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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Broner, Fernando A; Bustos, Paula; Carvalho, Vasco M |
| Abstract: | We study the determinants of comparative advantage in polluting industries. We combine data on environmental policy at the country level with data on pollution intensity at the industry level to show that countries with laxer environmental regulation have a comparative advantage in polluting industries. Further, we address the potential problem of reverse causality. We propose an instrument for environmental regulation based on meteorological determinants of pollution dispersion identified by the atmospheric pollution literature. We find that the effect of environmental regulation on the pattern of trade is causal and comparable in magnitude to the effect of physical and human capital. |
| Keywords: | air pollution; comparative advantage; environmental regulation; international trade |
| JEL: | F11 F18 Q53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9111&r=env |
| By: | Michael Hoel, Bjart Holtsmark and Katinka Holtsmark (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an adjusted Faustmann Rule for optimal harvest of a forest in the presence of a social cost of carbon emissions. A contribution of the paper is to do this within theoretical and numerical frameworks that take account of the dynamics and interactions of the forest's multiple carbon pools within an infinite time horizon model. With our less restrictive assumptions we find that a social cost of carbon has a significantly stronger effect on the optimal harvest age than found in earlier studies. Considered is also how increased use of harvest residues for energy purposes and storage of carbon in building materials and furniture should influence the length of the rotation period. The theoretical results are quantified within a numerical framework. |
| Keywords: | climate; forestry; biofuels; Faustmann; carbon. |
| JEL: | Q23 Q54 Q42 |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:701&r=env |
| By: | Robin Burgess; Matthew Hansen; Benjamin Olken; Peter Potapov; Stefanie Sieber; |
| Abstract: | Tropical deforestation accounts for almost one- fifth of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and threatens the worlds most diverse ecosystems. The prevalence of illegal forest extraction in the tropics suggests that understanding the incentives of local bureaucrats and politicians who enforce forest policy may be critical to combating tropical deforestation. We find support for this thesis using a novel satellite-based dataset that tracks annual changes in forest cover across eight years of institutional change in post-Soeharto Indonesia. Increases in the numbers of political jurisdictions are associated with increased deforestation and with lower prices in local wood markets, consistent with a model of Cournot competition between jurisdictions. We also show that illegal logging and rents from unevenly distributed oil and gas revenues are short run substitutes, but this effect disappears over time as political turnover occurs. The results illustrate how incentives faced by local government officials affect deforestation,and provide an example of how standard economic theories can explain illegal behavior. |
| Keywords: | political economy, corruption, deforestation, Cournot competition, satellite imagery, environmental monitoring, illegal logging, climate change, biodiversity |
| JEL: | D73 L73 |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:stieop:037&r=env |
| By: | Richard S.J. Tol (Department of Economics, University of Sussex, UK; Institute for Environmental Studies, Department of Spatial Economics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | A Bentham-Rawls welfare function is the weighted sum of the net present welfare (Bentham) and the welfare of the worst-off generation (Rawls). If utility is non-decreasing over time, optimal climate policy is more stringent in the near-term under Bentham preferences than under Bentham-Rawls preferences. If utility is decreasing, Bentham-Rawls abatement is higher. If there is a chance of decreasing utility, Bentham-Rawls optimal climate policy is probably less stringent than Bentham policy. |
| Keywords: | climate policy; social cost of carbon; Bentham-Rawls preferences |
| JEL: | Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:3812&r=env |
| By: | Arndt, Channing; Farmer, William; Strzepek, Kenneth; Thurlow, James |
| Abstract: | The consequences of climate change for agriculture and food security in developing countries are of serious concern. Due to their reliance on rain-fed agriculture, both as a source of income and consumption, many low-income countries are considered to be the most vulnerable to climate change. This paper estimates the impact of climate change on food security in Tanzania. Representative climate projections are used in calibrated crop models to predict crop yield changes for 110 districts in the country. The results are in turn imposed on a highly-disaggregated, recursive dynamic economy-wide model of Tanzania. The authors find that, relative to a no-climate-change baseline and considering domestic agricultural production as the principal channel of impact, food security in Tanzania appears likely to deteriorate as a consequence of climate change. The analysis points to a high degree of diversity of outcomes (including some favorable outcomes) across climate scenarios, sectors, and regions. Noteworthy differences in impacts across households are also present both by region and by income category. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Climate Change Economics,Regional Economic Development,Science of Climate Change,Food&Beverage Industry |
| Date: | 2012–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6188&r=env |
| By: | Bruno Nkuiya |
