Methodology/Technique - Specifically, this study employs the Theory of Planned Behaviour by integrating relevant variables such as environmental attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, environmental knowledge and willingness to pay a premium into the model to investigate their effects on green purchase behaviour. This study specifically looks into the green purchasing behaviour among University students in Malaysia. Finding - The research used multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate the online questionnaire gathered from various university students in Malaysia. Overall, the findings indicate that subjective norm and perceived behavioural control have significant relationships with green purchase behaviour, while environmental attitude, willingness to pay a premium and environmental knowledge have insignificant relationships with green purchase behaviour. Novelty - This study concludes with implications for marketers, as well as limitations and suggestions for future research in green consumption. Type of Paper - Empirical" |
| Keywords: | Green Purchase Behaviour, Green Marketing, Green Products and Services, Students |
| JEL: | D23 M3 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:gjbssr602&r= |
| By: | Huynh, Cong Minh |
| Abstract: | This study empirically examines the impact of climate change and agricultural research and development (R&D) as well as their interaction on agricultural productivity in 12 selected Asian and Pacific countries over the period of 1990 – 2018. Results show that both proxies of climate change – temperature and precipitation – have negative impacts on agricultural productivity. Notably, agricultural R&D investments not only increase agricultural productivity but also mitigate the detrimental impact of climate change proxied by temperature on agricultural productivity. Interestingly, climate change proxied by precipitation initially reduces agricultural productivity until a threshold of agricultural R&D beyond which precipitation increases agricultural productivity. The findings imply useful policies to boost agricultural productivity by using R&D in the context of rising climate change in the vulnerable continent. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural productivity; Asia and Pacific; Climate change; R&D; SGMM |
| JEL: | D24 O13 O33 Q16 Q54 |
| Date: | 2022–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:112628&r= |
| By: | Robert Huang; Matthew E. Kahn |
| Abstract: | Urban public transit agencies spend billions of dollars each year on workers, durable capital and energy to supply transportation services. During a time of rising concern about climate change, the urban public transit sector has not significantly reduced its carbon footprint. Using data for the nation’s transit agencies over the years 2002 to 2019, we benchmark U.S transit agencies with transit agencies in Germany and the United Kingdom. We study U.S urban public sector energy efficiency trends and explain the cross-sectional variation. We present a new operating profits metric that incorporates each transit agency’s annual total carbon emissions. |
| JEL: | H23 H41 H76 R4 |
| Date: | 2022–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29900&r= |
| By: | Chanel, Olivier; Prati, Alberto; Raux, Morgan |
| Abstract: | We provide an estimate of the environmental impact of the recruitment system in the economics profession, known as the "international job market for economists". Each year, most graduating PhDs seeking jobs in academia, government, or companies participate in this job market. The market follows a standardized process, where candidates are pre-screened in a short interview which takes place at an annual meeting in Europe or in the United States. Most interviews are arranged via a non-profit online platform, econjobmarket.org, which kindly agreed to share its anonymized data with us. Using this dataset, we estimate the individual environmental impact of 1,057 candidates and one hundred recruitment committees who attended the EEA and AEA meetings in December 2019 and January 2020. We calculate that this pre-screening system generated the equivalent of about 4,000 tons of avoidable CO2-eq and a comprehensive economic cost over e3.5 million. We contrast this overall assessment against three counterfactual scenarios: a more efficient in-person system, a hybrid system (where videoconference is used for some candidates) and a fully online system (as it happened in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Overall, the study can offer useful information to shape future recruitment standards in a more sustainable way. |
| Keywords: | job market for economists; international job market; carbon footprint; environmental impact; comprehensive economic cost |
| JEL: | A11 J44 Q51 Q56 |
| Date: | 2021–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:113815&r= |
| By: | Pinto, Ricardo; Henriques, Sofia; Brockway, Paul; Heun, Matthew; Sousa, Tânia |
| Abstract: | In the coming renewables-based energy transition, global electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050, entailing widespread end-use electrification, with significant impacts on energy efficiency. We develop a long-run, worldwide societal exergy analysis focused on electricity to provide energetic insights for this transition. Our 1900-2017 electricity world database contains the energy carriers used in electricity production, final end-uses, and efficiencies. We find world primary-to-final exergy (i.e. conversion) efficiency increased rapidly from 1900 (6%) to 1980 (39%), slowing to 43% in 2017 as power station generation technology matured. Next, despite technological evolution, final-to-useful end-use efficiency was surprisingly constant (~48%), due to “efficiency dilution”, wherein individual end-use efficiency gains are offset by increasing uptake of less efficient end uses. Future electricity efficiency therefore depends on the shares of high efficiency (e.g. electrified transport and industrial heating) and low efficiency (e.g. cooling and low temperature heating) end uses. Our results reveal past efficiency increases (carbon intensity of electricity production reduced from 5.23 kgCO2/kWh in 1900 to 0.49 kgCO2/kWh in 2017) did little to decrease global electricity-based CO2 emissions, which rose 380-fold. The historical slow-pace of transition in generation mix and electric end-uses suggest strong, urgent incentives are needed to meet climate goals. |
| Keywords: | Energy efficiency, electricity, Carbon intensity, decarbonisation, energy history, energy end-uses |
| JEL: | Q40 |
| Date: | 2022–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:112487&r= |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | Natural disasters and climate change are existential threats to Grenada, with annual losses from these events estimated at 1.7 percent of GDP. Grenada has proactively pursued resilience-building, with its Climate Change Policy and National Adaptation Plan providing detailed roadmaps for policymakers. However, the challenges are increasing, including from slow-moving effects owing to the rising sea level, even as implementation capacity and resource constraints remain significant impediments. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified those challenges by increasing risks and tightening Grenada’s fiscal space. |
| Date: | 2022–03–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:2022/080&r= |
| By: | Jonas Heckenhahn; Moritz A. Drupp |
