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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Lucy Butler; Karsten Neuhoff |
| Abstract: | A comparison of policy instruments employed to support onshore wind projects suggests that in terms of capacity installed, policies adopted in Germany have been more effective than those adopted in the UK. Price comparisons have frequently neglected differences in resource base: once accounted for we find the cost of policies to be similar. A developer survey identifies planning constraints as only one reason why installed capacity is greater in Germany, and indicates that price support is also important. Information provided by developers also suggests that although the tendering process adopted in the UK is highly competitive in terms of price paid for energy delivered, competition in other areas of the market is significantly lower than in Germany. |
| Keywords: | Wind Generation, Renewable Energy, Subsidy, Policy |
| JEL: | Q28 Q42 Q48 |
| Date: | 2005–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:0503&r=env |
| By: | Laurent Franckx (Department of Economics and Management, Royal Military Academy); Alessio D’Amato†, Isabelle Brose (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”); Isabelle Brose (Department of Economics and Management, Royal Military Academy) |
| Abstract: | We consider environmental regulation of n risk-averse, multiple pollutant firms. We develop a “yardstick competition” scheme where the regulatory scheme depends on the dierence between a firm’s “aggregate” performance and the average “aggregate” performance of the industry. Whether this instruments dominates Pigovian taxation depends on the complete structure of the covariance matrix of the “common” random terms in measured pollution. Moreover, if the number of firms is large enough, the “yardstick scheme” is always superior to Pigovian taxation. This analysis also provides new arguments in favor of strict liability rather than negligence liability as regulatory tool. |
| Keywords: | yardstick competition, multitasking, environmental regulation, asymmetric information |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:etewps:ete0416&r=env |
| By: | Barbara Buchner (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Silvia Dall’Olio (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | The Russian Federation played a crucial role in the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. Indeed, after the US decision not to comply with the treaty, its ratification turned out to be indispensable for the Protocol to become legally binding. In early 2002, the Russian government decided to initiate the ratification process. However, notwithstanding this initial commitment, the country long hesitated to fulfil its promises, and for the last two years it sent numerous contradictory signals with respect to its position on climate policy. As a consequence, the factors that shape Russia’s behaviour in the context of climate negotiations received increasing attention. The main focus has been on the economic and international aspects motivating the Russian strategy. This paper attempts to complete this analysis by concentrating on a further feature that significantly contributed to Russia’s final decision, namely domestic forces. These factors have often been overlooked in the discussion of the Russian strategy. In order to fill this gap, this paper reconstructs the Russian ratification process, trying to identify the main domestic players and their role. Our findings provide various indications on the reasons of the recent developments in Russia, confirming the key role of the Russian President. |
| Keywords: | Agreements, Climate, Incentives, Negotiations, Policy |
| JEL: | H11 P27 P28 Q28 Q58 |
| Date: | 2004–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.151&r=env |
| By: | Marzio Galeotti (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Carlo Carraro (Università di Venezia and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | Technical change is generally considered the key to the solution of environmental problems, in particular global phenomena like climate change. Scientists differ in their views on the thaumaturgic virtues of technical change. There are those who are confident that pollution-free technologies will materialize at some time in the future and will prevent humans from suffering the catastrophic consequences of climate change. Others believe that there are inexpensive technologies already available and argue the case for no-regret adoption policies (e.g. subsidies). Others again believe that the process of technological change responds to economic stimuli. These economic incentives to technological innovation are provided not only by forces that are endogenous to the economic system, but also by suitably designed environmental and innovation policies. In this paper, we consider and translate into analytical counterparts these different views of technical change. We then study alternative formulations of technical change and, with the help of a computerized climate-economy model, carry out a number of optimization runs in order to assess what type of technical change plays a role (assuming it does) in the evaluation of the impact of climate change and of the policies designed to cope with it. |
| Keywords: | Climate policy, Environmental modeling, Integrated assessment, Technical change |
| JEL: | H0 H2 H3 |
| Date: | 2004–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.152&r=env |