| Abstract: | This paper extends the standard model of self-enforcing dynamic international environmental agreements by allowing the length of the period of commitment of such agreements to vary as a parameter. It analyzes the pattern of behavior of the size of stable coalitions, the stock of pollution, and the emission rate as a function of the length of the period of commitment. It is shown that the length of the period of commitment can have very significant effects on the equilibrium. We show numerically that at the initial date, as the length of commitment is increased, the potential gain from cooperation tends to diminish, increasing the disincentive to ratify the agreements. This suggests that considerable attention should be given to the determination of the length of such international agreements. |
| Keywords: | International environmental agreements, global pollution, stock pollution, dynamc games |
| JEL: | Q5 C73 F53 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:creacr:2012-7&r=env |
| By: | Lucas Bretschger (ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Nujin Suphaphiphat (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | The paper develops a two-region endogenous growth model with climate change affecting the countries' capital stocks negatively. We compare two different policies aimed at supporting less developed countries: climate mitigation by rich countries, which diminishes the increase in stock pollution and hence capital depreciation, and income transfers in the tradition of development aid. Under a mild set of assumptions we find that active climate policies are more efficient for rich economies and also, remarkably, better for poor countries than additional development aid. The main reason is the difference between the two policies with respect to their effects on economic growth. The results are robust with respect to possible model extensions. |
| Keywords: | Climate policy; development aid; endogenous growth; stock pollution |
| JEL: | O10 Q52 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:12-166&r=env |
| By: | R. Fujita (Environmental Defense Fund, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA); A.C. Markham (Environmental Defense Fund, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA); J. Lynham (Department of Economics, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA); F. Lynham (Hopkins Coastal Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA); P. Feinberg (School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA); L. Bourillon (Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A.C. (COBI), Cancún, Quintana Roo 77500, México); A. Lynham (Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A.C. (COBI), Popocatepetl) |
| Abstract: | Because conventional markets value only certain goods or services in the oceans(e.g., fish), other services prodvideded by coastal an marine ecosystems that l tend to become degraded. In fact, the very capacity of an ecosystem to produce a valued good is often reduced because markets are valuing only the good, not the productive capacity. Coastal socio-ecosystems are perhaps particularly susceptible to these market failures due to the lack of clear property rights. Conservation strategies aimed at protecting coastal ecosystem services that are not valued by conventional markets by banning industrial or subsistence use in certain areas (Marine Protected Areas) often result in lost revenue and adverse social impacts, which in turn create conflict and opposition. Here, we describe markets and financial tools – “ecomarkets”– that could, under the right conditions, value wide portfolios of coastal ecosystem services and generate revenues while maintaining ecosystem structure and function by addressing the unique problems of the coastal zone, including a lack of clear rights of management and exclusion. Just as coastal tenure and catch share systems generate meaningful conservation and economic outcomes, it is possible to imagine other market mechanisms that do the same with respect to a variety of other coastal ecosystem goods and services. These approaches could allow communities to stop relying exclusively on extracting from natural systems, and instead to diversify uses and focus on longterm stewardship and conservation while meeting development, food security, and human welfare goals. Diversification of use and the preservation of intact coastal ecosystems are in turn likely to increase the resilience of socio-ecological systems to unanticipated stresses, for example, as a result of climate change or new human activities. The creation of ecomarkets will be difficult in many cases, because rights and responsibilities must be devolved, new social contracts will be required, accountability systems must be created and enforced, and longterm patterns of behavior must change. We argue that efforts to overcome these obstacles are justified, because these deep changes will strongly complement policies and tools such as Marine Protected Areas, coastal spatial management, and effective regulation, and thereby help bring coastal conservation to scale. |
| Keywords: | Ecomarkets, incentives, ecosystem services, property rights, coastal spatial planning and management, coastal conservation, marine conservation, ocean conservation |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hai:wpaper:201218&r=env |
| By: | Christian Vossler |
| Keywords: | climate protection policy |
| Date: | 2011–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kln:iwpord:02/11&r=env |
| By: | Jean-Francois Mercure; Pablo Salas |
