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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Valentina Bosetti (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Alexander Golub (Environmental Defense); Emanuele Massetti (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Massimo Tavoni (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relative economic and environmental outcomes of price versus quantity mechanisms to control GHG emissions when abatement costs are uncertain. In particular, we evaluate the impacts on policy costs, CO2 emissions and energy R&D for a stringent mitigation target of 550 ppmv CO2 equivalent (i.e. 450 for CO2 only) concentrations. The analysis is performed in an optimal growth framework via Monte Carlo simulations of the integrated assessment model WITCH (World Induced Technical Change Hybrid). Results indicate that the price instrument stochastically dominates the quantity instrument when a stringent stabilization policy is in place. |
| Keywords: | Abatement Costs, Climate Policy |
| JEL: | H2 C6 Q5 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.15&r=env |
| By: | Katrin Millock (University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Natalia Zugravu (University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Gérard Duchene (ERUDITE, University Paris 12) |
| Abstract: | The Central and Eastern European countries significantly reduced their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions between 1995 and 2003. Was this emission reduction just the fortuitous result of the major economic transformation undergone by countries in the transition? Or is it rather a result of more stringent environmental policy? The objective of the article is to answer this question through a simultaneous equation model of the demand (emissions) and supply (environmental stringency) of pollution. The supply equation takes into account the institutional quality of the country as well as consumer preferences for environmental quality. The results indicate that, all else equal, output growth would have increased industrial CO2 emissions in the Central and Eastern European countries in our sample by 31% between 1995 and 2003, and the composition effect corresponded to an increase of 8.4% of emissions. Nevertheless, the technique effect, induced by more stringent environmental policy, reduced industrial CO2 emissions by 58%, and allowed for a final beneficial result for the environment, i.e., -18% of industrial CO2 emissions in 2003 compared to 1995. Finally, our study confirms the importance of institutional factors in the explanation and further prediction of pollution reduction in transition economies. |
| Keywords: | Transition, CO2 Emissions, Environmental Policy, Scale, Composition and Technique Effects |
| JEL: | C33 D72 P5 P27 Q53 Q58 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.58&r=env |
| By: | Joan Canton (University of Ottawa); Maia David (UMR INRA-AgroParisTech Economie publique); Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné (HEC Montreal, CIRANO and Ecole Polytechniqu) |
| Abstract: | This paper considers the environmental policy and welfare implications of a merger between environment firms (i.e., firms managing environmental resources or supplying pollution abatement goods and services). The traditional analysis of mergers in Cournot oligopolies is extended in two ways. First, we show how environmental policy affects the incentives of environment firms to merge. Second, we stress that mergers in the eco-industry impact welfare beyond what is observed in other sectors, due to an extra effect on pollution abatement efforts; this might lead to disagreements between an anti-trust agency seeking to limit market concentration which can be detrimental to consumer surplus and a benevolent regulator who maximizes total welfare. |
| Keywords: | Eco-Industry, Environmental Policy, Horizontal Mergers |
| JEL: | D62 H23 L11 |
| Date: | 2008–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.46&r=env |
| By: | Halla, Martin (University of Linz); Schneider, Friedrich (University of Linz); Wagner, Alexander F. (University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | Using modern methods for analyzing multi-level data, we find that, by and large, citizens of OECD countries are more satisfied with the way democracy works in their country if more environmental policies are in place and if environmental quality is higher. We also document that parents care about carbon dioxide emissions more than non-parents and that those with a high willingness to pay for environmental quality deplore intervention through government policies. |
| Keywords: | satisfaction with democracy, environmental economics and policy, collective action problems |
| JEL: | K32 P16 Q21 Q28 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3613&r=env |
| By: | Bob van der Zwaan (ECN); Reyer Gerlagh (University of Manchester) |
| Abstract: | The economics of CO2 capture and storage in relation to the possibility of significant leakage of CO2 from geological reservoirs once this greenhouse gas has been stored artificially underground will be among the main determinants of whether CCS can significantly contribute to a deep cut in global CO2 emissions. This paper presents an analysis of the economic and climatic implications of the large-scale use of CCS for reaching a stringent climate change control target, when geological CO2 leakage is accounted for. The natural scientific uncertainties regarding the rates of possible leakage of CO2 from geological reservoirs are likely to remain large for a long time to come. We present a qualitative description, a concise analytical inspection, as well as a more detailed integrated assessment model, proffering insight into the economics of geological CO2 storage and leakage. Our model represents three main CO2 emission reduction options: energy savings, a carbon to non-carbon energy transition and the use of CCS. We find CCS to remain a valuable option even with CO2 leakage of a few %/yr, well above the maximum seepage rates that we think are likely from a geo-scientific point of view. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Carbon Dioxide Emission Reduction, Technological Innovation, CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS), Geological Leakage |
| JEL: | H21 D58 C61 O33 Q40 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.10&r=env |
| By: | Michèle Breton (GERAD, CREF and HEC Montréal); Lucia Sbragia (GERAD and HEC Montréal); Georges Zaccour (GERAD and Chair in Game Theory & Management HEC Montréal) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we develop a model to analyze, in a dynamic framework, how countries join international environmental agreements (IEAs). In the model, where countries suffer from the same environmental damage as a result of the total global emissions, a non-signatory country decides its emissions by maximizing its own welfare, whereas a signatory country decides its emissions by maximizing the aggregate welfare of all signatory countries. Signatory countries are assumed to be able to punish the non-signatories at a cost. When countries decide on their pollution emissions they account for the evolution of the pollution over time. Moreover, we propose a mechanism to describe how countries reach a stable IEA. The model is able to capture situations with partial cooperation in an IEA stable over time. It also captures situations where all countries participate in a stable agreement, or situations where no stable agreement is feasible. When more than one possibility coexists, the long-term outcome of the game depends on the initial conditions (i.e. the size of the initial group of signatory countries and the pollution level). |
| Keywords: | International Environmental Agreements, Non-Cooperative Dynamic Game, Coalition Stability |