| Abstract: | Discounting future costs and benefits is a crucial yet contentious practice in the appraisal of long-term public projects with environmental consequences. The standard approach typically neglects that ecosystem services are not easily substitutable with manufactured goods and often exhibit considerably lower growth rates. Theory has shown that we should either apply differentiated discount rates, such as a lower environmental discount rate, or account for increases in relative scarcity by uplifting environmental values. Some governments already integrate this into their guidance, but empirical evidence is scarce. We provide first comprehensive country-specific evidence, taking Germany as a case study. We estimate growth rates of 15 ecosystem services and the degree of limited substitutability based on a meta-analysis of 36 willingness to pay studies in Germany. We find that the relative price of ecosystem services has increased by more than four percent per year in recent decades. Heterogeneity analysis suggests that relative price changes are most substantial for regulating ecosystem services. Our findings underscore the importance of considering relative price adjustments in governmental project appraisal and environmental-economic accounting. |
| Keywords: | willingness to pay, discounting, relative prices, ecosystem services, substitutability, growth, cost-benefit analysis |
| JEL: | D61 H43 Q51 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9656&r= |
| By: | Calel, Raphael; Colmer, Jonathan; Dechezlepretre, Antoine; Glachant, Matthieu |
| Abstract: | We develop and implement a new method for identifying wasted subsidies, and use it to provide systematic evidence on the misallocation of carbon offsets in the Clean Development Mechanism - the world's largest carbon offset program. Using newly constructed data on the locations and characteristics of 1,350 wind farms in India - a context where it was believed, ex-ante, that the Clean Development Mechanism could significantly increase development above baseline projections - we estimate that at least 52% of approved carbon offsets were allocated to projects that would very likely have been built anyway. In addition to wasting scarce resources, we estimate that the sale of these offsets to regulated polluters has substantially increased global carbon dioxide emissions. |
| Keywords: | carbon offset; infra-marginal support; misallocation; investment; subsidies; wind power |
| JEL: | H23 H43 L94 Q42 Q54 |
| Date: | 2021–10–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:113849&r= |
| By: | Sarangi, Gopal (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Offshore wind energy holds promising potential as an alternative source of energy for a country like India, which continues to be land deprived and faces increasing difficulty in acquiring land for energy. While some scholarly efforts have focused on India's context, there is a dearth of studies on the associated environmental and social challenges of such infrastructure deployment. We conduct a detailed assessment of the policy and institutional mechanisms governing the offshore wind energy in the country and identify the possible environmental and social impacts of such projects on the marine environment and livelihood of fishing communities in India. We use qualitative research approaches and various types of secondary information and data. The policy and institutional framework assessment reveals that, despite the creation of the required mechanism, significant gaps exist in the knowledge of such projects’ possible impacts through these policies and regulations. Impact mapping shows that offshore wind projects could adversely affect the marine ecosystem and marine biodiversity to varying degrees over their entire life. The impacts occurring during the construction and operation phases of the project cycle will be significant. Policy suggestions show that preparatory measures are necessary before the implementation of such projects. |
| Keywords: | offshore wind energy; environment; livelihood; India |
| JEL: | E20 O13 O18 Q42 |
| Date: | 2022–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1307&r= |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | Samoa is highly exposed to natural hazards such as tropical cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, and floods. These damage economic growth and impact debt sustainability adversely. Increasing frequency and intensity of coastal storms are likely to amplify damage to infrastructure and livelihoods. Slow-moving climate stresses such as sea level rise and increasing heat hazard are also likely to impact potential growth in the main economic sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. |
| Date: | 2022–03–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:2022/083&r= |
| By: | Laureti, Lucio; Costantiello, Alberto; Leogrande, Angelo |
| Abstract: | In the following article, the “Satisfaction with the Environmental Condition” in the 20 Italian regions between 2004 and 2020 was estimated using ISTAT-BES data. The data were analyzed using the following econometric techniques, namely: Panel Data with Random Effects, Panel Data with Fixed Effects, Dynamic Panel, Pooled OLS, WLS. The results show that satisfaction with the environmental situation is positively associated with the following variables "People with at least high school diploma", "Satisfaction with leisure time", "Concern for the deterioration of the landscape" and negatively associated with "Gross disposable income per capita", "Dissatisfaction with the landscape of the place of life", "Perception of the risk of crime". A cluster analysis was then carried out using the unsupervised k-Means algorithm optimized through the Silhouette coefficient and 3 clusters were found. A comparative analysis was then carried out between eight different machine learning algorithms to predict the trend of satisfaction by environmental situation. The analysis showed that the Tree Ensemble Regression algorithm is the best predictor and estimates a reduction of the variable of 0.05%. Subsequently, using augmented data, a further prediction was made with an estimated result equal to -1.93%. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics, Valuation of Environmental Effects, Sustainability, Government Policy, Ecological Economics. |
| JEL: | Q5 Q51 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2022–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:112460&r= |
| By: | Jules R. Siedenburg |
| Abstract: | Environmental degradation is a major global problem. Its impacts are not just environmental, but also economic, with degradation recognised as a key cause of reduced agricultural productivity and rural poverty in the developing world. The degradation literature typically emphasises common property or open access natural resources, and how perverse incentives or missing institutions lead optimising private actors to degrade them. By contrast, the present paper considers degradation occurring on private farms in peasant communities. This is a critical yet delicate issue, given the poverty of such areas and questions about the role of farmers in either degrading or regenerating rural lands. The paper examines natural resource management by peasant farmers in Tanzania. Its key concern is how the local knowledge informing their management decisions adapts to challenges associated with environmental degradation and market liberalisation. Given their poverty, this question could have direct implications for the capacity of households to meet their livelihood needs. Based on fresh empirical data, the paper finds that differential farmer knowledge helps explain the large differences in how households respond to the degradation challenge. The implication is that some farmers adapt more effectively to emerging challenges than others, despite all being rational, optimising agents who follow the strategies they deem best. The paper thus provides a critique of local knowledge, implying that some farmers experience adaptation slippages while others race ahead with effective adaptations. The paper speaks to the chronic poverty that plagues many rural communities in the developing world. It helps explain the failure of proven sustainable agriculture technologies to disseminate readily beyond early innovators. Its key policy implication is to inform improved capacity building for such communities. |