| By: | Michele Moretto (University of Brescia); Cesare Dosi (University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | The paper analyses the timing of spontaneous environmental innovation when second-mover advantages, arising from the expectation of declining investment costs, increase the option value of waiting created by investment irreversibility and uncertainty about private payoffs. We then focus on the design of public subsidies aimed at bridging the gap between the spontaneous time of technological change and the socially desirable one. Under network externalities and incomplete information about firms. switching costs, auctioning investment grants appears to be a cost-effective way of accelerating pollution abatement, in that it allows targeting grants instead of subsidizing the entire industry indiscriminately. |
| Keywords: | Environmental innovation, Investment irreversibility, Network externalities, Investment grants, Second-price auction |
| JEL: | Q28 O38 |
| Date: | 2004–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.156&r=env |
| By: | Anastasios Xepapadeas (University of Crete); William Brock (University of Wisconsin) |
| Abstract: | This paper adapts Turing analysis and applies it to dynamic bioeconomic problems where the interaction of coupled economic and ecological dynamics over space endogenously creates (or destroys) spatial heterogeneity. It also extends Turing analysis to standard recursive optimal control frameworks in economic analysis and applies it to dynamic bioeconomic problems where the interaction of coupled economic and ecological dynamics under optimal control over space creates a challenge to analytical tractability. We show how an appropriate formulation of the problem reduces analysis to a tractable extension of linearization methods applied to the spatial analog of the well known costate/state dynamics. We illustrate the usefulness of our methods on bioeconomic applications, but the methods have more general economic applications where spatial considerations are important. We believe that the extension of Turing analysis and the theory associated with dispersion relationship to recursive infinite horizon optimal control settings is new. |
| Keywords: | Spatial analysis, Economic-ecological modelling |
| JEL: | Q2 C6 |
| Date: | 2004–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.159&r=env |
| By: | Östblom, Göran (National Institute of Economic Research); Samakovlis, Eva (National Institute of Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Much of the debate over global climate change involves estimates of the direct costs of global climate change mitigation. Recently this debate has included the issue of <p> ancillary benefits. These benefits consist mainly of health improvements. Although it is <p> generally acknowledged that air pollution affects respiratory health, and that valuations <p> of these impacts make up a significant proportion of the damage costs of air pollution, <p> these impacts are often neglected when evaluating the costs of climate policy. Since <p> reducing greenhouse gases has the effect of also reducing other pollutants affecting <p> human health and labour productivity these effects should be taken into consideration. <p> The analysis incorporates a linkage between air pollution and health effects into a <p> general equilibrium model for Sweden through a theoretical consistent framework. <p> Results from recent Swedish concentration-response and contingent valuation studies <p> are used to model direct disutility and indirect health effects that negatively affects the <p> productivity of labour. The costs of feedback effects on health and productivity are <p> compared in three different scenarios for attaining the Swedish carbon dioxide target <p> with alternative projected emission levels in the baseline scenario as well as alternative <p> harmful emission levels. Results show that not including feedback effects could mean <p> overstating the costs of climate policy. The magnitude of these effects are, however, <p> very sensitive to projected emission levels and to the judgement of harmful emission <p> levels. |
| Keywords: | air pollution; ancillary benefits; climate policy; general equilibrium; health |
| JEL: | D58 I10 Q52 Q53 |
| Date: | 2004–12–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nierwp:0093&r=env |
| By: | Centre for the Study of Living Standards |
| Abstract: | The objective of this report is to provide an overview of the evolution of productivity in the natural resources industries in Canada over the last 40 years. This report presents data and discusses trends in labour and total factor productivity for natural resources industries in Canada over the 1961-2000 period. It also examines the major determinants of these trends. Industries covered by the report are: the energy industries, including crude petroleum and natural gas extraction, refined petroleum and coal products, pipeline transport, and gas distribution systems; forest sector industries, including forestry and logging, wood products and paper products; mining; and manufacturing industries involved with the processing of mineral products, including primary metals, non-metallic mineral products, metal fabrication, and motor vehicle parts. The key conclusion of the report is that most natural resources industries have outperformed the all-industries average in terms of both labour productivity and total factor productivity since 1961. |
| Keywords: | Forestry, Mining, Electricity, Oil and Gas, Oil, Gas, Energy, Paper Products, Wood Products, Coal Mining, Gold Mining, Diamond Mining, Forest Products, Productivity, Productivity Growth, Labour Productivity, Total Factor Productivity, Multifactor Productivity, Natural Resources, Natural Resource Industries, Primary Industries, Human Capital, Capital Intensity, Economies of Scale, Foreign Direct Investment |
| JEL: | L71 L72 L73 O47 O51 J24 D24 |
| Date: | 2003–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sls:resrep:0301&r=env |
| By: | Centre for the Study of Living Standards |