| JEL: | C73 Q53 |
| Date: | 2008–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.33&r=env |
| By: | Hans-Peter Weikard (Wageningen University); Rob Dellink (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines stability of international climate agreements for carbon abatement under an optimal transfer rule and renegotiations. The optimal transfer rule suggested to stabilise international environmental agreements (Weikard 2005, Carraro, Eyckmans and Finus 2006) is no longer optimal when agreements are renegotiated. We determine the conditions for optimal self-enforcing sequences of agreements. If these conditions are met, then transfer payments can be arranged such that no country wants to change its membership status at any stage. In order to demonstrate the applicability of our condition we use the STACO model, a 12-regions global model, to assess the impact of welldesigned transfer rules on the stability of an international climate agreement. Although there are strong free-rider incentives, we find a stable grand coalition in the first commitment period in a game with one round of renegotiations. |
| Keywords: | Stability of Coalitions, International Environmental Agreements, Partition Function Approach, Sharing Rules, Optimal Transfers, Renegotiations |
| JEL: | C72 D62 H41 H77 |
| Date: | 2008–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.26&r=env |
| By: | Daiju Narita |
| Abstract: | This study attempts a numerical simulation of potential CCS (carbon dioxide capture and storage) use by using a modified version of the DICE (Dynamic Integrated model on Climate and Economy) model (Nordhaus, 1994; Nordhaus and Boyer, 2000). In DICE, CO2 emissions are controlled to the extent in which a hypothetical optimal carbon tax justifies CO2 reduction by firms: in our analysis, CCS is used when the optimal tax level is higher than the price of CCS. The analysis assesses the economic optimality of CCS use with a range of different assumptions. The simulation particularly focuses on the difference of results originating from two sets of general assumptions on climate change modeling, reflecting the current debate on the economics of climate change (see for example, Heal, 2008): (1) Parameterization of the standard DICE; (2) Alternative assumptions whose hints are drawn from Stern (2007). In the standard DICE cases, the model calculation shows that at the price level of $25/tCO2 ($92/tC), CCS is introduced around in the middle of the twenty-first century. With the alternative assumptions (e.g., near-zero discount rate), CCS begins to be utilized massively earlier in the century. The two sets of results lead to contrasting policy implications on the future CCS use; this is particularly problematic in the CCS context since its benefits are not always clear-cut (e.g., limitedness of secondary benefits besides CO2 reduction, uncertainties about the validity of technology itself). Settlement of the current intellectual debate on the economics of climate change would greatly benefit the debate on the role of CCS as well |
| Keywords: | Carbon capture and storage (CCS), climate change, energy, integrated assessment models, dynamic optimization |
| JEL: | Q32 Q43 Q54 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1440&r=env |
| By: | Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso (Universität Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions in developing countries. In this study we treat population as a predictor in the model, instead of assuming a unitary elasticity of emissions with respect to population growth. We contribute to the existing literature by examining the effect of urbanization, taking into account the presence of heterogeneity in the sample of countries and testing for the stability of the estimated elasticities over time. The sample covers the period from 1975 through 2005 for different groups of countries, classified according to their income levels. Our results show that, whereas the impact of population growth on emissions is above unity and only slightly different for upper, middle, and low-income countries, additional demographic variables, namely, urbanization, demonstrate a very different impact on emissions for low and lower-middle-income countries and upper-middle income countries. For the first set of countries, the elasticity, emission-urbanization, is higher than unity, whereas in the second group, the elasticity is 0.72, which is in accordance with the higher environmental impact observed in less developed regions. However, in upper-middle income countries and highly developed countries, the elasticity, emission-urbanization, is negative. The heterogeneous impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions should therefore be taken into account in future discussions of climate change policies. |
| Keywords: | CO2 Emissions, Developing Countries, Panel Data, Population Growth, Urbanization |
| JEL: | Q25 Q4 Q54 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.50&r=env |
| By: | Reyer Gerlagh (University of Manchester); Snorre Kverndokk (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Knut Einar Rosendah (Research Department, Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses the timing and interdependence between innovation and environmental policy in a model of research and development (R&D). On a first-best path the environmental tax is set at the Pigouvian level, independent of innovation policy. With infinite patent lifetime, the R&D subsidy should be constant and independent of the state of the environment. However, with finite patent lifetime, optimal innovation policy depends on the stage of the environmental problem. In the early stages of an environmental problem, abatement research should be subsidized at a high level and this subsidy should fall monotonically over time to stimulate initial R&D investments. Alternatively, with a constant R&D subsidy, patents’ length should initially have a very long life-time but this should be gradually shortened. In a second-best situation with no deployment subsidy for abatement equipment, we find that the environmental tax should be high compared to the Pigouvian levels when an abatement industry is developing, but the relative difference falls over time. That is, environmental policies will be accelerated compared to first-best. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Policy, Research and Development, Innovation Subsidies, Patents |
| JEL: | H21 O30 Q42 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.53&r=env |
| By: | Benno Torgler (Queensland University of Technology); María A.García-Valiñas (University of Oviedo); Alison Macintyre (Queensland University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates the relationship between environmental participation and littering. Previous empirical work in the area of littering is scarce as is evidence regarding the determinants of littering behavior. We address these deficiencies, demonstrating a strong empirical link between environmental participation and reduced public littering using European Values Survey (EVS) data for 30 Western and Eastern European countries. The results suggest that membership in environmental organizations strengthens commitment to anti-littering behaviour, thereby supporting improved environmental quality. |
| Keywords: | Littering, Environmental Participation, Environmental Preferences, Environmental Outcomes |
| JEL: | H26 H73 D64 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.59&r=env |
| By: | Wilfried Rickels; Thomas Lontzek |