| Date: | 2022–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2204.04396&r= |
| By: | Natoli, Filippo |
| Abstract: | Using daily county-level data since 1970, we construct a series of temperature shocks for the United States that capture the average surprise effect of heat and cold events experienced in each season, net of climate trends and adaptation. Temperature surprise shocks in the global warming era have been a balanced mix of heat and cold surprises and reduced in size in recent times, in contrast to common belief. Estimates made with local projections show a negative impact on the US economy at business cycle frequency via both consumption and investment, while the effect on prices is more muted and varies over time. The central bank does react to the shocks by adjusting its economic projections and cutting interest rates, with effects spreading out through the yield curve. |
| Keywords: | climate change; temperatures; surprise shocks; business cycle; monetary policy |
| JEL: | C32 E32 E52 Q54 |
| Date: | 2022–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:112568&r= |
| By: | Oranuch Wongpiyabovorn; Chad Hart (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University); John M. Crespi (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University) |
| Abstract: | Wongpayibovorn et al. examine the US fertilizer market, which, in 2021, was disrupted by extremely cold weather in Texas, Hurricane Ida, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The natural disasters in the southern part of the country paused the majority of fertilizer production, as 56% of ammonia production capacity is located in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The extreme weather not only directly impacted fertilizer production, but it also disrupted natural gas production, the major feedstock for nitrogen fertilizers. |
| Date: | 2022–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:apr-winter-2022-1&r= |
| By: | Hung-Hao Chang; Chad Meyerhoefer |
| Abstract: | Farmers have higher rates of disability and illness than the general population and more volatile incomes due to frequent crop and livestock losses from extreme weather events. This raises concerns that sudden, weather-related drops in farm income could reduce access to health care for an already vulnerable population. We estimate the sensitivity of health care use to the loss in farm income brought about by natural disasters in Taiwan. To account for endogenous exposure to disaster risks, we estimate an instrumental variables model and find that farm income elasticities of demand for outpatient care and prescriptions range from 0.11 to 0.32. Reductions in health care use may be due, in part, to changes in time allocations within farm households. |
| JEL: | I1 Q12 |
| Date: | 2022–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29898&r= |
| By: | Dunz, Nepomuk (Asian Development Bank Institute); Tanaka, Hajime (Asian Development Bank Institute); Shiiba, Nagisa (Asian Development Bank Institute); Mochizuki, Junko (Asian Development Bank Institute); Naqvi, Asjad (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Building resilience to disasters continues to pose challenges for developing countries. Historically, small island developing states (SIDS) bordering the Pacific Ocean have suffered from multiple hazards, such as earthquakes, coastal erosion, floods, and cyclones. Population increase, uneven progress in socioeconomic development, and the ongoing environmental degradation, including climate change, have exaggerated their vulnerability to disasters. At the same time, the recent COVID-19 global pandemic has shown that the small, remote, and less-diversified economies of SIDS are particularly prone to additional external shocks. Events such as COVID-19, in combination with disasters resulting from natural hazards, pose additional challenges for resource-constrained economies’ recovery. However, the existing literature has rarely evaluated such interactions. We provide initial insights into the interaction of alternative DRM policies in the presence of additional demand-side constraints, which we evaluated through the recently developed binary constrained disaster (BinD) model. Our results indicate that a targeted increase of government spending in times of crisis could be beneficial for the economic recovery of Fiji. However, short-term trade-offs emerged with respect to financing options. Debt-financed recovery allows a faster and less painful recovery but requires quick and preferential access to foreign borrowing. Tax-financed recovery can compensate for short-term foreign borrowing needs but comes at the cost of more detrimental impacts on the GDP and private sector consumption. |
| Keywords: | blue economy; disaster risk reduction; build back better; BinD Model |
| JEL: | C22 H84 Q54 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1290&r= |
| By: | Jean-Christophe Poudou (MRE - Montpellier Recherche en Economie - UM - Université de Montpellier); Wilfried Sand-Zantman (ESSEC Business School and THEMA (UMR 8184) - Economics Department - Essec Business School - THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CY - CY Cergy Paris Université) |
| Abstract: | We address the need to regulate Internet infrastructure usage to take into account environmental externalities. We model the interactions between a monopoly ISP and different types of content providers in settings where the former chooses the network size and the latter influences congestion on the network. We first show that current net neutrality regulation does not provide agents the right incentives to cope with the environmental externality issue. Then, we study several alternatives, including laissez-faire, price-based regulation, and norm-based regulation. We derive conditions under which these alternatives fare better than net neutrality. In particular, the two types of regulations are useful tools to accommodate consumer interest and environmental concerns. |
| Date: | 2022–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03608708&r= |
