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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Linn, Joshua (Resources for the Future); Mastrangelo, Erin; Burtraw, Dallas (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | The Clean Air Act has assumed the central role in U.S. climate policy, directing the Environmental Protection Agency to develop regulations governing the emissions of greenhouse gases from existing coal-fired power plants. The cost and environmental effectiveness of policy options depend on abatement costs, the magnitude of emissions reduction opportunities, and the sensitivity of plant utilization. This paper examines the operation of electricity-generating units over 25 years to estimate the marginal costs and potential magnitude of emissions reductions that could result from improvements in their operating efficiency. We find that a 10 percent increase in coal prices causes a 0.3 to 0.9 percent heat rate reduction, broadly consistent with engineering assessments of abatement costs and opportunities. We also find that coal prices have a significant effect on utilization, but that will vary depending on the policy design. The results are used to compare cost-effectiveness of alternative policies. |
| Keywords: | efficiency, regulation, greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, coal, performance standards |
| JEL: | L94 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-11-43&r=env |
| By: | Keen, Michael; Parry, Ian; Strand, Jon |
| Abstract: | The international aviation and maritime sectors today enjoy relatively favorable tax treatment, as their fuels are not taxed and the sectors are not subject to any value-added tax or turnover tax. Nor are these fuel uses subject to any global measures to reduce their associated CO2 emissions, even though they represent at least 5 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon charge on fuels for international aviation and shipping equal to $25 per tonne of emitted CO2 could raise about $12 billion from aviation and about $26 billion from shipping by 2020. Market-based instruments ought to be used to raise such revenue, preferably charges based on the carbon contents of fuels. Such charges would also scale back emissions by at least 5-10 percent. Developing countries ought to be able to keep their own tax revenue, and additional compensation to them for the economic burdens of these carbon charges may be warranted. Such compensation would constitute at most 40 percent of the raised global revenue. Implementing these charges can be a challenge, especially for aviation, where a large number of bilateral air-service agreements would need to be rewritten. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Climate Change Economics,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Environmental Economics&Policies,Energy Production and Transportation |
| Date: | 2012–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5950&r=env |
| By: | Konrad, Kai A.; Thum, Marcel |
| Abstract: | We analyze bargaining over international climate agreements in a setting with incomplete information about abatement costs. Unilateral commitment to high abatement reduces the gains from global cooperation. This reduces the probability of reaching efficient international environmental agreements. -- |
| Keywords: | Mitigation,international climate agreements,bargaining,unilateral advances |
| JEL: | Q54 Q58 F53 H41 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbfff:spii2011109&r=env |
| By: | Wim Naudé (Maastricht School of Management, Endepolsdomein 150, 6229 EP Maastricht, The Netherlands and UNU‐ WIDER, Katajanokanlaituri 6b, 00160 Helsinki, Finland.) |
| Abstract: | Industrial policy (IP) can make an important contribution to both environmental and social sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to explore the new rationale for IP due to climate change and to determine its implications for the how of industrial policy. Five implications are discussed, namely the need for international coordination of IPs; for putting human‐ development, and not emission targets, as the overriding objective of low‐carbon IP; of stimulating innovation for energy efficiency, energy diversification, and carbon capture and storage; and for aligning IP with trade policies. Finally the funding needs of low‐carbon IPs are discussed, and the importance of private sector funding emphasized. |
| Keywords: | climate change, sustainable development, industrialization, industrial policy, low‐ carbon growth |
| JEL: | Q54 O25 O40 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2011/03&r=env |
| By: | Giuseppe Travaglini (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo") |
| Abstract: | In this paper I study the e¤ects of environmental regulation which establishes upper and lower binding targets to pollution emissions. Essentially, I deal with the properties of a stochastic model of pollution control in continuous-time under emission targets and uncertainty, emphasizing dynamic nonlinearities. Inside the targets pollution behaves as if it were freely floating until it hits one of the two limits. The model provides three main results. First, I show that binding targets can affect the pollution floating even when the boundaries are currently slack. Solutions of the model show that pollution becomes an S-shaped locus of the fundamentals. Second, I show that binding targets will lead to more stable pollution rate determination within the boundaries, than free floating. Finally, stabilization of pollution is related to the growth rate and volatility of fundamentals, to the sensitivity to expected changes of pollution rate and to the credibility of the authorities in defending the pollution targets. |
| Keywords: | Pollution targets, Optimal stochastic control, Uncertainty, Environmental policy. |
| JEL: | L51 H23 Q28 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urb:wpaper:12_01&r=env |
| By: | Giulio Cainelli; Massimiliano Mazzanti; Simone Borghesi |
| Abstract: | We study the driving forces behind the adoption of environmental innovations (EI) in the Italian economy over 2006-2008 through empirical analyses of the new wave of Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data that covered environmental innovation adoptions in different realms (energy, carbon, production, consumption, etc..). Given the shortage of studies that have empirically assessed the innovation effects of ETS at micro econometric level, we investigate whether the first phase of EU ETS (started in 2005-2006) has exerted some effects on environmental innovations. We then include in a typical probit innovation function some policy stringency indicators, for the ETS sectors, to verify whether the likelihood of adopting environmental innovations is stimulated among other factors by the ETS lever. We test a wide and comprehensive set of potential drivers, including internal factors (R&D), external (to the firm) factors (cooperation, networking), international drivers (foreign related relationships), and mostly important, the dynamic incentives to innovation eventually provided by the ETS implementation. Estimates show that external forces and complementarity with other management practices are particularly relevant to increase the adoption of relatively new and radical technologies: relationships with other firms and institutions, local public funding, group membership are the key factors in this sense. Training is also positively related to EI, confirming recent evidence. The role of ETS on EI seems instead to be weak, but it turns out to be significant for energy efficiency innovations and for consumption level/good related reductions of atmospheric and water emissions. |
| Keywords: | environmental innovation; industrial sectors; ETS; innovation drivers; CIS data |
| JEL: | C21 L2 O33 Q38 Q55 |
| Date: | 2012–01–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udf:wpaper:201201&r=env |
| By: | Guido Heijdra (Associate Professor Water and Environmental Management, Maastricht school of Management and Senior Consultant with Royal Haskoning) |
| JEL: | Q54 O13 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2011/31&r=env |
| By: | Blackman, Allen (Resources for the Future); Chandru, Santosh; Mendoza-Domínguez, Alberto; Russell, A.G. |