| Abstract: | We investigate the socially optimal anthropogenic intervention into the global carbon cycle. The limiting factor for this intervention is the accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere, which causes global warming. We apply a simplified two-box model to incorporate aspects of the global carbon cycle in a more appropriate way than a simple proportional decay assumption does. Anthropogenic intervention into the global carbon cycle enters the model as the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere and the amount of CO2 injected into the deep ocean for purposes of sequestration. We derive a critical cost level for sequestration above which sequestration is just a temporary option or below which it is the long-run option allowing extended use of fossil fuels. The second option involves higher atmospheric stabilization levels, whereby the efficiency of sequestration depends on the time preference and the inertia of the carbon cycle |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Global Carbon Cycle, CO2 Emissions, Sequestration |
| JEL: | Q30 Q54 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1432&r=env |
| By: | John K. Stranlund (Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst); James J. Murphy (Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska); John M. Spraggon (Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses laboratory experiments to investigate the performance of emission permit markets when compliance is imperfectly enforced. In particular we examine deviations in observed aggregate payoffs and expected penalties from those derived from a model of risk-neutral payoff-maximizing firms. We find that the experimental emissions markets were reasonably efficient at allocating individual emission control choices despite imperfect enforcement and significant noncompliance. However, violations and expected penalties were lower than predicted when these are predicted to be high, but were about the same as predicted values when these values were predicted to be low. Thus, although a standard model of compliance with emissions trading programs tends to predict significantly higher violations than we observe when subjects have strong incentives to violate their emissions permits, individual emissions control responsibilities are distributed among firms as predicted. |
| Keywords: | enforcement, compliance, emissions trading, permit markets, pollution, laboratory experiments |
| JEL: | C91 L51 Q58 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dre:wpaper:2008-1&r=env |
| By: | Benno Torgler (Queensland University of Technology); María A. García Valiñas (University of Oviedo); Alison Macintyre (Queensland University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates empirically the differences in preferences towards protection of the environment. Using seven different dependent variables to focus on the impact of age, gender and children we use a large micro data set covering data from 33 Western and Eastern European countries. The results indicate that women have both a stronger preference towards the environment and a stronger willingness to contribute. Moreover, we observe the tendency of a negative correlation between age and environmental preferences. However, a positive effect is visible once we focus on the impact of age on social norms (environmental morale). Finally, we were not able to observe that having children is positively correlated with a stronger preference towards the environment. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Preferences, Environmental Morale, Gender, Age, Children |
| JEL: | H26 H73 D64 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.18&r=env |
| By: | William K. Jaeger (Oregon State University); Van Kolpin (University of Oregon) |
| Abstract: | The analysis finds that in addition to U-shaped paths of environmental quality arising for growth in income per capita, growth in population can also produce socially efficient patterns that are U-shaped. Sufficient conditions for both types of paths are identified for a range of models and parameters, including symmetrical models with homothetic, constant-returns functions such as with CES functions. Similar results are also shown to arise in decentralized economies under either homogeneous or heterogeneous income levels. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Kuznets Curve, Economic Growth, Environmental Quality |
| JEL: | Q2 D61 O13 |
| Date: | 2008–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.38&r=env |
| By: | Nkonya, Ephraim; Gicheru, Patrick; Woelcke, Johannes; Okoba, Barrack; Kilambya, Daniel; Gachimbi, Louis N. |
| Abstract: | "This article analyzes the on-site and off-site economic impacts of various sustainable land management (SLM) practices in Kenya. Long-term trial data are used to establish the relationship between SLM practices and maize yield. The analysis of on-site effects focuses on the profitability of maize production at the farm level, while the examined off-site effects include carbon sequestration and siltation from maize farms, which increase the cost of potable water production. The major contribution of this study is the use of long-term experimental data to estimate the impacts of land management practices on crop yield and consider their off-site benefits and costs. The results of this study show that soil and water conservation (SWC) structures reinforced with leguminous plants are more profitable when the plants are used as fodder, as opposed to situations in which only SWC structures are used. SWC structures reinforced with vegetation had lower maintenance costs, whereas those that were not reinforced with leguminous trees were not profitable over the long-term period. These results suggest that complementary and multipurpose SWC practices are more likely to be adopted compared to non-complementary and/or single-purpose practices. Thus, SWC practices should be promoted as a package of complementary technologies. If it is not feasible to promote a mix of complementary enterprises, high value crops are likely to make SLM practices more profitable. In areas where SLM practices are not profitable, promotion of alternative livelihoods is necessary. Adoption of SLM also provides global environmental services worth 10% of the net present value of the SLM practices over the 50-year period addressed in the present study Finally, the results of this analysis suggest that farmers who offer significant environmental services should be compensated for their efforts." from Author's Abstract |
| Keywords: | Agroforestry, Land degradation, Soil erosion, Sustainable land management, Land management, Economic impacts, maize, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:778&r=env |
| By: | António Cipriano Pinheiro (Department of Fitotecnic, University of Évora); Nuno Almeida Ribeiro (Department of Fitotecnic, University of Évora); Peter Surový (Department of Fitotecnic,University of Évora); Alfredo Gonçalves (Department of Engineering, University of Évora) |
| Abstract: | The agro-silvopastoral system “montado” dominates the landscape of the south-western Iberian Peninsula, occupies approximately 3.1 million hectares of woodland in Spain and 1.2 million hectares in Portugal. The forest system “montado” is mostly dominated by Mediterranean evergreen oaks such as cork oak (Quercus suber L.) and holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia). The “montado” production system management aims the maintenance of a balanced sustainable land use to cope with the Mediterranean climate variability. One important issue in cork oak forests is the control shrub growth in order to prevent forest fire hazard, which is of high risk in Mediterranean climate. The two most common ways of controlling the shrub component is by mechanical destruction with soil disking (that implicates soil mobilization) or by shrub cutting (that is done with minimum impact on soil). The two referred techniques have different costs and different impacts on cork production and other goods and services (multifunctionality) of cork oak forests. In this paper, the two shrub control systems are compared and the results show that, although soil disking is more profitable than shrub cutting, the results are reversed, if one considers the carbon sequestration. This means that besides the great economic sustainability of cork oak dependence on the price of cork, the profitability of different shrub control methods depend also on the way society valuates other goods and services provided by cork oak forest |