| By: | Aye Aye Khin (Faculty of Accountancy & Management (FAM), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Jalan Sungai Long, Bandar Sungai Long, Cheras, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, MALAYSIA Author-2-Name: Kho Guan Khai Author-2-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Accountancy & Management (FAM), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Jalan Sungai Long, Bandar Sungai Long, Cheras, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, MALAYSIA Author-3-Name: Aik Nai Chiek Author-3-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Accountancy & Management (FAM), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Jalan Sungai Long, Bandar Sungai Long, Cheras, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, MALAYSIA Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | "Objective - ""Sustainability"" meanings are many different things, e.g. food security, food safety, and economic growth short-tern survival of the production which included social, environmental, economic, based on the institutional objectives. This study aimed to conduct the sustainability of the palm oil industry in Malaysia using the financial panel data model approach. Methodology/Technique - The sampling data were obtained from 2014 to 2018 for 30 listed companies with a total of 150 observations. The research findings are helpful for palm oil production companies and also the major export products in Malaysia. Findings - In recent times, there have been many accusations about the palm oil industry in Malaysia due to the environmentally unfriendly product mentioned by the European Parliament and thus, they decided to ban palm oil biofuel by 2020. This would have a negative impact on the palm oil production companies and it is reflected in the company's share price (company value) of the companies. The paper highlights the level of environmental accounting (EA), environmental performance (EP), and information disclosure (ID), how to affect the company value (CV) for the sustainability of palm oil production companies. Novelty - The novelty of this paper is reflected that as one of the national priority areas (NPAs) of the county and create decent work and economic growth (goal 8), increase industry, innovation, and infrastructure (goal 9), and influence responsible consumption and production (goal 12) for sustainable development goals in Malaysia, respectively. Type of Paper - Empirical." |
| Keywords: | Company value; Sustainability; Palm oil production; Forecasting; Panel data model; Listed companies in Malaysia |
| JEL: | C33 D2 G Q1 |
| Date: | 2022–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:afr208&r= |
| By: | Mohamed K Haq (M.Com., PGDPM, M.Sc. (LSE, UK) Ph.D. Scholar in Management at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia Author-2-Name: Author-2-Workplace-Name: Author-3-Name: Author-3-Workplace-Name: Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | "Objective - Sustainable Community Economic Development (SCED) has gradually changed overtime from production philosophy to the welfare ideology of assuring a better future for a resilient community in business and economics. SCED contributesto poverty alleviation, employment generation, sustainable community design, disaster control and resilience, biodiversity protection, and much more.The objective of this study is to conduct a literature review of this concept fromthe global and Bangladeshi perspective. Methodology - Peer reviewed publications in English language were considered indexed on the Scopus and Web of Science database. The study designed 2timelines of SCED concept evolution based on the information derived from the existing peer-reviewed publications. Findings - Both timelines (global and Bangladeshi) were found interrelated on some points, especially the third phase of the global SCED connected with the first phase of Bangladesh's SCED timeline, immediately after the Liberation War. Novelty - The study concludes that SCED is an ever-changing area of research and future research would reveal more sustainable features that would increase the sustainability and resilience of the business community. Type of Paper - Review" |
| Keywords: | Economic Development; Community Economic Development; Sustainable Community Economic Development (SCED); Bangladesh; NGOs; MFIs. |
| JEL: | F63 O1 O50 |
| Date: | 2021–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:jber210&r= |
| By: | Klüh, Ulrich; Urban, Janina |
| Abstract: | What should be the role of the ECB in tackling the socio-ecological challenges related to planetary boundaries, such as climate change and loss of biodiversity? A clear answer to this question is still lacking, in spite of the strategy review of 2021. Regretfully, this review has not received the scrutiny it deserves, as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have taken center stage. Taking these recent developments into account, we provide a critique of the new strategy. We argue that it lacks transformativity, as it subsumes climate change under the policy objective of price stability, assumes that transformations can be mastered within the structures of the past, and refrains from questioning the current institutional set up. In its main part, the paper discusses the historical relevance of what we believe is the main reason for these deficits: The fear that taking up the real issues (such as independence and accountability) would make the ECB a political football in times of rising inflation. Taking these fears seriously, we show that the institutionalization of central banking has always reflected the transformative dynamics of their time. Consequently, if planetary boundaries represent a transformative challenge, they will radically change the ECB, too. Moreover, we provide evidence that central banks' historical transformations have always reflected their peculiar position as mediators between the financial and the political realm. We argue that, at the current juncture, transforming central banking implies moving away from finance and towards politics. This involves risks. However, we argue that the historical experience offers few reasons to fear a closer integration of central banking into the public sphere, as long as the latter is dominated by democratic politics. Consequently, if one comes to the conclusion that the ECB's current corset is too narrow, it can and should be augmented. While we do not offer a blueprint for such augmentation, we conclude our analysis by sketching elements of a sustainable strategy for a transformative ECB. |
| Keywords: | Monetary Policy,Sustainability,Green Deal,Climate Policy,Central Bank Independence,Central Bank Accountability |
| JEL: | B15 B25 B26 B52 E02 E58 N2 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:znwudp:9&r= |
| By: | Imbulana, Sachithra Madhushani (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Community-based reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment plants provide an interim solution for producing safe drinking water for the endemic areas of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) in the rural dry zone of Sri Lanka. RO-treated groundwater diminishes the progression of CKDu; thus, proper maintenance of these RO plants is indispensable to protect public health. We investigated the quality characteristics of groundwater in the endemic areas of CKDu; the performance, operations, and maintenance (O&M) of the existing RO plants; and the socioeconomic background of the RO plants. We analyzed feedwater (i.e., groundwater) and treated water from 32 RO plants in Anuradhapura District, comprising 27 in the CKDu high-risk (HR) region and five in the low-risk (LR) region, to establish the major chemical and biological water quality parameters. The alkalinity, hardness, and microbiological parameters in groundwater exceeded the maximum allowable levels (MALs) for drinking in all the study areas. Additionally, the total dissolved solids (TDS) and magnesium exceeded the MALs exclusively in the HR areas. The quality and the chemical composition of groundwater did not indicate significant seasonal differences. The elevated occurrence of magnesium-predominant hardness and ionicity in groundwater showed a significant relationship with the incidence of CKDu. All the RO plants achieved high removal rates (> 90%) for excessive chemical constituents in groundwater, but the recovery rates were slightly low (~ 46%). The current disinfection practices in the RO plants were insufficient to ensure the microbial safety of the product water. The low demand for product water, scarcity of groundwater, lack of technical capacity of the local communities, poor maintenance practices, and unplanned brine removal were the key issues concerning RO plant O&M. Unless properly handled, the lack of rules and regulations for RO water treatment in the CKDu-endemic region could lead to numerous environmental and public health issues in the future. |