| Abstract: | In the past two decades, rapid population and economic growth on the U.S.–Mexico border has spurred a dramatic increase in electricity demand. In response, American energy multinationals have built power plants just south of the border that export most of their electricity to the United States. This development has stirred considerable controversy because these plants effectively skirt U.S. environmental air pollution regulations in a severely degraded international airshed. Yet to our knowledge, this concern has not been subjected to rigorous scrutiny. This paper uses a suite of air dispersion, health impacts, and valuation models to assess the human health damages in the United States and Mexico caused by air emissions from two power-exporting plants in Mexicali, Baja California. We find that these emissions have limited but nontrivial health impacts, mostly by exacerbating particulate pollution in the United States, and we value these damages at more than half a million dollars per year. These findings demonstrate that power-exporting plants can have cross-border health effects and bolster the case for systematically evaluating their environmental impacts. |
| Keywords: | electricity, air pollution, Mexico |
| JEL: | Q48 Q51 Q53 |
| Date: | 2012–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-11-03-rev-efd&r=env |
| By: | Blackman, Allen (Resources for the Future); Chandru, Santosh; Mendoza-Dominguez, Alberto; Russell, A.G. |
| Abstract: | In the past two decades, rapid population and economic growth on the U.S.–Mexico border has spurred a dramatic increase in electricity demand. In response, American energy multinationals have built power plants just south of the border that export most of their electricity to the United States. This development has stirred considerable controversy because these plants effectively skirt U.S. environmental air pollution regulations in a severely degraded international airshed. Yet to our knowledge, this concern has not been subjected to rigorous scrutiny. This paper uses a suite of air dispersion, health impacts, and valuation models to assess the human health damages in the United States and Mexico caused by air emissions from two power-exporting plants in Mexicali, Baja California. We find that these emissions have limited but nontrivial health impacts, mostly by exacerbating particulate pollution in the United States, and we value these damages at more than half a million dollars per year. These findings demonstrate that power-exporting plants can have cross-border health effects and bolster the case for systematically evaluating their environmental impacts. |
| Keywords: | electricity, air pollution, Mexico |
| JEL: | Q48 Q51 Q53 |
| Date: | 2012–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-11-18-rev&r=env |
| By: | Donatella Baiardi (Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods, University of Pavia) |
| Abstract: | The paper explores the relationship between per capita income and three air pollutants, CO, NMVOCs and SOx, using a novel dataset based on the Italian regions. Given the central role of technological progress in long-term environmental problems, we empirically investigate the influence of innovation on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). The estimation results validate the EKC hypothesis for the three air pollutants considered. Furthermore, the influence of innovation on the inverted-U-shaped curve identified by the theoretical literature is empirically confirmed too. |
| Keywords: | Air pollutants, Environmental Kuznets Curve, Italian regions, Technological Progress. |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pav:wpaper:279&r=env |
| By: | Michaud, C.; Llerena, D.; Joly, I. |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) a price premium for two environmental attributes of a non-food agricultural product. We study individual preferences for roses associated with an eco-label and a carbon footprint using an economic experiment combining discrete choice questions and real economic incentives involving real purchases of roses against cash. The data are analyzed with a mixed logit model and reveal significant premiums for both environmental attributes of the product. |
| Keywords: | WILLINGNESS TO PAY;ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTES;NON-FOOD PRODUCT;REAL CHOICE EXPERIMENT;MIXED LOGIT |
| JEL: | D12 C91 C25 Q10 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gbl:wpaper:201201&r=env |
| By: | Masaru Ichihashi (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University); Satoru Komatsu (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University); Shinji Kaneko (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University) |
| Abstract: | Environmental problems such as global warming due to GHG emissions have necessitated some constraint in our economic activities, as many countries and many people around the world are concerned about these issues. Environmental and economic policies such as carbon tax are one such constraint. A tax policy can be interpreted as a desirable method that can lead the economy, which has to pay the social cost of false economic activity or market failure, to a more optimal path. However, this policy will surely raise prices of goods. On the one hand, this price rise will benefit the public sector, but on the other hand, consumers demand will decline. The magnitude of the reduction usually depends on the price elasticity of demand, and the increase in government gain depends on the necessity of the goods for the people. Therefore, it is not necessarily trivial to ask whether the total effect of rising energy prices will be negative. In addition, nowadays, many people are concerned about environmental problems, and there are indications that consumers tend to change their purchasing behavior regarding certain goods to take environmental concerns into account even if this necessitates paying a higher price. This paper will empirically prove how the rise in oil and gas prices due to environmental policies like carbon tax affects the total production/consumption when we take into account the change in consumer behavior reflecting their attitudes toward preventing global warming. The main result of the analysis using an input-output model and price elasticity of demand in several sectors will show that most of sectors do not experience a decline in production after a price rise except the biggest sector, real estate. In Japan, real estate might be the main target to support for consumerfs purchasing from the viewpoint of economic policy. |
| Keywords: | consumer behavior; disclosure of information about environmental damage; energy price rising effect; price elasticity of demand; International Input-Output model. |
| JEL: | O44 Q56 R15 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hir:idecdp:2-1&r=env |
| By: | Thomas Gries (University of Paderborn, Center for International Economics) |
| Abstract: | In today’s globalized world there is a complex relationship between economic activity and the environment. In addition, there is a feedback mechanism from the environment to economic activity and welfare. Besides the fact that economic development is a driving force for climate change, policies that aim to mitigate global warming may also impact negatively on the speed of global development processes. We aim to demonstrate that there can be no solution for the problem of global warming on a global scale that does not account for the effects that climate policy has on economic development, especially for less developed countries. Even more, the causal interdependencies are highly asymmetric. Looking at the variety of countries in the world, we observe major asymmetries and heterogeneities. There are asymmetries in welfare, technology, industry structure, pollution and the accumulation of a pollution stock, and in the way countries are affected by climate change. The effects of these asymmetries in the world economy are neither adequately understood nor taken into account. This paper seeks to highlight the main effects of the global asymmetries on the efficiency of a global climate and industrial policy, and to illustrate the distribution problems that arise from such a policy. Since economic theory is well developed with respect to environmental economics we can use the associated findings as a starting point for analyzing the asymmetry issue. |
| JEL: | Q54 O11 O13 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2011/21&r=env |
| By: | Ratner, Blake D. |
| Abstract: | Common-pool resource management is a critical element in the interlocked challenges of food security, nutrition, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability. This paper examines strategic policy choices and governance challenges facing Cambodia's forests and fisheries, the most economically important subsectors of agriculture that rely on common-pool resources. It then outlines policy priorities for institutional development to achieve improvements in implementing these goals. The core argument is that (1) policy support for community-based management in forestry and fisheries requires explicit prioritization to protect against threats from other types of private- and public-sector investment; and (2) the success of these initiatives depends on more systemic governance reforms that address issues of stakeholder representation, mechanisms of accountability, and institutional capacity. |