| Keywords: | Cork oak; sustainability; woodlands; NPV |
| JEL: | Q23 Q57 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:evo:wpecon:04_2008&r=env |
| By: | David Maddison; Katrin Rehdanz |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces the concept of homogeneous non-causality in heterogeneous panels. This concept is used to examine a panel of data for evidence of a causal relationship between GDP and carbon emissions. The technique is compared to the standard test for homogeneous non-causality in homogeneous panels and heterogeneous non-causality in heterogeneous panels. In North America, Asia and Oceania the homogeneous non-causality hypothesis that CO2 emissions does not Granger cause GDP cannot be rejected if heterogeneity is allowed for in the data-generating process. In North America the homogeneous non-causality hypothesis that GDP does not cause CO2 emissions cannot be rejected either |
| Keywords: | Energy; Carbon Emissions; Granger Causality; and Heterogeneous Panels |
| JEL: | C12 O13 Q54 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1437&r=env |
| By: | Xavier Pautrel (Nantes Atlantique Université) |
| Abstract: | This article demonstrates that when finite lifetime is introduced in a Lucas (1988) growth model, the environmental policy may enhance growth both in the short- and the long-run, while pollution does not influence educational activities, labor supply is not elastic and human capital does not enter the utility function. This is because finite lifetime and the appearance of newborns at each date creates a turnover of generations which disconnects the aggregate consumption growth to the interest rate. We show that the shorter is the horizon, the greater the effect of the environmental policy on growth, because the higher the “generational turnover effect”. We also demonstrate that when time is not the single production factor in education, the environmental policy promotes growth only if time remains the predominant factor. Otherwise, the crowding-out effect of the tighter environmental policy dominates the “generational turnover effect” and growth diminishes. Finally, when the source of pollution is final output rather than physical capital and time is the single factor in education, the environmental does not affect growth in the steady-state, despite the “generational turnover effect”. Nevertheless, if the education good is introduced, the positive influence of the environmental policy appears again. |
| Keywords: | Growth, Environment, Overlapping generations, Human capital |
| JEL: | C O |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.57&r=env |
| By: | Carlos A. Chavez (Departamento de Economia, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile); John K. Stranlund (Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst) |
| Abstract: | In contrast with what we perceive is the conventional wisdom about setting emissions taxes under uncertainty, we demonstrate that setting a uniform tax equal to expected marginal damage is not generally efficient under incomplete information about firms’ abatement costs and damages from pollution. We show that efficient taxes will deviate from expected marginal damage if there is uncertainty about the slopes of the marginal abatement costs of regulated firms. Moreover, efficient emissions tax rates will vary across firms if a regulator can use observable firm-level characteristics to gain some information about how the firms’ marginal abatement costs vary. |
| Keywords: | Emissions Taxes, Incomplete Information, Uncertainty |
| JEL: | L51 Q28 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dre:wpaper:2008-5&r=env |
| By: | John K. Stranlund (Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst); Wei Zhang (Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst) |
| Abstract: | Under favorable but reasonable conditions, an imperfectly enforced emissions tax produces the efficient allocation of individual emissions control; aggregate emissions are independent of whether enforcement of the tax is sufficient to induce the full compliance of firms, and differences in individual violations are independent of firm-level differences. All of these desirable characteristics disappear when some firms under an emissions tax risk bankruptcy—the allocation of emissions control is inefficient, imperfect enforcement causes higher aggregate emissions, and financially insecure firms choose higher violations. |
| Keywords: | Bankruptcy, Emissions Taxes, Limited Liability |
| JEL: | L51 Q28 Q58 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dre:wpaper:2008-3&r=env |
| By: | Shiferaw, Bekele; Kebede, Tewodros; Ratna Reddy, V. |
| Abstract: | "Spatial and temporal attributes of watersheds and the associated market failures that accelerate degradation of agricultural and environmental resources require innovative institutional arrangements for coordinating use and management of resources. Effective collective action (CA) allows smallholder farmers to jointly invest in management practices that provide collective benefits in terms of economic and sustainability gains. The Government of India takes integrated watershed management (IWM) as a key strategy for improving productivity and livelihoods in the rain-fed and drought-prone regions. This study investigates the institutional and policy issues that limit effective participation of people in community watershed programs and identifies key determinants for the degree of CA and its effectiveness in achieving economic and environmental outcomes. We use empirical data from a survey of 87 watershed communities in semi-arid Indian villages to identify a set of indicators of CA and its performance in attaining desired outcomes. Factor analysis is used to develop aggregate indices of CA and its effectiveness. Regression methods are then employed to test the effects of certain policy relevant variables and to determine the potential effects of CA in achieving desired poverty reduction and resource improvement outcomes. We find a positive and highly significant effect of CA on natural resource investments, but no evidence of its effects on household assets and poverty reduction outcomes. This may be attributable to longer gestation periods for realizing indirect effects from collective natural resource investments and the lack of institutional mechanisms to ensure equitable distribution of such gains across the community, including the landless and marginal farmers." authors' abstract |
| Keywords: | Collective action, Institutions, Property rights, Watershed management, Poverty, Environmental impacts, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:worpps:85&r=env |