| Keywords: | chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology; community-based water supply; groundwater; reverse osmosis; water quality |
| JEL: | I00 |
| Date: | 2022–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1309&r= |
| By: | Zaman, Kazi Arif Uz (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | The growing population and climatic uncertainties have compelled producers to undertake faster exploitation of the resources in agricultural production to meet global food security, which, in turn, leads to unsustainable and input-led inefficient production growth. The problem is further exacerbated by the increasing emission of GHGs from this production process. We suggest a solution to this by advocating the role of regional cooperation to increase the technical efficiency level in the agricultural production of countries through technology transfer, knowledge sharing, capacity building, and adequate investment under the regional cooperation framework. Concurrently, we link this improvement of production efficiency with the reduction of emissions both theoretically and empirically for all Asian subregions. We first adopt the stochastic frontier model—a widely used statistical technique that frames the production functions while estimating the inefficiencies of economic units. Using 2010–2016 panel data on agriculture production and five inputs—land, labor, capital, fertilizer, and energy—we estimate the agriculture production efficiencies of the countries under five Asian subregions. Estimations reveal that West Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, and Central Asia have agriculture production efficiencies of 70%, 85%, 66%, 92%, and 76%, respectively. Following the estimations and other calculations, we find that with concerted efforts toward optimizing production efficiencies under (sub)regional cooperation frameworks, an annual emission of 384.5 megatons of CO2eq GHG could have been reduced in Asia while keeping the production at the current level. The potential reduction of emissions equals 16.8% of Asia’s total emissions originating from agricultural activities and 7.1% of that of global emissions. |
| Keywords: | agriculture production efficiency; regional cooperation; stochastic frontier model; emission reduction; Asian subregions |
| JEL: | F53 O47 O53 Q15 Q56 R11 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1301&r= |
| By: | Heider, Florian; Inderst, Roman |
| Abstract: | This paper examines optimal enviromental policy when external financing is costly for firms. We introduce emission externalities and industry equilibrium in the Holmström and Tirole (1997) model of corporate finance. While a cap-and-trading system optimally governs both firms' abatement activities (internal emission margin) and industry size (external emission margin) when firms have sufficient internal funds, external financing constraints introduce a wedge between these two objectives. When a sector is financially constrained in the aggregate, the optimal cap is strictly above the Pigouvian benchmark and emission allowances should be allocated below market prices. When a sector is not financially constrained in the aggregate, a cap that is below the Pigiouvian benchmark optimally shifts market share to less polluting firms and, moreover, there should be no "grandfathering" of emission allowances. With financial constraints and heterogeneity across firms or sectors, a uniform policy, such as a single cap-and-trade system, is typically not optimal. |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:345&r= |
| By: | R. Rosiyana Dewi (University of Trisakti, Jakarta, Indonesia Author-2-Name: Etty Murwaningsari Author-2-Workplace-Name: University of Trisakti, Jakarta, Indonesia Author-3-Name: Sekar Mayangsari Author-3-Workplace-Name: University of Trisakti, Jakarta, Indonesia Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | " Objective - Corporate concern for the environment is an important stakeholder demand. A company is obliged to preserve the environment with various investments, one of which is green intellectual capital to maintain the sustainability of the company, especially for companies that carry out their business activities in countries that are in conditions of high pollution such as Indonesia. The importance of green intellectual capital investment information for stakeholders can be seen from the value relevance of the information. This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of investment in green intellectual capital, which consists of the following dimensions: human, structural, and relation to value relevance. Methodology/Technique - This study will explain the causal relationship between the independent and the dependent variables through hypothesis testing based on the theorythat has been formulated with data that obtained and tested through quantitative panel data testing. Findings - The results of a survey of 515 samples of data from a population of 183 manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2015-2019 found that green intellectual capital with its three dimensions had a significant positive effect on value relevance. This study also proves that green structural intellectual capital has influenced more on value relevance than human and relation intellectual capital. Novelty - The measurement of variablesis green intellectual capital and value relevance in this study develops previous research with related government conditions and regulations in Indonesia. Green intellectual capital investment is measured by using content analysis from disclosures in annual reports and sustainability reports, and value relevance is measured by the Olhson model with beta correction by the stock market in Indonesia. Type of Paper - Empirical." |
| Keywords: | Green Intellectual Capital; Value relevance; Human Capital; Structural Capital, Relational Capital |
| JEL: | G32 O34 |
| Date: | 2021–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:afr204&r= |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | Selected Issues |
| Keywords: | RMG industry; FDI inflow; health spending efficiency; Bangladesh labor force; TFP growth loss; Climate change; Climate finance; COVID-19; Exports; Global; South Asia;Total factor productivity |
| Date: | 2022–03–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:2022/072&r= |
| By: | Rodrigo Fagundes Cezar (IPC-IG) |
| Keywords: | World Trade Organization; trade disputes; environmental protection; civil society organisations |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:oparab:444&r= |
| By: | Fabian Scheller; Stefan Wald; Hendrik Kondziella; Philipp Andreas Gunkel; Thomas Bruckner; Dogan Keles |