| Keywords: | Development policy, environmental security, Fisheries, food security, forestry, Governance, Natural resources, social-ecological resilience, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1149&r=env |
| By: | Vincent Aloysius (DBA Candidate at Trisakti–Maastricht School of Management, E-mail: vincentaloysius@yahoo.com); Dadan Umar Daihani (Trisakti University) |
| Abstract: | According to the World Waste Survey 2009 by Chalmin and Gaillochet, an estimated twelve million tonnes of hazardous waste was generated in Indonesia in that year. Only a small fraction of this waste, an estimated one million tonnes was reported to be managed properly. These figures are alarming in two ways. Firstly, the fact that such a large amount of waste is being unmanaged indicates a high pollution risk. Secondly, it highlights a significant opportunity lost from not practicing resource recovery from waste. Many other developing countries could be in a similar situation as Indonesia with a lack of waste management capacity and pollution problems from unmanaged waste. How can we encourage the growth of industrial waste management to close the gap between waste generated and waste managed? What instruments can policy makers use to encourage industries to demand, and entrepreneurs to build capacity for waste management through resource recovery solutions? This paper is based on an on-going research focused on the internal and external drivers that can influence firms to adopt 3R (Reuse, Recycle and Recovery) solutions for the waste their operations generate. It is expected that this research delivers some in-sights into the effectiveness of the current policies and the environmental disclosure program vis-à-vis the awareness, commitment and compliance to the firm’s internal policies on waste management. A conceptual model representing the above variables was developed and revised following an initial study. It is hoped that the findings of this research would provide better understanding into what are the drivers and how they interact and work through the aid of this model. The research will take the perspective of environmental practitioners from various industries and to what extend the shift to 3R solutions has been achieved. It is hoped that some recommendations to policy makers could evolve from this study to encourage more 3R solutions by industries and thereby closing the waste gap in Indonesia. This paper does not explore the outcomes of the study but rather describes the approach and methodology outlined to effectively execute the research. The findings of the research will be the subject of future papers. |
| Keywords: | Industrial Waste Management, Waste Management Policy, 3R Waste Solutions, Resource Recovery, Environmental Rating and Disclosure Program |
| JEL: | Q54 F14 O13 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2011/29&r=env |
| By: | Jyotish Prakash Basu (Associate Professor& Head, Dept. of Economics, West Bengal State University, Email: bjyotish@yahoo.com) |
| Abstract: | There are two main responses to climate change. One is adaptation and other is mitigation. The adaptation process includes three essential stages i.e. vulnerability assessment, capacity building and implementation of adaptation measures. The fundamental goal of adaptation strategies is the reduction of the vulnerabilities to climate-induced change. In India 700 million rural populations directly depend on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture, forest and fisheries and natural resources such as water, biodiversity, mangroves, coastal zones, and grass lands for their subsistence and livelihood. Forests are not just carbon stores. Forests are home to the people who are entirely or partly dependent on forests for their livelihood. In India about 300 million rural poor are dependent on forest for livelihood and more than half of them are tribal and depend on non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Forest as the vulnerable sector and constitute an integral part of social life of tribals and others living in and around forest areas and contribute substantially to the food supply and livelihood security of tribal populations in India. The objectives of the paper are four fold. First, the paper attempts to measure quantitative vulnerability assessment for the forest dependent communities where drought hazards are prevalent and to identify household adaptation strategies to reduce vulnerability due to climate change. Second, the paper tries to estimate the factors responsible for decisions of adaptation to climate change using probabilistic model of Heckman’s two-step process. Third, the paper tries to discuss how Security Diagram Approach and Fuzzy Inference system are used to measure drought vulnerability in India. Lastly, the paper also examines the development policies of the Government of India including the role of micro-insurance and weather-indexed insurance to enhance the resilience of climate change. The paper is an empirical study based on data collected through field survey. This study covers four villages- Rangakula, Khayarakura, Dhansimla and Bandhgaba, both are scheduled tribal based villages located in Sonamukhi forest area in the District of Bankura, one of the drought prone districts of West Bengal, consisting of 100 households in 2010. Socio-Economic Vulnerability Assessment for each village has been calculated. In this study, six factors i.e., public health facility, sanitation, educational status; live stock assets, food sufficiency from agriculture and awareness to climate change have been incorporated for socioeconomic vulnerability assessment of each village. Vulnerability Indices have been calculated using Three Categorized Ranking Method (TCR) assigning scores of 1 to 3, 1 being the least vulnerable. Besides, this paper has identified the households’ adaptation strategies like out-migration; formation of self-help group (SHGs), water harvesting, accessibility of non-timber forest products and livestock rearing. The paper has identified key vulnerabilities as education, health hygiene and food insufficiency. The socio-economic factors and climatic factors both affect the decisions of adaptations to climate change. Micro4 insurance and weather indexed insurance are providing services to marginalized section of the community in developing countries including India. The Government of India has undertaken little policy action to reduce climate-related vulnerability particularly in the drought- prone regions of West Bengal. This paper has important policy implications for poverty, livelihood vulnerability and migration. |
| Keywords: | vulnerability, adaptation, security diagram, socio-economic vulnerability assessment, fuzzy inference system, migration, micro-insurance |
| JEL: | Q54 O11 O13 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2011/14&r=env |
| By: | Tanaka, Kenta; Managi, Shunsuke; Kondo, Katsunobu; Masuda, Kiyotaka; Yamamoto, Yasutaka |
| Abstract: | Adaptation to climate change has become an important policy question in recent years. Agriculture is the economic activity most sensitive to climate change. We evaluate the dynamic effects of productivity change and individual efforts to adapt to climate change. Adaptation actions in agriculture are evaluated to determine how the climate affects production efficiency. In this paper, we use the bi-directional distance function method to measure Japanese rice production loss due to climate. We find that 1) accumulated precipitation has the greatest effect on rice production efficiency and 2) the climate effect on rice production efficiency decreases over time. Our results empirically support the benefit of an adaptation approach. |
| Keywords: | Climate change; productivity analysis; agriculture |
| JEL: | Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35823&r=env |