| By: | Carlo Giupponi (Universita' Ca’Foscari di Venezia); Jaroslav Mysiak (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Alessandra Sgobbi (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | The ever greater role given to public participation by laws and regulations, in particular in the field of environmental management calls for new operational methods and tools for managers and practitioners. This paper analyses the potentials and the critical limitations of current approaches in the fields of simulation modelling (SM), public participation (PP) and decision analysis (DA), for natural resources management within the context of climate change research. The potential synergies of combining SM, PP and DA into an integrated methodological framework are identified and a methodological proposal is presented, called NetSyMoD (Network Analysis – Creative System Modelling – Decision Support), which aims at facilitating the involvement of stakeholders or experts in policy - or decision-making processes (P/DMP). A generic P/DMP is formalised in NetSyMoD as a sequence of six main phases: (i) Actors analysis; (ii) Problem analysis; (iii) Creative System Modelling; (iv) DSS design; (v) Analysis of Options; and (vi) Action taking and monitoring. Several variants of the NetSyMoD approach have been adapted to different contexts such as integrated water resources management and coastal management, and, recently it has been applied in climate change research projects. Experience has shown that NetSyMoD may be a useful framework for skilled professionals, for guiding the P/DMP, and providing practical solutions to problems encountered in the different phases of the decision/policy making process, in particular when future scenarios or projections have to be considered, such as in the case of developing and selecting adaptation policies. The various applications of NetSyMoD share the same approach for problem analysis and communication within the group of selected actors, based upon the use of creative thinking techniques, the formalisation of human-environment relationships through the DPSIR framework, and the use of multi-criteria analysis through a Decision Support System (DSS) software. |
| Keywords: | Modelling, Public Participation, Natural Resource Management, Policy, Decision-Making, Governance, DSS |
| JEL: | Q5 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.13&r=env |
| By: | Angelo Antoci (DEIR, University of Sassari); Paolo Russu (University of Sassari); Elisa Ticci (University of Florence) |
| Abstract: | Vulnerability to scarcity or to reduction of natural capital depends on defensive substitution possibilities that, in turn, are affected by the availability of other productive factors. However, in several developing countries asset distribution tends to be highly skewed. Taking into ac- count these elements, this paper argues that environmental degradation may represent a push factor of economic development in an economy polarized into two main classes (the Rich and the Poor) and characterized by the following stylized facts: a) the main income source of the rural poor is self-employment in traditional activities highly depending on natural resources; b) labor remuneration in rural sector represents the basic opportunity cost for (unskilled) labor in the economy. Thus, given that environmental degradation reduces labor productivity of the rural poor, it may depress wages; c) production of the modern sector managed by the rich is less affected by depletion of natural resources because they can adopt defensive strategies that the poor cannot. They are able to defend themselves by partially substituting natural resources with physical capital accumulation and wage labor employment. We will show that, in this context, environmental depletion may benefit the modern sector through an increase in low cost labor supply and, in turn, it may stimulate economic transition. However the structural change is likely to result in an increase in inequality. |
| Keywords: | Production, Consumption Choices, Welfare |
| JEL: | D62 O11 O13 O15 O41 Q20 |
| Date: | 2008–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.48&r=env |
| By: | Simona Tenaglia (ISFOL - Institute for the Development of Training for Workers); Marco Ventura (ISAE - Institute for Studies and Economic Analyses) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at estimating the value of legal patent protection of environment-related technologies, using the real options approach. In particular, we manage to overcome the problem of the lack of data for those countries that do not collect patent renewal data. Following this estimation strategy, we rank the value of legal patent protection for seventeen countries, closely reproducing other rankings based on surveys, for instance the PatVal survey by the EU Commission (2006), but relying on macro data publicly available and easy to access. The unit value of damage is found to be the most important determinant of the value of patents granted by legal protection. |
| Keywords: | value of patents, legal protection, real options, abatement technology, environmental technologies. |
| JEL: | K40 O38 Q55 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isa:wpaper:103&r=env |
| By: | Hundie Bekele; Padmanabhan, Martina |
| Abstract: | "The major economic activity for pastoralists is animal husbandry. The harsh environment in which herders raise their livestock requires constant mobility to regulate resource utilisation via a common property regime. In contrast to the mobile way of life characterizing pastoralism, agriculture as a sedentary activity is only marginally present in the lowlands of the Afar regional state in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, this study reveals a situation where the traditional land-use arrangements in Afar are being transformed due to the introduction of farming. In the past, the Imperial and the Socialist governments introduced large-scale agriculture in a coercive manner, thereby instigating massive resistance from the pastoralists. Currently, the recurrence of drought in the study areas has facilitated the subdivision of the communal land on a voluntary basis for the purpose of farming. Qualitative and quantitative analysis highlight the drivers, both coercive and non-coercive, of the transformation of traditional property rights of Afar pastoralists." authors' abstract |
| Keywords: | Pastoralism, livestock, Property rights, Rangeland management, Communal land, Environmental management, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:worpps:87&r=env |
| By: | Etienne BILLETTE DE VILLEMEUR; Annalisa VINELLA |
| Abstract: | We explore the interactions between environmental externalities and intertemporal market power in electricity generation industries where thermal operators imperfectly compete with operators using scarce water stored in dams. Relying upon a two-period model, we show that, in countries where demand peaks at the first (resp.ly, second) period after water renewal, dynamic market power worsens (resp.ly, ameliorates) resource allocation and environmental health. We then address policy issues. We show that, in general, second best is not decentralized by means of standard tools such as price cap. We argue that the hydraulic process requires specific regulation. We put forward a quantity-based version of the contracts for price difference increasingly used in power pools, to be adopted jointly with either a flexible form of taxation or an intertemporal price cap. |
| Keywords: | power generation; water allocation; externalities; price cap; contracts for water difference. |
| JEL: | L13 L51 L94 D62 H23 |
| Date: | 2008–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2008/27&r=env |
| By: | Beyene, Fekadu; Korf, Benedikt |
| Abstract: | "In Ethiopian development policies, pastoralist areas have recently attracted more attention. However, much debate and policy advice is still based on assumptions that see a sedentary lifestyle as the desirable development outcome for pastoralist communities. This paper investigates current practices of collective action and how these are affected by changing property rights in the pastoralist and agro-pastoralist economies of three selected sites in eastern Ethiopia. We describe forms of collective action in water and pasture resource management and analyze how changing property rights regimes affect incentives for collective action. We illustrate the distributional effects these practices are having on (agro-) pastoralist communities and how these practices are being influenced by the broader political and economic dynamisms of the area." authors' abstract |