| Abstract: | Determining the development of Germany's energy system by taking the energy transition objectives into account is the subject of a series of studies. Since their assumptions and results play a significant role in the political energy debate for understanding the role of hydrogen and synthetic energy carriers, a better discussion is needed. This article provides a comparative assessment of published transition pathways for Germany to assess the role and advantages of hydrogen and synthetic energy carriers. Twelve energy studies were selected and 37 scenarios for the years 2030 and 2050 were evaluated. Despite the variations, the two carriers will play an important future role. While their deployment is expected to have only started by 2030 with a mean demand of 91 TWh/a (4% of the final energy demand) in Germany, they will be an essential part by 2050 with a mean demand of 480 TWh/a (24% of the final energy demand). A moderately positive correlation (0.53) between the decarbonisation targets and the share of hydrogen-based carriers in final energy demand underlines the relevance for reaching the climate targets. Additionally, value creation effects of about 5 bn EUR/a in 2030 can be expected for hydrogen-based carriers. By 2050, these effects will increase to almost 16 bn EUR/a. Hydrogen is expected to be mainly produced domestically while synthetic fuels are projected to be mostly imported. Despite of all the advantages, the construction of the facilities is associated with high costs which should be not neglected in the discussion. |
| Date: | 2022–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2203.02834&r= |
| By: | Serrona, Kevin Roy B. (Asian Development Bank Institute); Yu, Jeongsoo (Asian Development Bank Institute); Camarin, Mary Jean A. (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | The Philippines is an example of a country at the center of this predicament due to its strategic geographic location as a regional trade route. Urbanization, rapid economic development, and the population increase are some of the key factors contributing to increased consumption and waste generation. Tourism is one of the main economic drivers, with several pristine islands serving as leisure destinations for local and international visitors. In fact, 8 million tourists visited the country in 2019, which contributed 12% to the country’s GDP and provided 5.4 million jobs. However, tourism is under threat from locally generated waste materials and those reaching the shores from international waters. One of the most popular tourism destinations is the Siargao Islands, which earned the top spot in the Best Holiday Destination in 2020 of Conde Nast, a prestigious international travel magazine. The island is well known for its annual international surfing and game fishing competitions. It is pursuing sustainable tourism because of the increasing number of tourists along with the alarming increase in waste generation. The island faces the Pacific Ocean and receives marine debris that yearly monsoon winds bring. We explore marine litter mitigation and prevention in tourism destinations like Siargao through circular economy interventions. Innovative legislation and policies, capacity building, deposit refund systems, technological innovations, and community-based approaches to minimize, capture, and process marine litter are some of the key areas that it will tackle in the hope of contributing to the global practices on sustainable tourism in island economies. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable tourism; circular economy; marine litter; participatory governance; international cooperation |
| JEL: | Z30 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1302&r= |
| By: | Elodie Blanc; Ilan Noy |
| Abstract: | This study estimates the impact of excess precipitation (or the absence of rainfall) on productivity of agricultural land parcels in New Zealand. This type of post-disaster damage assessments aims to allow for quantification of disaster damage when on-the-ground assessment of damage is too costly or too difficult to conduct. It can also serve as a retroactive data collection tool for disaster loss databases where data collection did not happen at the time of the event. To this end, we use satellite-derived observations of terrestrial vegetation (the Enhanced Vegetation Index – EVI) over the growing season. We pair this data at the land parcel level identifying five land use types (three types of pasture, and annual and perennial crops) with precipitation records, which we use to identify both excessively dry and excessively wet episodes. Using regression analyses, we then examine whether these episodes of excess precipitation had any observable impact on agricultural productivity. Overall, we find statistically significant declines in agricultural productivity that is associated with both floods and droughts. The average impact of these events, averaged over the affected parcels, however, is not very large; usually less than 1%, but quite different across years and across regions. This average hides a heterogeneity of impacts, with some parcels experiencing a much more significant decline in the EVI. |
| Keywords: | satellite-derived data, crop productivity, drought, flood |
| JEL: | Q15 Q54 C23 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9634&r= |
| By: | Kaitila, Ville; Kuusela, Olli-Pekka; Kuusi, Tero; Pohjola, Johanna; Soimakallio, Sampo |
| Abstract: | Abstract We assess the potential impact of the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) based on the European Commission’s proposal presented in 2021. The CBAM products are divided into four categories: cement, fertilizers, iron and steel products, and aluminium products. In terms of production and the value of foreign trade, iron and steel products are by far the largest category, followed by aluminum products. Based on econometric gravity modelling of trade, the impact on EU imports of products covered by the CBAM would be significant. In normal economic conditions, Finland’s extra-EU imports of the products would decrease by a total of around a quarter with the proposed CBAM specifications and current carbon pricing. Based on general equilibrium modelling, the effects of the CBAM would be very small for the Finnish aggregate economy. In Finland and other EU countries, the CBAM would benefit directly or indirectly sectors that manufacture products subject to the mechanism. Other industrial sectors, on the other hand, would suffer slightly from the CBAM. The report assesses implications of different ways to implement the CBAM. |
| Keywords: | Carbon leakage, Carbon border adjustment mechanism, Gravity model, Computable general equilibrium |
| JEL: | Q38 |
| Date: | 2022–04–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:report:128&r= |
| By: | Dr. Christian Lutz (GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research); Dr. Marc Ingo Wolter (GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research) |
| Abstract: | Das Ziel der Klimaneutralität bis 2045 und die jährlichen Zwischenziele stellen Politik und Gesellschaft vor große Herausforderungen. Welche Anknüpfungspunkte für politisches Handeln gibt es? Welche Instrumente stehen zur Analyse und Evaluation zur Verfügung? Wie kann mit Unsicherheit umgegangen werden? Das Discussion Paper "Wege zur Klimaneutralität bis 2045 – politische Handlungsfelder" gibt einen Überblick und zeigt die Notwendigkeit für einen permanenten Such- und Prüfprozess, um die auch mittel -und langfristig besten Entscheidungen zu finden und zu treffen. |
| Keywords: | Klimaneutralität bis 2045, Climate neutrality by 2045 |
| JEL: | O P |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gws:dpaper:21-4&r= |
