|
on Resource Economics |
|
Issue of 2012‒01‒18
six papers chosen by |
| By: | Satoru Komatsu (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University); Andrey Kalugin (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University); Shinji Kaneko (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to examine cost allocation in relation to remediating environmental liability issues in Russia, where significant environmental damages, continuing from the Soviet era, present serious impediments to pursuing sustainable development. The research attempts to highlight citizensf preferences for remediating facilities and sites with environmental liabilities, and elicits preference differences among citizens using choice experiment methods. Intergenerational issues are involved in addressing environmental liabilities in transition economies because the causes and effects are spread among generations. Therefore, evaluating citizensf preferences provides more policy implications for future remediation initiatives. The econometric analysis reveals that citizens demonstrate positive preferences for reducing pollution of drinking water and soil decontamination. The research also suggests that the households with higher incomes, older household heads (or spouses), and more young children have higher preferences for remediating environmental liabilities in Russia. Estimation of the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for age and income segments of the households allows the government to determine a suitable taxation policy. The findings provide new insights on cost allocation in relation to remediating environmental damages in transition economies that have suffered from these serious environmental legacies. |
| Keywords: | Environmental management, Willingness to pay, Preference, Generation, Transition economics |
| JEL: | O13 P28 Q56 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hir:idecdp:1-7&r=res |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin |
| Abstract: | This paper incorporates interdisciplinary New Institutional Economics and suggests a holistic framework for assessing the forms and efficiency of environmental management in agriculture. First, it defines environmental management as a specific system of social order regulating behaviour and relations of various agents related to natural environment, and environmental management in agriculture as eco-management associated with agricultural production. Second, it specifies spectrum of modes and mechanisms of eco-management comprising: institutional environment, market, private, collective, public and hybrid. Third, it suggests stages in analysis and improvement of environmental management in agriculture including: identification of problems, and risks associated with natural environment; assessment of efficiency of available and feasible modes, and specifying cases of market, private, and public failures; assessment of comparative efficiency of alternative modes for new public intervention and selection of the most efficient one(s). Forth, it classifies personal, institutional, technological, natural, and transaction costs factors of management choice. Finally, it builds a principle governance matrix with the most effective market, private, and public modes taking into account the critical dimensions of eco-activity and transactions (appropriability, assets specificity, uncertainty and frequency), and their potential to coordinate and stimulate eco-activities, meet preferences and reconcile conflicts of individuals, protect eco-rights and investments, overcome uncertainty and risk, assure socially desirable level of environmental protection, and minimize overall (implementing, third-party and transacting) costs. |
| Keywords: | environmental and natural resources governance; institutions; market; private; public and hybrid modes; agriculture |
| JEL: | O18 Q28 Q24 O13 Q12 Q25 Q18 Q38 R58 O17 Q13 Q15 |
| Date: | 2012–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35802&r=res |
| By: | Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso; Swinton, Scott M.; Bals, Bryan D.; Dale, Bruce E. |
| Abstract: | This paper compares environmental and profitability outcomes for a centralized biorefinery for cellulosic ethanol that does all processing versus a biorefinery linked to a decentralized array of local depots that pretreat biomass into concentrated briquettes. The analysis uses a spatial bioeconomic model that maximizes predicted profit from crop and energy products, subject to the requirement that the biorefinery must be operated at full capacity. The model draws upon biophysical crop input-output coefficients simulated with the EPIC model, as well as input and output prices, spatial transportation costs, ethanol yields from biomass, and biorefinery capital and operational costs. The model was applied to 82 cropping systems simulated across 37 sub-watersheds in a 9-county region of southern Michigan in response to ethanol prices simulated to rise from $1.78 to $3.36 per gallon. Results show that the decentralized local biomass processing depots lead to lower profitability but better environmental performance, due to more reliance on perennial grasses than the centralized biorefinery. Simulated technological improvement that reduces the processing cost and increases the ethanol yield of switchgrass by 17% could cause a shift to more processing of switchgrass, with increased profitability and environmental benefits. |