| Keywords: | Pastoralism, Collective action, Property rights, Conflict, Water management, Rangelands management, Environmental management, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:worpps:88&r=env |
| By: | Olfa Khazri; Pierre Lasserre |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study a particular uneven-aged forest stand management pattern that is often advocated in practice. The forest structure under consideration is similar to a normalized forest à la Faustmann, with the following difference: rather than being single aged, each forest tract contains trees of two age classes so that it is submitted to a form of selective cutting. Each harvest involves all of the older trees and only a fraction of the younger ones; hence the name mixed rotation. Trees left standing at harvest help stimulate natural regeneration and improve various environmental and amenity characteristics of the forest. We model this effect by using a cost function that varies with respect to the harvest rate of younger trees. We derive the properties that this cost function must exhibit in order some form of mixed rotation to be superior to the conventional single rotation à la Faustmann; we also characterize the mixed rotation in terms of duration and the harvest rate of younger trees, and we compare its properties with Faustman’s rule. <P>Nous étudions un cas particulier d’aménagement forestier inéquien qui est recommandé dans la pratique actuelle. La structure de la forêt est similaire à une forêt normalisée à la Faustmann avec la différence suivante: au lieu d’être équien, chaque lot comporte deux classes d’âge; il est soumis à une forme de coupe sélective. À chaque récolte, on coupe tous les arbres les plus vieux ainsi qu’une fraction des arbres les plus jeunes; d’où le nom de rotation mixte. Les arbres non coupés aident la régénération naturelle et améliorent diverses caractéristiques environnementales et esthétiques de la forêt. Nous modélisons cet effet en utilisant une fonction de coût qui varie avec le taux de récolte des arbres jeunes. Nous dérivons les propriétés que cette fonction de coût doit satisfaire pour que la rotation mixte soit préférable à la rotation standard à la Faustmann; nous caractérisons la rotation mixte en termes de durée et de taux de récolte des jeunes arbres, que nous comparons avec le cas de Faustmann. |
| Keywords: | forest management, Faustmann’s rule, normal forest, synchronized forest, uneven-aged lots, amenity value, mixed rotation, selective cutting, aménagement forestier, règle de Faustmann, forêt normalisée, forêt synchronisée, forêt inéquienne, aménités, rotation mixte, coupe sélective |
| JEL: | Q00 Q23 D29 |
| Date: | 2008–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2008s-19&r=env |
| By: | Vicent Alcántara; Rosa Duarte; Teresa Obis |
| Abstract: | REVISTA SOCIEDAD Y ECONOMIA # 9 : TEMA CENTRAL: Economía ambiental aplicada |
| Date: | 2008–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000172:004927&r=env |
| By: | Girja Sharan |
| Abstract: | A two-phase project is underway to develop greenhouse systems suitable for water scarce, semi-arid region of north-west India (Kutch). The first phase aimed at studying the effectiveness of natural ventilation and earth-tube-heat-exchanger for environmental control, in place of fan-pads commonly used. These measures were able to reduce the need for evaporative cooling significantly and offer scope for further improvement. The second phase, just started, aims at finding cost-effective means of desalinating brackish water for plant use. Arrays of simple basin type solar stills have been used in this region in the past to provide drinking water in villages. The area of stills needed to meet the greenhouse crop requirement works out to approximately half the cropping area. It would be cumbersome to integrate these with greenhouse structure. Besides, these were reported to be difficult to maintain. A new option - solar assisted low temperature thermal desalination - is therefore being pursued. An outline of the work in progress is presented. |
| Date: | 2008–07–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:2008-07-02&r=env |
| By: | Hasssan Benchekroun; Cees Withagen |
| Abstract: | We revisit the seminal growth model with exhaustible resources, the so called Dasgupta-Heal- Stiglitz-Solow model (DHSS). For this optimal control problem with two state variables, we explicitly characterize the dynamics of all the variables in the model and from all possible initial values of the stocks. We determine the condition under which consumption is initially increasing with time and the condition under which initial investment is positive implying that overshooting of man-made capital ocurs. We show that the initial consumption under a utilitarian criterion starts below the maximin rate of consumption if and only the resource is abundant enough and that under a utilitarian criterion, it is not necessarily the present generation that benefits most from a windfall of resources. |
| JEL: | E20 Q30 C61 C65 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcl:mclwop:2008-01&r=env |
| By: | Steven Renzetti (Department of Economics, Brock University); Diane P. Dupont (Department of Economics, Brock University) |
| Abstract: | This paper extends the multistage procedure set out in Fried et al (1999) to examine the importance of environmental factors when assessing the technical efficiency of water agencies. However, following Simar and Wilson’s (2007) critique of multistage efficiency analyses, the paper uses a bootstrapping approach in order to have consistent inference. Data are from a cross-section of municipal water agencies in Ontario, Canada during 1996. The main findings are that environmental factors explain some of the observed variation in efficiency scores and that water agencies’ relative efficiency scores are changed substantially after controlling for environmental factors. |
| Keywords: | Water Utility, Data Envelopment Analysis, Technical Efficiency |
| JEL: | Q25 H42 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:brk:wpaper:0802&r=env |
| By: | Ralph Winkler (CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research at ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | We study the optimal control of a pollutant that accumulates with a delay.We find that optimal paths are, in general, non-monotonic and oscillatory, but monotonic if the objective function is additively separable. Hence, using additively separable objective functions as an approximation to a general objective function may be a misspecification. With a numerical example we illustrate that an additively separable approximation performs considerably worse in delayed compared to instantaneous stock accumulation. |
| Keywords: | additively separable objective, approximated objective, delayed optimal control, optimal pollution control |
| JEL: | Q50 C61 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:08-91&r=env |
| By: | Adrienne HERITIER; Sandra ECKERT |
| Abstract: | How and to what effect do firms coordinate their actions in order to deal with the negative external effects of productive activity? Under which conditions do firm associations engage in environmental self-regulation and what kind of governance devices do they develop in order to tackle the specific regulatory challenges at stake? Is the 'shadow of hierarchy', the credible threat of legislation, executive intervention or court rulings, a necessary condition for associative action to emerge? Or is it only necessary if a redistributive problem is at stake? These are the questions discussed in this article. We will first develop the theoretical argument based on economic institutionalism, derive hypotheses and then submit the propositions to a first empirical assessment of associative self-regulation on waste recycling in the plastic and paper industry. |