| By: | Elena Barbu (CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - CNRS : UMR5820 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II); Pascal Dumontier (CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - CNRS : UMR5820 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II); Niculae Feleagă (The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies - The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies); Liliana Feleagă (The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies - The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates whether the adoption of a single set of accounting standards, such as IFRS, guarantees harmonization of accounting practices within a country and across countries, or whether differences in reporting practices persist because of dissimilarities in reporting habits and institutional settings. To this end, we investigate whether the level of environmental disclosure under IFRS is related to the size of the reporting firm, which has been shown to be a major determinant of voluntary environmental information, and the strength of legal and regulatory constraints on environmental disclosures in the country where the firm is domiciled. Results indicate that environmental disclosures imposed by IFRS increase with firm size, just like voluntary environmental disclosures. This suggests that application of IFRS is affected by the reporting practices that prevailed prior to IFRS adoption. Results also indicate that firms domiciled in countries with constraining environmental disclosure regulations (i.e. France and the UK) report more on environmental issues than do firms domiciled in countries with weakly constraining regulations (i.e. Germany). This suggests that national regulations strongly impact IFRS reporting. Taken as a whole, our results support the view that IFRS are not applied consistently across firms or across countries, notably because of persistence of reporting traditions and discrepancies in national legal requirements. |
| Keywords: | environmental disclosure; environmental accounting;environmental regulation; IAS/IFRS |
| Date: | 2012–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00658409&r=env |
| By: | Wiebelt, Manfred; Breisinger, Clemens; Ecker, Olivier; Al-Riffai, Perrihan; Robertson, Richard; Thiele, Rainer |
| Abstract: | This paper uses both a global and local perspective to assess the impacts of climate change on the Yemeni economy, agriculture, and household income and food security. The major impact channels of climate change are through changing world food prices as a result of global food scarcities, long-term local yield changes as a result of temperature and rainfall variations, and damages and losses of cropland, fruit trees, livestock, and infrastructure as a result of natural disasters such as recurrent storms and floods. Moreover, spatial variation in climate change impacts within Yemen means that such effects can vary across subnational regions. We develop a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium (DCGE) model with six agroecological zones to capture linkages between climate change, production, and household incomes. We also capture changes in per capita calorie consumption in response to changing household expenditure for assessing changes in people's hunger situation as a measure for food security. Given the high uncertainty surrounding future global food prices and local yields, all simulations are run under two global climate scenarios. The results of the CGE simulations suggest that climate-change-induced higher global prices for food will lower Yemen's overall GDP growth, raise agricultural GDP, decrease real household incomes, and increase the number of hungry people. Local impacts of climate change are different for the two climate scenarios. Overall, the long-term implications of climate change (local and global) lead to a total accumulated reduction of household welfare of between US$5.7 and $9.2 billion by 2050 under MIR or CSI conditions, respectively. Moreover, between 80,000 and 270,000 people could go hungry due to climate change. Rural households are harder hit than urban households, and among the rural households the non-farm households suffer most. This household group is projected to lose an accumulated 3.5 to 5.7 billion US$ as a consequence of longer term climate change by 2050. In addition to the longer-term climate change effects, climate variability is shown to induce heavy economic losses and spikes in food insecurity. The impact assessment of the October 2008 tropical storm and floods in the Wadi Hadramout puts the total cumulated real income loss over the period 2008-12 at 180 percent of pre-flood agricultural value added. Due to the direct flood loss, farmers in the flooding areas suffer most in the year of the flood occurrence, where the percentage of hungry people living from farming spiked by about 15 percentage points as an immediate result of the flood. Action to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and variability should to be taken on the global and local level. A global action plan for improving food security combined with a better integration of climate change in national development strategies, agricultural and rural policies, and disaster risk management and social protection policies will be keys for improving the resilience of Yemen and Yemenis to climate change. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Development, flood, food security, Growth, Hunger, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1139&r=env |
| By: | Elena Barbu (CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - CNRS : UMR5820 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II); Pascal Dumontier (CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - CNRS : UMR5820 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II); Niculae Feleagă (The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies - The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies); Liliana Feleagă (The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies - The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates whether the adoption of a single set of accounting standards, such as IFRS, guarantees harmonization of accounting practices within a country and across countries, or whether differences in reporting practices persist because of dissimilarities in reporting habits and institutional settings. To this end, we investigate whether the level of environmental disclosure under IFRS is related to the size of the reporting firm, which has been shown to be a major determinant of voluntary environmental information, and the strength of legal and regulatory constraints on environmental disclosures in the country where the firm is domiciled. Results indicate that environmental disclosures imposed by IFRS increase with firm size, just like voluntary environmental disclosures. This suggests that application of IFRS is affected by the reporting practices that prevailed prior to IFRS adoption. Results also indicate that firms domiciled in countries with constraining environmental disclosure regulations (i.e. France and the UK) report more on environmental issues than do firms domiciled in countries with weakly constraining regulations (i.e. Germany). This suggests that national regulations strongly impact IFRS reporting. Taken as a whole, our results support the view that IFRS are not applied consistently across firms or across countries, notably because of persistence of reporting traditions and discrepancies in national legal requirements. |
| Keywords: | environmental disclosure; environmental accounting regulations; International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS/IFRS); France; Germany; UK. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00658734&r=env |
| By: | Oliver Schenker; Gunter Stephan |
| Abstract: | This paper has three messages mainly, which are observed in a simple model of climate change, international trade and regional adaptation. First, trade can be viewed as a kind of adaptation to climate change and variability, as trade can help to reduce direct impacts of global climate change on a region’s welfare. In particular, the less affected and the richer nations are, the more they can profit from moderating the impacts of global climate change through trade. Second, if regions are rich enough to adapt optimally to climate change, the resulting allocation of adaptation measures is Pareto-efficient. In this case funding of adap-tation, which is an element of international climate policy, does not make sense from an economic perspective. Finally and third, since the regions of the South typically lack the re-sources for adapting optimally to climate change, because of terms of trade effects, it might be in the self-interest of the industrialized nations to fund adaptation in the developing part of the world. However, providing financial assistance for adaptation can be Pareto-improving only, if the benefits of funding, i.e., damages, which are moderated through adaptation, are big enough, and hence, if the recipient’s own expenditure for adaptation is low. If not, the paradoxical effect of recipient immiserization through tied transfers can occur. |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ube:dpvwib:dp1201&r=env |
| By: | Aldy, Joseph E. |