| Abstract: | A model is presented in this work for simulating endogenously the evolution of the marginal costs of production of energy carriers from non-renewable resources, their consumption, depletion pathways and timescales. Such marginal costs can be used to simulate the price formation of energy commodities. Drawing on previous work where a global database of energy resource economic potential was constructed, this work uses cost distributions of non-renewable resources in order to evaluate global flows of energy commodities. A mathematical framework is given to calculate endogenous flows of energy resources given an exogenous commodity price path. This framework can be used in reverse in order to calculate an exogenous marginal cost of production of energy carriers given an exogenous carrier demand. These two approaches generate limiting scenarios that depict extreme use of natural resources. The theory is however designed for use within economic models and models of technological change such as the Future Technology Transformations (FTT) family of models. In this work, it is implemented in the global power sector model FTT:Power, with which scenarios of global resource use and marginal costs of production of energy commodities are detailed. Policy implications are given. |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1209.0708&r=env |
| By: | Andor, Mark; Flinkerbusch, Kai; Voß, Achim |
| Abstract: | In this article we show how different promotion schemes for renewables affect economic welfare. Our starting point is that external benefits of renewable electricity supply besides the abatement of greenhouse gases are not related to actual electricity generation but to producing and installing capacity. We argue that generation based subsidies such as feed-in tariffs and bonus payments can only be a second-best solution. Our model framework allows us to explain how these second-best instruments cause welfare losses in an environment of volatile demand. We postulate that capacity payments for renewables should be implemented in order to avoid unnecessary social costs. -- |
| Keywords: | Renewable Energy Sources,Energy Policy,Promotion Instruments |
| JEL: | Q41 Q48 H23 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cawmdp:59&r=env |
| By: | Tietz, Andreas; Bathke, Manfred; Osterburg, Bernhard |
| Abstract: | Diese Studie stellt Hintergründe zu Art und Ausmaß der Inanspruchnahme landwirtschaftlicher Nutzfläche durch außerlandwirtschaftliche Nutzungen einschließlich der naturschutzrechtlichen Ausgleichs- und Ersatzmaßnahmen dar. Im ersten Teil werden anhand statistischer Daten der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte Aussagen zu Flächenbilanzen der verschiedenen Nutzungsarten abgeleitet. Aufgrund der unsicheren Datenlage kann das Verhältnis zwischen dem Verlust an Landwirtschaftsfläche für Siedlungs- und Verkehrszwecke und dem korrespondierenden Verlust durch Ausgleichs- und Ersatzmaßnahmen nicht verlässlich abgeschätzt werden. Im zweiten Teil werden mögliche Optionen eines sparsameren Umgangs mit landwirtschaftlicher Fläche thematisiert. Dazu wird zunächst ein kurzer Überblick über die Berücksichtigung landwirtschaftlicher Belange im Planungs- und Naturschutzrecht gegeben. Abschließend stehen Ansätze zur Reduzierung der Flächeninanspruchnahme im Rahmen der Eingriffsregelung im Mittelpunkt. Sofern ein öffentliches Interesse daran besteht, landwirtschaftliche Nutzflächen als solche zu erhalten, sind verbindlichere Vorgaben zu einer entsprechenden Umsetzung der Eingriffsregelung unverzichtbar. -- In this study, background information regarding the nature and the extent of the usage of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes including environmental compensation measures is given. In the first part, statistical data of the past two decades is analysed in order to derive balances on different land use types. Due to uncertain data, the relation between the losses of agricultural area for settlement and traffic purposes and the corresponding losses for environmental compensation cannot be reliably estimated. In the second part, possible options of a more economical use of agricultural land are dis-cussed. First, an overview on the consideration of agricultural concerns in planning and conservation laws is given. Finally, approaches to reduce the consumption of agricultural land in environmental compensation measures are presented. If there is a public interest in maintaining agricultural land as such, more binding rules for the adequate implementation of the environmental impact regulation are essential. |
| Keywords: | Landnutzungsarten,Flächeninanspruchnahme,Eingriffsregelung,Land use types,land consumption,environmental impact regulation |
| JEL: | K32 Q15 R14 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vtiaba:052012&r=env |
| By: | Eva O. Arceo-Gomez; Rema Hanna; Paulina Oliva |
| Abstract: | Much of what we know about the marginal effect of pollution on infant mortality is derived from developed country data. However, given the lower levels of air pollution in developed countries, these estimates may not be externally valid to the developing country context if there is a nonlinear dose relationship between pollution and mortality or if the costs of avoidance behavior differs considerably between the two contexts. In this paper, we estimate the relationship between pollution and infant mortality using data from Mexico. We find that an increase of 1 parts per billion in carbon monoxide (CO) over the last week results in 0.0032 deaths per 100,000 births, while a 1 μg/m3 increase in particulate matter (PM10) results in 0.24 infant deaths per 100,000 births. Our estimates for PM10 tend to be similar (or even smaller) than the U.S. estimates, while our findings on CO tend to be larger than those derived from the U.S. context. We provide suggestive evidence that a non-linearity in the relationship between CO and health explains this difference. |
| JEL: | O1 Q53 |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18349&r=env |
| By: | Halkos, George; Papageorgiou, George |