| Abstract: | The present literature review is an attempt to gather and summarize the extent of our knowledge of the productivity trends and levels in the forest products sector. We consider single factor as well as total factor productivity definitions. The studies – from around the world but mainly focusing on the Canadian and American forest product industries – have been regrouped in sections: (1) general, (2) logging, (3) saw milling, lumber and wood products, and (4) pulp and paper studies.The report also synthesizes the findings of the studies along two lines: (1) the overall productivity growth trends in Canada and other countries and a comparison between forest products sectors in Canada and the United States; and (2) the determinants of productivity growth. |
| Keywords: | Forestry, Forest Products, Logging, Wood Products, Primary Manufacturing, Primary Industries, Pulp and Paper, Paper Products, Forestry Industry, Canada, United States, Productivity, Productivity Growth |
| JEL: | L73 J24 D24 |
| Date: | 2003–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sls:resrep:032a&r=env |
| By: | Centre for the Study of Living Standards |
| Abstract: | The objectives of this study are to provide a comprehensive overview of the productivity situation in the forest products sector at the national and provincial level in Canada, to compare this situation to that in other countries with important forestry product sectors, and to offer some explanation of the trends discovered. The report covers seven major areas. The first provides a detailed examination of trends in output in the forest products sector, which includes three industries, logging and forestry, wood products, and paper products. The second discusses trends in employment and hours worked in the sector and the third trends in the capital stock. The fourth section provides estimates of labour (output per hour), capital productivity, and total factor productivity for the three forest product industries and the sector aggregate for Canada for the 1961-2000 period and cyclically neutral sub-periods. The fifth section compares labour, capital, and total factor productivity growth rates and levels in Canada, the United States and Finland over the 1975-99 period. The sixth section outlines 13 determinants of productivity growth and then uses these variables to shed light on productivity trends in the three forest products sectors in Canada. |
| Keywords: | Forestry, Forest Products, Logging, Wood Products, Primary Manufacturing, Primary Industries, Pulp and Paper, Paper Products, Forestry Industry, Canada, United States, Finland, Productivity, Productivity Growth, Productivity Determinants |
| JEL: | L73 J24 D24 |
| Date: | 2003–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sls:resrep:032b&r=env |
| By: | Claudio Bravo-Ortega; Jose de Gregorio |
| Abstract: | Are natural resources a blessing or a curse? Bravo-Ortega and De Gregorio present a model in which natural resources have a positive effect on the level of income and a negative effect on its growth rate. The positive and permanent effect on income implies a welfare gain. There is a growth effect stemming from a composition effect. However, the authors show that this effect can be offset by having a large level of human capital. They test their model using panel data for the period 1970–90. They extend the usual specifications for economic growth regressions by incorporating an interaction term between human capital and natural resources, showing that high levels of human capital may outweigh the negative effects of the natural resource abundance on growth. The authors also review the historical experience of Scandinavian countries, which in contrast to Latin America, another region well-endowed with natural resources, shows how it is possible to grow fast based on natural resources. This paper is a product of the Office of the Chief Economist, Latin America and the Caribbean Region. |
| Keywords: | Education; Macroecon & Growth |
| Date: | 2005–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3484&r=env |
| By: | Patricia Silva |
| Abstract: | Ethiopia has one of the highest child malnutrition rates in the world. A considerable effort to monitor child malnutrition rates over the past two decades shows that, despite some improvements, approximately half of the children under five are still malnourished. Much of the burden of deaths resulting from malnutrition, estimated to be over half of childhood deaths in developing countries, can be attributed to mild or moderate malnutrition. Several biological and social economic factors contribute to malnutrition. Using the 2000 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey data, Silva examines the impact of access to basic environmental services, such as water and sanitation, on the probability children are stunted and underweight. She focuses on the impact of externalities associated with access to these services. The author finds that biological factors (such as child’s age and mother’s height) and social economic factors (such as household wealth and mother’s education) are important determinants of a child’s nutritional status. This is consistent with the findings of most studies in the literature. With respect to the environmental factors, the author finds that there are indeed significant externalities associated with access to water and sanitation at the community level. The external impacts at the community level of access to these services are an important determinant of the probability a child is underweight. The results also show that the external impact of access to water is larger for children living in rural areas. This paper—a product of the Environment Department—is part of a larger effort in the department to understand the linkages between poverty and the environment. |
| Keywords: | Environment; Health & Population; Rural Development |
| Date: | 2005–01–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3489&r=env |