| Abstract: | The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included more than $90 billion in strategic clean energy investments intended to promote job creation and promote deployment of low-carbon technologies. In terms of spending, the clean energy package has been described as the nation’s “biggest energy bill in history.” To provide a preliminary assessment of the Recovery Act’s clean energy package, this paper reviews the rationale, design, and implementation of the act. The paper surveys the policy principles for clean energy stimulus and describes the process of crafting the clean energy package during the 2008–2009 Presidential Transition. Then, the paper reviews the initial employment, economic activity, and energy outcomes associated with these energy investments and provides a more detailed case study on the Recovery Act’s support for renewable power through grants and loan guarantees. The paper concludes with lessons learned. |
| Keywords: | economic stimulus, tax credits, energy loan guarantees, climate change, renewable energy |
| JEL: | E61 Q48 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–01–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-12-03&r=env |
| By: | Gabriela Miranda; Graham Larcombe |
| Abstract: | The transition to a green economy will not necessarily mean job losses, but there are some barriers that need to be overcome in order to ensure a successful transition. The need to align local and national strategies towards green growth, build strong partnerships, identify transferable skills, better target up-skilling programmes, support green entrepreneurship, and leverage the role of public authorities in supporting green growth activities are some of the recommendations emanating from a report just released by the LEED Programme, on Enabling Local Green Growth: Addressing Climate Change Effects on Employment and Local Development. The recommendations are illustrated by good practice models identified from across the globe. |
| Date: | 2012–01–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2012/1-en&r=env |
| By: | Harald Sander (Professor of Economics and International Economics & Director of the Institute of Global Business and Society, Cologne University of Applied Sciences Professor of Economics at Maastricht School of Management) |
| Abstract: | It is evident that China’s manufacturing‐based growth model increasingly contradicts local, regional and global environmental imperatives. It is therefore of high importance to identify cost‐efficient strategies for greening the growth path of China. On 25 May 2011 the OECD has launched a “Green Growth Strategy” and proposed a “Green Growth Diagnostics” approach to identify the binding constraints on green growth. This paper discusses the usefulness of this approach for identifying the binding constraints to green growth in general as well as for the special case of China. It is argued that the approach is best applied at the industry level after some adjustments to identify binding constraints to the ‘greening’ of certain industries. The workings of the approach are illustrated for the case of the Chinese energy sector. |
| JEL: | Q54 O11 O13 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2011/23&r=env |
| By: | Oktaviani, Rina; Amaliah, Syarifah; Ringler, Claudia; Rosegrant, Mark W.; Sulser, Timothy B. |
| Abstract: | Global climate change influences the economic performance of all countries, and Indonesia is no exception. Under climate change, Indonesia is predicted to experience temperature increases of approximately 0.8°C by 2030. Moreover, rainfall patterns are predicted to change, with the rainy season ending earlier and the length of the rainy season becoming shorter. Climate change affects all economic sectors, but the agricultural sector is generally the hardest hit in terms of the number of poor affected. We assess climate change impacts for Indonesia using an Indonesian computable general equilibrium (CGE) model that focuses on the agricultural sector. Climate change input data were obtained from the International Food Policy Research Institute's International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade. Our results show that by 2030, global climate change will have a significant and negative effect on the Indonesian economy as a whole. In these projections, we see important impacts for particular sectors in the CGE model, especially for the agricultural sector (both producers and consumers) and in rural areas and for poorer households. Real gross domestic product (GDP) drops slightly and the consumer price index (CPI) increases by a small amount. Negative GDP growth is chiefly the result of adverse impacts on agriculture and agro-based industries, with the largest impact for soybeans, rice, and paddy (unmilled rice). Decreasing output of paddy and rice will adversely affect the country's food security. Domestic prices for paddy and rice increase significantly, pushing up the CPI. Taking international food price shocks into account would increase negative impacts. We find that addressing constraints to agricultural productivity growth through increased public agricultural research investments will be important to counteract adverse impacts of climate change. Enhanced awareness of both government agencies and farmers will be needed for the rural economy to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Economy, Impact model, national CGE model, Computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1148&r=env |
| By: | Eyckmans, Johan (Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB), Belgium); De Jaeger, Simon (Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB), Belgium); Rousseau, Sandra (Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB), Belgium) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we estimate the external cost caused by odor from an animal waste processing facility in Flanders using new odor measures based on field measurements. We compare three different ways of incorporating odor nuisance indicators into the model: distance to the odor source, continuous odor measures, and a dummy variable approach comparable to the standard procedure in hedonic price analysis of noise pollution. We argue that the dummy variable approach is best suited to estimate the external costs and we test these specifications for a dataset of about 1400 observations of house sales transaction between 2004 and 2008. Results show that houses subject to moderate and severe odor nuisance sell at a discount of about 5% and 12% respectively compared to houses without odor nuisance. The overall capitalized external cost of the odor exposure for the area of the case study was estimated to range between 6 and 56 million euro, with a central estimate of about 31 million euro. This estimate proves to be very stable over different model specifications. Compared to 1991, the external cost has almost been cut by half as a result of odor emission reducing measures taken by the facility. |
| Keywords: | valuation of environmental externalities; odor nuisance; hedonic price method; spatial econometrics |
| JEL: | C31 Q25 R52 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hub:wpecon:201119&r=env |
| By: | Florence Benoît-Moreau (DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - CNRS : UMR7088 - Université Paris IX - Paris Dauphine); Béatrice Parguel (IRG - Institut de Recherche en Gestion - Université Paris XII - Paris Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Université Paris XII - Paris Est Créteil Val-de-Marne) |
| Abstract: | Purpose Using Keller's (1993, 2003) brand equity framework, this paper investigates the impact of the firm's environmental communication on brand equity, and specifically its impact on brand image, through the strength and favourability of brand environmental associations. Design/methodology/approach A between-subjects experimental design tests the hypotheses with a generalisable sample of 165 French consumers. Findings Environmental communication positively influences the strength and favourability of brand environmental associations, therefore improving brand equity. Two moderators reinforce the impact of environmental communication on brand equity through the strength of brand environmental associations: the perceived congruence between the brand and the cause, and the perceived credibility of the claim. Practical implications In the context of greater consumer pressure regarding business ethics, managers should favour environmental arguments in their corporate communication to improve brand image through societal associations. Doing so, they should focus their communication on causes that are congruent with their brands to facilitate brand equity building, and ensure they are credible when proclaiming these arguments. Originality/value of paper Despite existing research on corporate social responsibility (CSR), no studies focus on the specific impact of CSR communication on brand equity. This research provides initial empirical evidence about the positive effect of environmental claims on customer-based brand equity. |
| Keywords: | CSR communication; environmental communication; brand equity; congruency; societal consciousness |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00634443&r=env |