| By: | Panman, Alexandra; Madison, Ian; Kimacha, Nyambiri Nanai; Falisse, Jean Benoît |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the role of savings groups in resilience to urban climate-related disasters. Savings groups are a rapidly growing phenomenon in Africa. They are decentralized, non-institutional groups that provide millions of people excluded from the formal banking sector with a trusted, accessible, and relatively simple source of microfinance. Yet there is little work on the impacts of savings groups on resilience to disasters. In this paper, we use a combination of quantitative and qualitative evidence from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to shed new light on the role that savings groups play in helping households cope with climate-related shocks. Drawing on new data, we show that approximately one-quarter of households have at least one member in a group, and that these households recover from flood events faster than those who do not. We further argue that the structure of savings groups allows for considerable group oversight, reducing the high costs of monitoring and sanctioning that often undermine cooperative engagement in urban areas. This makes the savings group model a uniquely flexible form of financing that is well adapted to helping households cope with shocks such as repeated flooding. In addition to this, we posit that they may provide a foundation for community initiatives focusing on preventative action. |
| Keywords: | Dar es Salaam; disaster prevention; floods; recovery financing; resilience; savings groups |
| JEL: | R14 J01 F3 G3 |
| Date: | 2021–04–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:114610&r= |
| By: | Ben Conigrave; Philip Hemmings |
| Abstract: | Norway, like a number of other countries, saw steep growth in house prices during the pandemic. This added to past years of strong price increases and has brought renewed concern for housing affordability. Tax advantages to buying homes inflate house prices, contribute to wealth inequality and divert resources from more productive investments. An underdeveloped rental market is an additional consequence of Norway’s pro-homeownership policies. Beyond tax reform and targeted support for low-income households, including renters, lasting improvements in affordability will require measures to enhance the responsiveness of residential construction to increased demand. However, creating room for new housing supply can involve difficult trade‑offs with environmental and other policy objectives. |
| Keywords: | house prices, housing affordability, housing market, land-use regulations, Norway, personal income tax, social housing, sustainable housing |
| JEL: | R21 R31 R38 H20 H24 Q58 |
| Date: | 2022–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1711-en&r= |
| By: | Inderst, Roman; Opp, Markus |
| Abstract: | Agencies around the world are in the process of developing taxonomies and standards for sustainable (or ESG) investment products. A key assumption in our model is that of non-consequentialist private investors (households) who derive a "warm glow" decisional utility when purchasing an investment product that is labelled as sustainable. We ask when such labelling is socially beneÖcial even when the social planner can impose a minimum standard on investment and production. In a model of Önancial constraints (Holmström and Tirole 1997), which we close to include consumer surplus, we also determine the optimal labelling threshold and show how its stringency is a§ected by determinants such as the prevalence of warm-glow investor preferences, the presence of social network e§ects, or the relevance of Önancial constraints at the industry level. |
| Keywords: | Sustainability,ESG,green financing,labelling |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:346&r= |
| By: | Zuzanna Bazychowska (Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland); Aleksandra Parteka (Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland) |
| Abstract: | This paper compares two alternative growth paths, assessing the effects on productivity of specialisation in natural resources (NR) and in technologically advanced products. The empirical analysis exploits product-level export data for 109 developing and 51 developed economies over the period 1996-2018. We document two distinct types of specialisation, based on exports either of natural resources or of technological products, and compare their role in productivity growth by GMM estimation of a conditional convergence model. In general, reliance on natural resource exports slows growth, but we find that the type of resources exported is important: fuel exports hamper growth while specialisation in metals enhances the catch-up in productivity. Technological specialisation, especially in products typical of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, reinforces productivity growth but does not affect the relationship between resources and productivity growth. |
| Keywords: | natural resources, technological specialisation, productivity growth, convergence |
| JEL: | O13 O47 O3 Q32 |
| Date: | 2022–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gdk:wpaper:68&r= |
| By: | Marcelo de A. Borges; Guido L. de S. Filho; Cicero Inacio da Silva; Anderson M. P. Barros; Raul V. B. J. Britto; Nivaldo M. de C. Junior; Daniel F. L. de Souza |
| Abstract: | This article describes a proposal to create a digital currency that allows the decentralized collection of resources directed to initiatives and activities that aim to protect the Brazilian Amazon ecosystem by using blockchain and digital contracts. In addition to the digital currency, the goal is to design a smart contract based in oracles to ensure credibility and security for investors and donors of financial resources invested in projects within the Standing Forest Coin (SFC - standingforest.org). |
| Date: | 2022–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2203.12600&r= |
| By: | Hülsbergen, Kurt-Jürgen (Ed.); Schmid, Harald (Ed.); Paulsen, Hans Marten (Ed.) |
| Abstract: | In enger Kooperation von Forschung, Beratung und Praxis wurde ein deutschlandweites Netzwerk von Pilotbetrieben aufgebaut, das über zehn Jahre die Grundlage für transdisziplinäre Forschungsarbeiten bildete. Es umfasst 40 ökologische und 40 konventionelle Marktfruchtbau- und Milchviehbetriebe in vier Agrarregionen. In den Pilotbetrieben wurden kontinuierlich Betriebsdaten erfasst, in Datenbanken gespeichert und mit Modellen umfassend ausgewertet. In Projektphase 1 (2008 bis 2013) wurden Forschungsarbeiten zu Klimawirkungen im Pflanzenbau und der Milchviehhaltung, in Projektphase 2 (2013 bis 2014) zu Tierwohl und Ressourceneffizienz durchgeführt. Die gesamtbetriebliche Optimierung war der Untersuchungsschwerpunkt in Projektphase 3 (2014 bis 2021). In Workshops wurden Maßnahmen abgeleitet, um die Ressourceneffizienz zu erhöhen, die Treibhausgasemissionen zu vermindern und die Haltungsbedingungen zu verbessern. Wirkungen auf die Humus-, Nährstoff-, Energie- und Treibhausgasbilanzen wurden mit Modellen untersucht. Das Tierwohl wurde anhand des Welfare Quality® Protocols bewertet und Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung abgeleitet. Die Forschungsergebnisse zeigen systembedingte Unterschiede der Umwelt- und Klimawirkungen, der Ressourceneffizienz und des Tierwohls zwischen ökologischen und konventionellen Betrieben, die allerdings durch die große einzelbetriebliche Variabilität und Standorteinflüsse überlagert werden. Im Projekt wurden die Beratungstools HUNTER (Humus-, Nährstoff-, Treibhausgas- und Energiebilanz-Rechner) und TWT Milchvieh (Tierwohl-Tool Milchvieh) entwickelt und erprobt. Landwirten und Beratern werden hiermit praxisanwendbare Werkzeuge zur eigenständigen Analyse und Ermittlung wichtiger Nachhaltigkeitskriterien bereitgestellt. Die Betriebsleiter waren aktiv in den Forschungsprozess eingebunden, u.a. durch die partizipative Erarbeitung von Entwicklungsszenarien zur Verbesserung der Nachhaltigkeit und die gemeinsame Durchführung von Regional- und Optimierungsworkshops. |
| Keywords: | Nachhaltigkeit,Ressourceneffizienz,Klimawirkung,Tierwohl,Betriebssysteme,Pilotbetriebe,sustainability,resource-efficiency,climate effects,animal welfare,farming systems,pilot farms |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:jhtire:92&r= |