| Keywords: | Biomass production, bioenergy supply, cellulosic ethanol, environmental trade-off analysis, bioeconomic modeling, EPIC, spatial configuration, local biomass processing, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q16, Q15, Q57, Q18, |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midasp:119348&r=res |
| By: | Rebecca S. Dodder; Amani Elobeid (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD); Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI)); Timothy L. Johnson; P. Ozge Kaplan; Lyubov A. Kurkalova; Silvia Secchi; Simla Tokgoz |
| Abstract: | The tighter linkages between energy and crop markets due to recent climate and energy legislation in the US have large potential environmental impacts beyond carbon sequestration and climate mitigation. These range from effects on water quality and quantity, soil erosion, habitat and biodiversity preservation. These impacts are very location and management-decision specific, as they are the product of atomistic decisions and depend on soil and landscape specific variables. In order to fully understand the effects of biomass markets, the new and stronger linkages and feedback effects between national- and global-scale energy and commodity markets must be properly understood and identified using an integrated perspective. We discuss the various interactions between agricultural and energy markets and their environmental impacts for existing biomass crops and detail how these interactions may be strengthened with the emergence of corn stover as a second generation biofuel feedstock. The tighter coupling of land use and management and energy systems needs to be accounted for to ensure that we have accurate indicators of the sustainability of biomass as an energy resource. |
| Keywords: | Energy and Commodity markets linkages, Integrated energy system assessment, Environmental impacts, Biofuels. |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:11-wp526&r=res |
| By: | Coria, Jessica (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Villegas-Palacio, Clara (Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Medellin); Cárdenas, J.C. (Dept of Economics, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia) |
| Abstract: | We compare of the performance of emission taxes between Colombia and Sweden in an experimental setting where subjects are regulated through environmental taxes and had to decide on emission levels, compliance behavior, and adoption of an environmentally friendly technology. Our design allows us to analyze the role of variations in the stringency of the policy enforcement by regulatory agencies in two different cultural contexts. In line with previous literature that emphasizes the role of social norms and intrinsic motivations explaining compliance behavior, we find that actual emissions and tax underreporting are lower than predicted by traditional models that are solely based on self-interested preferences. However, we find that for an equivalent monitoring stringency, there are no statistically significant differences in emission levels and compliance behavior between Colombian and Swedish subjects. This is to say that despite the positive effect of social norms enhancing compliance, a more stringent enforcement remains as an important mechanism to induce firms to comply with the regulation.<p> |
| Keywords: | laboratory experiments; emission taxes; imperfect monitoring; technology adoption; developing countries; cross-country comparison; Colombia; Sweden. |
| JEL: | C91 L51 Q58 |
| Date: | 2012–01–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0521&r=res |
| By: | Kinell, Gerda (Enveco Environmental Economics Consultancy Ltd); Söderqvist, Tore (Enveco Environmental Economics Consultancy Ltd); Elmgren, Ragnar (Department of Systems Ecology); Walve, Jacob (Department of Systems Ecology); Franzén, Frida (Södertörn University, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Enveco Environmental Economics Consultancy Ltd.) |
| Abstract: | Active involvement of local stakeholders is currently an increasingly important requirement in European environmental regulations such as the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The same is true for economic analyses such as cost-benefit analysis (CBA). For example, the Swedish WFD implementation requires i) quantification of cost and benefits of proposed measures and ii) stakeholder involvement. How can these two requirements be integrated in practice? And can such requirements facilitate implementation of projects with a potential net benefit? This paper presents a stepwise CBA procedure with participatory elements and applies it for evaluating nutrient management options for reducing eutrophication effects in the coastal area of Himmerfjärden SW of Stockholm, Sweden. The CBA indicates a positive net benefit for a combination of options involving increased nitrogen removal at a major sewage treatment plant, creation of new wetlands and connecting a proportion of private sewers to sewage treatment plants. The procedure also illustrates how the interdisciplinary development of a coupled ecological-economic simulation model can be used as a tool for facilitating the involvement of stakeholders in a CBA. |
| Keywords: | cost-benefit analysis; stakeholder involvement; integrated modeling; eutrophication |
| JEL: | D61 |
| Date: | 2012–01–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slucer:2012_001&r=res |