| By: | Cesar Garcia Perez de Leon |
| Abstract: | The eastern enlargement of the EU has greatly increased the heterogeneity in the configuration of preferences of European member states. This scenario was expected to significantly difficult the capacity of the legislative process to take decisions. However, the decision-making in the EU has shown a remarkable capacity of adaptation in the face of the entrance of new members. This article argues that this adaptation is indeed normal. I introduce a mixed model of coalitional bargaining and agenda setting which explains legislative decision making in the face of preference heterogeneity. The model shows how coalition formation incorporates the preference variations infused by new member states in surplus winning coalitions adopting moderate compromises and how the intervention of a supranational EP influences the final decision towards more advanced legislation. The application of the model to the area of environmental policy shows that under the conditions of preference heterogeneity of the enlargement context, the EU legislative process is likely to generate legislation at medium levels of policy change, appeasing the risk for deadlock but also restraining the introduction of more integrationist legislation. |
| Keywords: | enlargement; environmental policy |
| Date: | 2011–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:scpoxx:p0050&r=env |
| By: | Soumyananda Dinda (Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna, E-mail: s.dinda@cimp.ac.in, sdinda2000@yahoo.co.in, & sdinda@gmail.com) |
| Abstract: | This study focuses on trade opportunities of climate smart goods and technologies (CSGT) in Asia. Paper mainly highlights the export gaps for climate smart goods and technologies (CSGT) in Asia and identifies the trade opportunities among trade partners in intraregional and interregional. Applying the gravity model we estimate the export gap for the CSGT as the difference between the actual bilateral export flow and the mean value predicted by the model. In other words, ‘export gap’ is the difference between the actual and predicted export value. There is a scope to increase the export of climate smart goods and technologies with trading partners when the actual trade is below the predicted value ( i.e., negative value of the export gap). This gap actually provides the opportunity to raise the trade and attracting investment in CSGT sector and thereby development takes place. This paper also identifies the export gaps in CSGT for each regional member in its trade with partners within the region, EU, and North America (i.e., the US and Canada). This study contributes to the empirical literature in terms of measuring and identifying the potential trade opportunity of CGST in Asia. The paper also suggests that the climate smart export-led growth model is still valid in emerging Asian countries. |
| Keywords: | Bilateral trade flow, Climate Smart Goods and Technologies, Export, Gravity model, Export gap, Potential Trade, Asia. |
| JEL: | C13 F18 O53 Q Q54 O11 O13 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2011/16&r=env |
| By: | Rafael Aigner (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn and University of Cologne) |
| Abstract: | This paper shows how the optimal level of Pigouvian taxation is influenced by distributive concerns. With second-best instruments, a higher level of income redistribution calls for a lower level of Pigouvian taxation. More redistributionimplies that tax collection via the income tax creates higher distortions, which in turn makes revenues from Pigouvian taxation more valuable. Contrary to naive intuition, this reduces the optimal level of Pigouvian taxation. The social planner trades off environmental tax revenues against the marginal social damage and accepts a lower tax if the welfare created per dollar is higher. The paper also shows that the relation between levels of redistribution and Pigouvian taxation is reversed in first-best. It thus highlights that second-best Pigouvian taxes are very different from their first-best counterpart – despite apparently identical first order conditions. |
| Keywords: | Optimal Income Taxation, Pigouvian taxation, comparative statics, externalities, second-best |
| JEL: | H21 D62 H23 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpg:wpaper:2011_17&r=env |
| By: | D. Zouari (CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - CNRS : UMR5820 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II) |
| Abstract: | Recent changes in environmental legislation have focused company thinking on business practices, particularly concerning the importance of integrating environmental concerns like outsourcing and procurement in supply chain networks. Supply chain partners are becoming progressively more accountable not only for their internal practices, but also for their suppliers' behavior because implementing a "greener" supply chain is far from an individual strategy. The objective of this paper is to study the difficulties that may be encountered by a focal firm with its partners from the perspective of implementing environmental practice issues, or improving these practices if they already exist. In this paper we develop an integrative conceptual framework to show the role of relationship types, contract design and clauses to coordinate the relationship between a focal firm and its supplier in the implementation of a green supply chain. |
| Keywords: | Supply chain; outsourcing relationships; environmental practices; contract design |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00659348&r=env |
| By: | Irene Vos |
| Abstract: | Due to its clean burning properties, low investment costs and flexibility in production, natural gas is often put forward as the ideal partner fuel for wind power and other renewable sources of electricity generation with strongly variable output. This working paper examines three vital questions associated with this premise: 1) Is natural gas indeed the best partner fuel for wind power? 2) If so, to what extent will an increasing market share of wind power in European electricity generation affect demand for natural gas in the power sector? and 3) Considering the existing European natural gas markets, is natural gas capable of fulfilling this role of partner for renewable sources of electricity? |
| Date: | 2012–01–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ieaaaa:2012/1-en&r=env |
| By: | Karen Fisher-Vanden; Erin T. Mansur; Qiong (Juliana) Wang |
| Abstract: | In many countries, unreliable inputs, particularly those lacking storage, can significantly limit a firm's productivity. In the case of an increasing frequency of blackouts, a firm may change factor shares in a number of ways. It may decide to self generate electricity, to purchase intermediate goods that it used to produce directly, or to improve its technical efficiency. We examine how industrial firms responded to China's severe power shortages in the early 2000s. Fast-growing demand coupled with regulated electricity prices led to blackouts that varied in degree over location and time. Our data consist of annual observations from 1999 to 2004 for approximately 32,000 energy-intensive, enterprises from all industries. We estimate the losses in productivity due to factor-neutral and factor-biased effects of electricity scarcity. Our results suggest that enterprises re-optimize among factors in response to electricity scarcity by shifting from energy (both electric and non-electric sources) into materials---a shift from "make" to "buy." These effects are strongest for firms in textiles, timber, chemicals, and metals. Contrary to the literature, we do not find evidence of an increase in self generation. Finally, we find that these productivity changes, while costly to firms, led to small reductions in carbon emissions. |
| JEL: | D24 P2 Q4 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17741&r=env |
| By: | Li, Man; Wu, JunJie; Deng, Xiangzheng |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a national-level geographic information system database on land use, weather conditions, land quality, soil organic carbon (SOC), topographic features, and economic variables to analyze the major drivers of land use change and the resulting impact on soil carbon storage in China. The framework developed in this study includes two main components. One is a spatial panel multinomial logit land use model that takes into account the spatial and temporal dependence of land use choices explicitly. The other is a statistical causal evaluation model that estimates the effect of land use change on SOC density. Results indicate that local economic growth, as measured by county-level gross domestic product, was a major cause of urban development and grassland conversions. Rapid expansion of road networks, promoted by massive public investment, increased the conversion of forests, grassland, and unused land to crop production and urban development. Urbanization had significant secondary ripple effects in terms of both indirect land use change and soil carbon loss. Some of the soil carbon loss may be irreversible, at least in the short run. |