| By: | Nadiah Abd Hamid (Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Author-2-Name: Nur Erma SuryaniMohd Jamel Author-2-Workplace-Name: Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Author-3-Name: Siti Norhayati Zawawi Author-3-Workplace-Name: Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | "Objective - Since the 70s, the Malaysian government has been focusing on sustainable development to improve society's economic well-being. In September 2015, Malaysia reaffirmed this commitment with the other United Nations countries by putting the 2030 Agenda for 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into action and focusing on the bottom 40% households (B40). Unfortunately, the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 1 April 2015 and followed by the Sales and Services Tax (SST) 2.0 on 1 September 2018 has impacted all income groups, especially the B40, with a claim that indirect tax is regressive and burdensome (MIER, 2018). Hence, the present study aims to analyse SST 2.0 tax burden using the elements of the guiding principles of good tax policy. Methodology/Technique - In this quantitative study, the researchers distributed questionnaires to the B40, M40, and T20 groups throughout Malaysia. Evidently, the government should consider reducing the SST 2.0 tax rate to minimise the tax burden of all groups of income earners based on the ability to pay. Findings - Furthermore, the efficiency of tax administrations is vital to strengthen the enforcement function in controlling the prices of goods and services. The findings can provide useful feedback to policymakers and tax authorities in designing a progressive indirect tax. Novelty - The policymakers should also consider the new SST model and propose relevant social safety net programmes to enhance economic well-being and eradicate inequity. Type of Paper - Empirical." |
| Keywords: | SST 2.0; GST; Tax Burden; B40; Guiding Principles of Good Tax Policy. |
| JEL: | H31 |
| Date: | 2021–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:afr207&r= |
| By: | Shilling, Fraser PhD; Waetjen, David PhD; Longcore, Travis PhD; Vickers, Winston DVM, MPVM; McDowell, Sean; Oke, Adetayo; Bass, Aaron; Stevens, Clark |
| Abstract: | Transportation and other agencies and organizations are increasingly planning and building under- and over-crossing structures for wildlife to traverse busy highways. However, if wildlife do not use these structures due to noise, light, and other factors, then the structures may have a low benefit to cost ratio. Several criteria are key for their success— sufficient safety and/or conservation need, cost, location, and anticipated use by wildlife. There is limited information in wildlife-crossing guidance on how wildlife biologists should advise designers, engineers, and architects on the use of structural and vegetation elements that could reduce noise and light disturbances. To address this problem, this study used field measurements and modeling of light and noise from traffic to inform and test the designs of two wildlife overcrossings. Wildlife-responsive designs were developed and tested for two crossings being considered or planned by California Department of Transportation in California. For the planned crossing of US 101 near the city of Agoura Hills (the Wallis-Annenberg crossing), the three designs consisted of noise/glare barriers; noise/glare barriers + berm; and noise/glare barriers + multiple berms. For the potential crossing of Interstate 15 south of Temecula, one design used noise/glare barriers of 3 different heights and the other had no barriers. Key limitations and opportunities for each design approach were identified. Creating “dark and quiet paths” using a combination of berms and noise/glare barriers could decrease disturbance in the crossing structure approach zones and increase the wildlife-responsiveness of the designs. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Wildlife crossings, highway design, noise barriers, anti glare screens, benefit cost analysis |
| Date: | 2022–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt4vk0m9cs&r= |
| By: | Resce, Giuliano; Vaquero-Pineiro, Cristina |
| Abstract: | Geographical Indications (GIs), as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), offer a unique protection scheme to preserve high-quality agri-food productions and support rural development, and they have been recognised as a powerful tool to enhance sustainable development and ecological economic transactions at the territorial level. However, not all the areas with traditional agri-food products are acknowledge with a GI. Examining the Italian wine sector by a geo-referenced and a machine learning framework, we show that municipalities which obtain a GI within the following 10 years (2002-2011) can be predicted using a large set of (lagged) municipality-level data (1981-2001). We find that the Random Forest algorithm is the best model to make out-of-sample predictions of municipalities which obtain GIs. Among the features used, the local wine growing tradition, proximity to capital cities, local employment and education rates emerge as crucial in the prediction of GI certifications. This evidence can support policy makers and stakeholders to target rural development policies and investment allocation, and it offers strong policy implications for the future reforms of this quality scheme. |
| Keywords: | Geographical Indications, Rural Development, Agri-Food Production, Machine Learning, Geo-Referenced Data |
| JEL: | C53 Q18 |
| Date: | 2022–04–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mol:ecsdps:esdp22082&r= |
| By: | He, Gang; Lin, Jiang; Sifuentes, Froylan; Liu, Xu; Abhyankar, Nikit; Phadke, Amol |
| Abstract: | An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. |
| Date: | 2020–07–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:qt11x8b9hc&r= |
| By: | GURRIA ALBUSAC Patricia (European Commission - JRC); GONZALEZ HERMOSO Hugo (European Commission - JRC); CAZZANIGA Noemi; JASINEVIČIUS Gediminas; MUBAREKA Sarah; DE LAURENTIIS Valeria; PATINHA CALDEIRA Carla; SALA Serenella; RONCHETTI Giulia; GUILLEN GARCIA Jordi; RONZON Tevecia (European Commission - JRC); M'BAREK Robert (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The EU Biomass Flows tool is a visualisation, in the form of Sankey diagrams, of the flows of biomass for each sector of the bioeconomy, from supply to uses including trade. It displays the harmonised data from the various Joint Research Centre (JRC) units contributing to the BIOMASS Assessment study of the JRC. The diagrams enable deeper analysis and comparison of the different countries and sectors across a defined time series.The first version of the tool was published in 2017 and has been used in multiple research activities and publications. A new version was released in 2020 on new software. This new version offers improved analysis capabilities and a better user experience, as well as increased granularity of data for some biomass types. It relies on the methodology to extract and integrate data developed for the first biomass visualisation tool.In the past years, we have continued to improve on the data and design of the EU Biomass Flows tool. The most important changes of this new release will be focused on four areas: migration to EU27 aggregation, redesign of the flows for woody biomass Update of the data with the latest available years and visualisation of food waste flows. |
| Keywords: | Bioeconomy, biomass, Sankey, agriculture, forestry, woody biomass, fisheries and aquaculture, biofuels, waste, supply and use |
| Date: | 2022–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc128384&r= |