| Keywords: | governance; self-regulation; shadow of hierarchy; transaction cost theory. |
| Date: | 2008–07–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2008/26&r=env |
| By: | Hakon Saelen; Giles Atkinson; Simon Dietz; Jennifer Helgeson; Cameron Hepburn |
| Abstract: | In the workhorse model of welfare economics, the elasticity of marginal utility, often denoted as @#019E, serves simultaneously to represent aversion to risk, aversion to spatial inequality, and preferences for intertemporal substitution. While Kreps-Porteus-Selden and Epstein-Zin preferences enable risk to be separated from intertemporal substitution, no model enables all tlhree concepts to be disentangled. This theoretical lacuna is important, particularly for the economics of climate change, which is a global, long-run, uncertain externality. Much debate, for instance in the wake of the Stern Review (Stern, 2007a) has focused on the appropriate value for @#019E. This paper tests the suitability of the workhorse model for climate change economics, by surveying the attitudes of over 3000 people to risk, time, and income inequality. The results show that individual attitudes to the three are only weakly correlated. This suggests that because the three concepts are captured by a single parameter, the model is underspecified and a richer model should be considered. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Discounting, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Risk Aversion, Intertemporal Substitution, Inequality Aversion, Intergenerational Equity |
| JEL: | D01 D63 C90 Q51 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:400&r=env |
| By: | Alvaro Calzadilla; Katrin Rehdanz; Richard S.J. Tol |
| Abstract: | We use the new version of the GTAP-W model to analyze the economy-wide impacts of enhanced irrigation efficiency. The new production structure of the model, which introduces a differentiation between rainfed and irrigated crops, allows a better understanding of the use of water resources in agricultural sectors. The results indicate that a water policy directed to improvements in irrigation efficiency in water-stressed regions is not beneficial for all. For water-stressed regions the effects on welfare and demand for water are mostly positive. For non-water scarce regions the results are more mixed and mostly negative. Global water savings are achieved. Not only regions where irrigation efficiency changes are able to save water, but also other regions are pushed to conserve water |
| Keywords: | Computable General Equilibrium, Irrigation, Water Policy, Water Scarcity, Irrigation efficiency |
| JEL: | D58 Q17 Q25 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1436&r=env |
| By: | German, Laura; Mazengia, Waga; Tirwomwe, Wilberforce; Ayele, Shenkut; Tanui, Joseph; Nyangas, Simon; Begashaw, Leulseged; Taye, Hailemichael; Admassu, Zenebe; Tsegaye, Mesfin; Alinyo, Francis; Mekonnen, Ashenafi; Aberra, Kassahun; Chemangeni, Awadh; Cheptegei, William; Tolera, Tessema; Jotte Zewdie; Bedane, Kiflu |
| Abstract: | "The role of local and external institutions in natural resource management (NRM) is gaining attention in the literature, fostering greater understanding of the relationship between collective action and poverty, collective action and equity, and the conditions under which collective action institutions take root. It has also led to increased understanding of how uncritical practices by external development institutions can propagate social inequities in NRM. Yet little research has been conducted to understand how to foster local collective action institutions where they are absent, or to improve institutional practice. This research integrates empirical and action research in an effort to generate ‘working solutions' to problems facing rural communities in their efforts to manage their natural resources in the highlands of Ethiopia and Uganda. Following a brief introduction to the literature and the research, findings are presented according to two distinct phases of research. Data are first presented on existing forms of collective action, the influence of local and external institutions on economic development, and NRM problems that persist despite their negative livelihood consequences. Action research themes selected from a list of identified problems are then presented in greater detail, with lessons learnt thus far in attempting to overcome institutional barriers to improved NRM. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of findings for research, institutional practice, and policy." authors' abstract |
| Keywords: | Natural resource management, Collective action, Equity, Livelihoods, East African highlands, Gender, Environmental management, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:worpps:86&r=env |
| By: | Erik D. Delarue; A. Denny Ellerman; William D. D’haeseleer |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the possibilities for short term abatement in response to a CO2 price through fuel switching in the European power sector. The model E-Simulate is used to simulate the electricity generation in Europe as a means of both gaining insight into the process of fuel switching and estimating the abatement in the power sector during the first trading period of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme. Abatement is shown to depend not only on the price of allowances, but also and more importantly on the load level of the system and the ratio between natural gas and coal prices. Estimates of the amount of abatement through fuel switching are provided with a lower limit of 35 million metric tons in 2005 and 19 Mtons in 2006. |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mee:wpaper:0808&r=env |
| By: | Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I, Ecole d'économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I) |
| Abstract: | Les effets externes tels que les gaz à effet de serre peuvent entraîner des coûts très élevés pour la société dans son ensemble alors qu’ils sont le fait de certains agents économiques qui ne paient pas les coûts de ces effets. La comparaison de l’efficacité des différents instruments de régulation environnementale est un problème aux multiples facettes. La supériorité souvent alléguée des instruments économiques sur les instruments réglementaires est générale sans être pourtant systématique, dépendant en particulier des imperfections de l’information ou de la concurrence. L’argument de l’efficacité ne suffit pas toujours à imposer l’utilisation d’un instrument là où des considérations d’acceptabilité prévalent. |
| Keywords: | externalités ; taxe environnementale ; permis d'émission négociables ; norme ; incitation à innover ; efficacité dynamique |
| Date: | 2007–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-00306212_v1&r=env |
| By: | Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I, Ecole d'économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I) |
| Abstract: | Les effets externes tels que les gaz à effet de serre peuvent entraîner des coûts très élevés pour la société dans son ensemble alors qu’ils sont le fait de certains agents économiques qui ne paient pas les coûts de ces effets. La comparaison de l’efficacité des différents instruments de régulation environnementale est un problème aux multiples facettes. La supériorité souvent alléguée des instruments économiques sur les instruments réglementaires est générale sans être pourtant systématique, dépendant en particulier des imperfections de l’information ou de la concurrence. L’argument de l’efficacité ne suffit pas toujours à imposer l’utilisation d’un instrument là où des considérations d’acceptabilité prévalent. |