| Keywords: | Land use, propensity score-matching, road density, soil organic carbon, spatial panel, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1138&r=env |
| By: | Kumasi, Tyhra Carolyn; Asenso-Okyere, Kwadwo |
| Abstract: | Improving the long-term sustainability and resilience of smallholder agriculture in Africa is highly dependent on conserving or improving the quality of the natural resource. Conservation agriculture is conceived around more integrated and effective management strategies for provisioning both food and other ecosystem services. If unattended to, land degradation would reduce agricultural productivity and increase pressure on marginal environments in the Tigray highlands of Ethiopia, adversely affecting food security and livelihoods of smallholder farmers. This paper answers some pertinent questions about mass mobilization of free compulsory labor for ecological restoration in Tigray. It details perception of changes in climate; the process of collective decisionmaking; resistance, documentation, and enforcement of rules; methods of conflict resolution; knowledge and information networks; arrangements for benefit sharing of communal resources; and the role of gender in mass mobilization for communal work. We analyzed data collected from 20 villages in 3 districts in the Tigray region through a household survey using a structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, and personal observations. The results reveal that the people are motivated to provide their free labor to restore the ecology to increase agricultural productivity and production to avoid food insecurity and improve their general livelihood. Availability of institutions in terms of grassroots organizations and rules and regulations was a major factor in the positive response to the call for action. The commitment of the government at both the national and local levels (through sensitization and mobilization for group formation and provision of tools and construction materials); the ethnic homogeneity of the population; and the existence of the Orthodox Church, where most of the people were members, were major factors for the success of the community mobilization for collective action in Tigray. Social networking with neighbors, the clergy, and leaders of grassroots organizations provided the knowledge and information on climate variability and solutions required to conserve the ecology and improve human livelihood. We also observed that there were no differences in gender division of labor except that women worked half the workload of men in a day; the women also did the cooking and cleaned up the surroundings after eating at the site. Both men and women played active roles in leadership with regard to mobilization of people, communal work planning and scheduling, conflict resolution, and sharing of community products. An impact assessment of the ecological conservation in Tigray on agricultural productivity and production and food security would be useful. It will be interesting to replicate the study in other areas in Ethiopia and other countries where the societies may not be homogenous to find out the level of commitment of the people to communal work. |
| Keywords: | Collective action, ecological restoration, free labor, Land degradation, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1142&r=env |
| By: | Brian A., Jingwa; Simplice A., Asongu |
| Abstract: | The rate of deforestation in Africa is of paramount concern not only to the future of Africa, but also to the world. This study uses country-level data to model changes in forest area over an 18 year period (1990-2007) in 35 African countries and investigates the role played by important development indicators of human development. The results reveal that the net loss of forests was 0.19% every year between 1990 and 2007. This implies a total of 3.42% of forest was lost in the 18 year period. This is more in line with estimates obtained by the Food and Agricultural Organization (0.56% between1990-2000 and 0.49% between 2000-2010). Human development which involves life expectancy, education and income is found to have a positive effect on forest growth and conservation, while cutting down trees for wood fuel is a significant cause of deforestation. Using generalized linear mixed models and generalised estimating equations, we were able to calculate expected estimates of forest area for 2010, 2020 and 2030 under the assumption that nothing is done to change observed trends. In many countries, progress has been made in reforestation, forest protection and conservation. However, if indiscriminate cutting down of trees is not checked, many countries will lose most or all of their forests by 2030. |
| Keywords: | Deforestation; Environment; Human development index; Agriculture; Data modelling; Africa |
| JEL: | Q23 C39 C50 I0 O13 C33 |
| Date: | 2012–01–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35898&r=env |
| By: | David Martimort (Paris School of Economics-EHESS. Email: david.martimort@parisschoolofeconomics.eu); Stéphane Straub (Toulouse School of Economics, ARQADE and IDEI. Email: stephane.straub@univ-tlse1.fr) |
| Abstract: | We analyze how the deep current scientific uncertainty regarding future climate conditions affects the design of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) contracts between a government (principal) and a firm (agent), especially in infrastructure sectors that are highly sensitive to such changing weather conditions. Consistently with the literature on uncertainty and irreversibility, the prospect of future, uncertain productivity shocks that affect the returns on the firm’s effort in the future creates an option value of delaying efforts. By designing dynamic intertemporal incentive schemes for his agent, the principal can play on this option value. Whether this option value is exacerbated or not in an agency context depends on the properties of the agent’s cost of efforts. |
| Keywords: | Public-private partnerships, global warming, option value, principal-agent. |
| JEL: | D82 Q54 O13 H44 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2011/25&r=env |
| By: | Massimiliano Volpi (Natural Environment Research Council ‐ malp@nerc.ac.uk) |
| Abstract: | The analysis investigates the relationship between universities, public research institutes and innovation in companies belonging to the green economy. By adopting a ‘general to specific’ specification strategy ‘a la Hendry’, the analysis sheds light on previously unexplored determinants of the value of information from public research. It discovers how motivations for innovation are a significant determinant of collaboration with the public research base. Motivations which are determined externally to companies (reducing environmental impact, health and safety) are much more important to explain the value that companies assign to information from public research than motivation coming from within companies, such as increasing market share, value added or flexibility. Moreover, motivations which are related to the introduction of new products or the replacement of outdated ones (hence linked to the introduction of radical innovations) are a powerful predictor of the usefulness of public research information to companies’ innovation strategies. Some constraints on innovation also appears to determinate what source of information is valued most. This is especially the case for regulation, both from national as from international sources. When companies are constrained in their innovation by regulation, they are more likely to turn to public research for information. The comparison of results from regulation seen as a motivation for innovation and regulation as a constraint on innovation and – especially ‐ the detailed analysis of different types of regulation shed light on the role of regulation in promoting innovation in the ‘Green economy’, casting serious doubts on the idea that a one size fits all deregulation approach could promote growth. The analysis also unveils the existence of a significant decrease in the value that companies assign to information from universities when the number of types of innovation undertaken by companies increases. A suite of competing hypothesis are proposed and discussed to explain this novel result. However, a definite conclusion on the sources of these decreasing returns to information requires the modification of some questions in the CIS questionnaire or additional data. Finally, the study unveils some potential problems with the econometric estimates used in previous models. On one hand it uncovers issues with the way the variable representing the breadth of searching pattern that companies use has been measured in previous studies and discusses the strategy to address this concern. Then, it also shows that many previous analyses have failed to take into account the potential presence of sample selection but finds results to be robust to this potential problem. More worryingly, previous analyses have failed to test the assumption of parallel lines which is made in the models which have been used. This assumption is violated in some cases and the consequences of this violation are discussed. |