| Abstract: | Traditional economic theory, up to the middle of the twentieth century, builds up the production functions regardless of the inputs’ scarcity. In the last few decades it has become clear that in many cases inputs are depletable quantities and at the same time a lot of constraints are imposed in their usage in order to ensure economic sustainability. Furthermore, the management of exploitation and use of natural resources (either exhaustible or renewable) has been discussed by analyzing dynamic models applying methods of Optimal Control Theory. This theory provides solutions that are concerned with a single decision maker who can control the model’s dynamics facing a certain performance index to be optimized. In this paper we consider some simple taxation schemes based both on price charged and on the stock size as well. As the feedback taxation rules are more efficient than the other (non feedback) rules we have constructed the simple taxation scheme and found the analytical expression of the tax function. |
| Keywords: | Non-renewable resources; differential games; Markov equilibrium |
| JEL: | Q32 C61 Q30 C62 |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:40945&r=env |
| By: | Lucas Bretschger (ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Lin Zhang (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates the long-run consequences of a phase-out of nuclear energy for the Swiss economy. We apply the CITE model, a CGE model with fully endogenous growth, and complement it with a bottom-up model. We find that the nuclear phase-out can be achieved at relatively low costs, even when the expansion capacities of other technologies are limited. Consumer welfare decreases by 0.4% at the maximum compared to business as usual. Our results show that an economy can cope well with ambitious energy policies through sufficient innovation. Economic growth is not slowed down significantly. The phase-out policy contributes to a structural shift in favor of innovative, energy extensive sectors. It does not work against the climate policy goals but rather accelerates the transition to a less energy-dependent economy. |
| Keywords: | Energy and growth; nuclear phase out; CGE model; induced innovation |
| JEL: | Q43 C68 Q48 O41 |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:12-167&r=env |
| By: | Roland Olbrich (Department of Sustainability Sciences and Department of Economics, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany); Martin F. Quaas (Department of Economics, University of Kiel, Germany); Stefan Baumgaertner (Department of Sustainability Sciences and Department of Economics, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Commercial cattle farming in Namibia, a prime example of livestock farming in semi-arid rangelands, is subject to a variety of risks, predominant among which is precipitation risk. At the same time it suffers from rangeland degradation that is at least partly due to inadequate management. We characterize cattle farms through descriptive statistics and cluster analysis using data that we elicited in August 2008 through mail-in questionnaires and in-field experiments. We find that cattle farms are highly heterogeneous in the majority of individual characteristics. Heterogeneity is also observed when analyzing characteristics jointly through the cluster analysis which suggests classification of farms into three distinct clusters. This classification is predominantly driven by environmental condition and financial risk management, and to a lesser extent by organizational structure of farms or ethnicity. Overall, our study is the first to provide a comprehensive characterization of this system in respect to risk, management and sustainability. |
| Keywords: | cattle farming, semi-arid rangelands, Namibia, empirical survey, perceived risk, management, risk and time preferences, normative views, sustainability |
| JEL: | Q12 Q15 Q57 |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:248&r=env |
| By: | Malina, Christiane; Fischer, Frauke |
| Abstract: | High levels of particulate matter scaling less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) in many urban areas have led to the introduction of binding PM10 limit values by the European Commission in 2005. Road transport in inner city areas is believed to be one of the main contributors to accumulated PM10 levels and, thus, is the focus of regulation. One of the strongest regulatory mechanisms to meet the new PM10 air quality standard is the introduction of low emission zones (LEZs) in Germany. This policy allows local authorities to define geographical areas in urban agglomerations as LEZs, into which vehicles that do not meet predetermined emission standards are prohibited from entering. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of LEZs on reducing PM10 levels in German cities. We employ a fixed effects panel data model to analyze the effects of LEZs on daily PM10 levels using data from 2000 to 2009. We take into account daily data for meteorological conditions and traffic volume. The results of the analysis reveal that the introduction of LEZs has significantly reduced daily PM10 levels in urban areas. We can also show that PM10 levels are significantly driven down further when LEZ standards in cities become more stringent over time. -- |
| Keywords: | Particulate matter,low emission zones,panel data |
| JEL: | Q58 R49 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cawmdp:58&r=env |
| By: | Lopez-Feldman, Alejandro |
| Abstract: | This document provides the reader with the basic tools to obtain estimates of willingness to pay from a contingent valuation survey using Stata. The use of the commands singleb and doubleb is illustrated. |
| Keywords: | Contingent valuation; willingness to pay; Stata; doubleb; singleb |
| JEL: | C35 Q51 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:41018&r=env |