| Keywords: | externalités ; taxe environnementale ; permis d'émission négociables ; norme ; incitation à innover ; efficacité dynamique |
| Date: | 2007–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00306212_v1&r=env |
| By: | Carlo Giupponi (Universita' Ca’Foscari di Venezia); Yaella Depietri (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | The Nostrum-DSS EU funded Co-ordination Action (CA) aims at contributing to the achievement of improved governance and planning in the field of sustainable water management within the Mediterranean Basin by establishing a network between the science, policy, and civil society spheres and through the development and dissemination of Best Practices Guidelines (BPGs) for the design and implementation of DSSs for IWRM in the Mediterranean Area. Decision Support Systems (DSS) have a great theoretical potential as tools for the identification of optimal water resource management regimes in the Mediterranean basin, thus helping policy makers (PMs) to bring the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) into practice. However, such tools are only episodically exploited outside the academia. This article presents the outcomes of project activities targeting the development of more effective communication strategies, in order to facilitate the development of research products with greater potential for been up taken by the expected end-users, i.e. the community of policy makers, and their staffs, advisors, consultants, etc., in the Mediterranean Region. |
| Keywords: | Science-Policy Interface, Policy Making, Water Resources Management, Mediterranean Region |
| JEL: | Q2 H7 O2 R5 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.14&r=env |
| By: | Dahal, Ganga Ram; Adhikari, Krishna Prasad |
| Abstract: | "This paper seeks to identify the factors which are responsible for successful management of natural resources when communities are given opportunities to manage those resources. Applying the social capital framework, it analyzes empirical data from the well known case of Kalahan Educational Foundation, the Philippines. The study confirms previous findings, which have emphasized the high level of cohesion and traditional norms among a homogeneous community of indigenous peoples (bonding social capital) as a success factor. This study further identifies that for effective management of collective action, mobilization of bridging and linking social capital are equally important as they do not only help mobilize external resources but, at times, also promote bonding social capital." authors' abstract |
| Keywords: | Kalahan, People's Organization (PO), Bonding, Bridging, Linking social capital, Governance, Collective action, Environmental risk, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:worpps:79&r=env |
| By: | GOLLIER, Christian |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ide:wpaper:9343&r=env |
| By: | Diaz-Vazquez, M. Rosario; Cancelo, M. Teresa |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eaa:ecodev:99&r=env |
| By: | Marie-Odile Carrère (GATE - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines, GRESAC - Groupe de Recherche en Economie de la SAnté et réseaux de soins en Cancérologie - CNRS : FRE2747); Nathalie Havet (GATE - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines); Magali Morelle (GATE - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines, GRESAC - Groupe de Recherche en Economie de la SAnté et réseaux de soins en Cancérologie - CNRS : FRE2747); Raphaël Remonnay (GATE - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines, GRESAC - Groupe de Recherche en Economie de la SAnté et réseaux de soins en Cancérologie - CNRS : FRE2747) |
| Abstract: | The contingent valuation (CV) method is an attractive approach for comparing home care to hospital care in which the only difference is patients’ well-being during the treatment process and not health outcomes. We considered the empirical situation of blood transfusion (BT) in cancer patients and collected willingness to pay (WTP) values among BT users. Our main objective was to test the validity of the CV method, namely its ability to elicit true preferences. Firstly, possible determinants of WTP values and their expected influences were identified, from both economic and non economic literature and from the findings of a pilot study. Secondly, they were compared to predicted influences resulting from appropriate econometric analysis of WTP values elicited by a bidding process. From the health economics literature it appeared that the double-hurdle model is the most appropriate approach to account for zero values and protest responses. However, because the number of protest responses was too small, we used a truncated regression model. None of the 7 hypothesized influences was invalidated by econometric results. The anchoring bias hypothesis was confirmed. The WTP for home BT compared to hospital BT increased with household income, with previous experience of home care, with living far from the hospital and with low quality of life. Conversely, it was lower for advanced-stage (palliative or terminal) than for early-stage (curative) patients. We conclude that the CV approach is acceptable to severely ill patients. Moreover, WTP values demonstrate good validity given that influences predicted by our model are consistent with expected determinants. |
| Keywords: | contingent valuation ; validity ; protest responses ; censored data ; home care |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00303725_v1&r=env |
| By: | Rahmi Ilkiliç (Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | A tragedy of the commons appears when the users of a common resource have incentives to exploit it more than the socially efficient level. We analyze the situation when the tragedy of the commons is embedded in a network of users and sources. Users play a game of extractions, where they decide how much resource to draw from each source they are connected to. We show that if the value of the resource to the users is linear, then each resource exhibits an isolated problem. There exists a unique equilibrium. But when the users have concave values, the network structure matters. The exploitation at each source depends on the centrality of the links connecting the source to the users. The equilibrium is unique and we provide a formula which expresses the quantities at an equilibrium as a function of a network centrality measure. Next we characterize the efficient levels of extractions by users and outflows from sources. Again, the case of linear values can be broken down source by source. For the case of concave values, we provide a graph decomposition which divides the network into regions according to the availability of sources. Then the efficiency problem can be solved region by region. |
| Keywords: | Tragedy of The Commons, Networks, Nash Equilibrium, Efficiency, Centrality Measures |
| JEL: | C62 C72 D85 Q20 |
| Date: | 2008–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.30&r=env |
| By: | Fabian Bornhorst; Sanjeev Gupta; John Thornton |
| Abstract: | The recent development literature stresses that countries that receive large revenues from natural resource endowments typically raise less revenue from domestic taxation, and that this creates governance problems because the lower domestic tax effort reduces the incentive for the public scrutiny of government. Our results from a panel of 30 hydrocarbon producing countries indicate that the offset between hydrocarbon revenues and revenues from other domestic sources is about 20 percent but that it is invariant to governance indicators. |
| Keywords: | Hydrocarbons , Revenues , Oil revenues , Taxation , Governance , Corruption , |
| Date: | 2008–07–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:08/170&r=env |