| JEL: | Q54 H44 M13 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2011/22&r=env |
| By: | Giovanni Valensisi (UNCTAD. Corresponding address giovanni.valensisi@unctad.org); Junior Davis (UNCTAD. Corresponding address junior.davis@unctad.org) |
| JEL: | Q54 O13 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2011/27&r=env |
| By: | Francisco Navarro Galvez (Departament d'Economia Aplicada, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | El objetivo de este estudio es analizar el impacto, en emisiones de CO2, de la demanda final de Cataluña en relación a los vínculos comerciales interregionales con el resto de España y el resto del mundo. Este proceso implica el análisis del balance en CO2 incorporado para Cataluña, lo que permitirá evaluar la responsabilidad de la economía catalana respecto a estas emisiones. Para este propósito se construye, para esta determinada desagregación regional, un modelo Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) extendido al medioambiente con sectores verticalmente integrados. La incorporación de la técnica de la integración vertical nos permite un enfoque alternativo para el Balance Neto y un análisis más detallado de los vínculos interregionales entre los diversos sectores productivos, centrado en la responsabilidad última de la demanda final de cada sector en cada región. Hasta el momento, los estudios previos sobre los impactos medioambientales incorporados al comercio español se han centrado principalmente en el ámbito nacional. No obstante, por un lado el comercio interregional con el resto de España en términos monetarios representa cerca de la mitad del comercio exterior catalán. Por otro lado, los distintos metabolismos energéticos de ambas economías tienen como consecuencia una importante diferencia en la intensidad de emisión en la producción de bienes y servicios. Esta situación genera para Cataluña un déficit en el Balance Neto estimado con el resto de España, aún teniendo un importante superávit monetario. De esto se desprende la importancia de integrar el nivel interregional en los estudios de los impactos medioambientales incorporados en el comercio y, en consecuencia, en la planificación y formalización de políticas económicas y ambientales a nivel nacional. |
| Keywords: | emisiones de gases efecto invernadero, análisis input-output, modelos multi-región input-output, contaminación incorporada |
| JEL: | D57 Q53 C67 R15 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea1201&r=env |
| By: | Pepermans, Guido (Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB), Belgium) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses whether and to what extent Flemish households are willing to pay for electricity generated with renewable resources. Via a choice experiment, households were offered the choice between as set of green electricity contracts, characterised by the renewables share in electricity supplied to their dwelling, the renewable generation technology (wind, biomass, PV...) and its impact on the electricity bill. A main effects conditional logit model and a main effects random parameter logit model are estimated. The estimation results show that households prefer ‘green contacts’, but renewables technologies are valued differently. The estimates are then used to assess the marginal willingness to pay by Flemish households for each of the contract attributes. From a policy perspective, the results suggest that a not too small proportion of Flemish households would be willing to switch to another power supply contract if that can be done at limited cost. Moreover, the results suggest that it would not be a good idea to focus on the deployment of one or only a few technologies. Policies resulting in a diversified portfolio of technologies are positively valued by households and will obtain broader support. |
| Keywords: | choice experiment; renewables; conditional logit model; random parameter logit model; willingness-to-pay |
| JEL: | C25 C93 D12 Q41 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hub:wpecon:201105&r=env |
| By: | Emma Aisbett (Australian National University); Ralf Steinhauser (Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | Water is a classic common pool resource, especially during drought. This paper studies the impact of changing storage levels on urban water usage in the context of a prolonged drought and an extensive public information campaign which emphasized communal responsibility for maintaining ‘dam levels’. We identify a substantial voluntary conservation response to changing storage levels. The paper thus contributes a rare piece of real-world, behavioral evidence that voluntary conservation varies with the need for such action. Our findings also imply that estimates of price elasticity may be biased and welfare costs of mandatory restrictions may be overstated in many studies. |
| Keywords: | common pool resources, voluntary conservation, warm glow, water use, demand management |
| JEL: | Q25 Q21 D64 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:crwfrp:1111&r=env |
| By: | Leonardo Ermann; Dima L. Shepelyansky |
| Abstract: | Ecological systems have a high level of complexity combined with stability and rich biodiversity. Recently, the analysis of their properties and evolution has been pushed forward on a basis of concept of mutualistic networks that provides a detailed understanding of their features being linked to a high nestedness of these networks. It was shown that the nestedness architecture of mutualistic networks of plants and their pollinators minimizes competition and increases biodiversity. Here, using the United Nations COMTRADE database for years 1962 - 2009, we show that a similar ecological analysis gives a valuable description of the world trade. In fact the countries and trade products are analogous to plants and pollinators, and the whole trade network is characterized by a low nestedness temperature which is typical for the ecological networks. This approach provides new mutualistic features of the world trade highlighting new significance of countries and trade products for the world trade. |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1201.3584&r=env |
| By: | Edwards, Peter E.T.; Parsons, George R.; Myers, Kelley H. |
| Abstract: | We estimated a count data model of recreation demand using data from an on-site survey of recreational birders who had visited southern Delaware during the month–long annual horseshoe crab/shorebird spring migration in 2008. We analyzed daytrips only. Our estimates from the models ranged from $32 to $142/trip/household or about $131 to $582/season/household (2008$). The variation was due to differences in the value of time. The average household size was 1.66. We found that the valuation results were sensitive to the inclusion of covariates in the model. Our results are useful for damage assessments and benefit–cost analyses where birdwatching is affected. |
| Keywords: | recreational birding; economic value; shorebird migration; onsite sampling; endogenous stratification |
| JEL: | Q5 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35832&r=env |
| By: | Bazhanov, Andrei |
| Abstract: | The studies of the International Monetary Fund offer a model for recommending sustainable budget policy to oil-exporting countries including Russia. The model does not contain any resource as a factor of production and assumes that Russian oil reserves will be exhausted by the middle of the 21st century. The current paper examines the sustainability of open and closed models, which are calibrated on Russia's data and include a resource as a factor of production. The open-model case shows that monotonic economic growth is impossible given the current state of the Russian economy. This paper offers an approach for estimating changes that improve long-term sustainability. |
| Keywords: | nonrenewable resource; weak sustainability; open imperfect economy; Russian oil extraction |
| JEL: | Q32 Q38 O13 |
| Date: | 2011–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35888&r=env |