|
on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Daniel J.A. Johansson; Paul L. Lucas; Matthias Weitzel; Erik O. Ahlgren; A.B. Bazaz; Wenying Chen; Michel G.J. den Elzen; Joydeep Ghosh; Qiao-Mei Liang; Sonja Peterson; Basanta K. Pradhan; Bas J. van Ruijven; P.R. Shukla; Detlef P. van Vuuren; Yi-Ming Wei |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a modeling comparison project on how the 2°C climate target could affect economic and energy systems development in China and India. The analysis uses a framework that harmonizes baseline developments and soft-links seven national and global models being either economy wide (CGE models) or energy system models. The analysis is based on a global greenhouse gas emission pathway that aims at a radiative forcing of 2.9 W/m2 in 2100 and with a policy regime based on convergence of per capita CO2 emissions with emissions trading. Economic and energy implications for China and India vary across models. Decreased energy intensity is the most important abatement approach in the CGE models, while decreased carbon intensity is most important in the energy system models. Reliance on Coal without Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is significantly reduced in most models, while CCS is a central abatement technology in energy system models, as is renewable and nuclear energy. Concerning economic impacts China bears in general a higher cost than India, as China benefits less from emissions trading. Costs are also affected by changes in fossil fuel prices, currency depreciation from capital inflow from carbon trading and timing of emission reductions |
| Keywords: | Climate policy; China; India |
| JEL: | N7 O13 P28 Q4 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1808&r=env |
| By: | Desmet, Klaus; Rossi-Hansberg, Esteban |
| Abstract: | We propose a dynamic spatial theory to analyze the geographic impact of climate change. Agricultural and manufacturing firms locate on a hemisphere. Trade across locations is costly, firms innovate, and technology diffuses over space. Energy used in production leads to emissions that contribute to the global stock of carbon in the atmosphere, which affects temperature. The rise in temperature differs across latitudes and sectors. We calibrate the model to analyze how climate change affects the spatial distribution of economic activity, trade, migration, growth, and welfare. We assess quantitatively the impact of migration and trade restrictions, energy taxes, and innovation subsidies. |
| Keywords: | carbon; climate change; growth; international and regional trade; migration; mobility frictions; regional economics; space |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9220&r=env |
| By: | Klaus Desmet; Esteban Rossi-Hansberg |
| Abstract: | We propose a dynamic spatial theory to analyze the geographic impact of climate change. Agricultural and manufacturing firms locate on a hemisphere. Trade across locations is costly, firms innovate, and technology diffuses over space. Energy used in production leads to emissions that contribute to the global stock of carbon in the atmosphere, which affects temperature. The rise in temperature differs across latitudes and sectors. We calibrate the model to analyze how climate change affects the spatial distribution of economic activity, trade, migration, growth, and welfare. We assess quantitatively the impact of migration and trade restrictions, energy taxes, and innovation subsidies. |
| JEL: | E00 F10 R00 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18546&r=env |
| By: | Paltsev, Sergey |
| Keywords: | climate change mitigation, fuel prices, agricultural prices, biofuels, computable general equilibrium |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2012-65&r=env |
| By: | Daiju Narita; Martin F. Quaas |
| Abstract: | As growing attention is paid to climate change adaptation as an actual policy issue, the significant meaning of climate variability in adaptation decisions is beginning to be recognized. By using a real option framework, we shed light on how climate change and climate variability affect individuals’ (farmers’) investment decisions with regard to adaptation. As a plausible case in which the delay carries policy implications, we investigate farmers’ choices when adaptation involves the use of an open-access resource (water). The results show that uncoordinated farmers with a high risk aversion may under-adapt while farmers with a low risk aversion would over-adapt under the same conditions. Private adaptation should be supported or discouraged accordingly if farmers are not convinced about the possibilities of collective resource management in the long run |
| Keywords: | Adaptation to climate change, climate variability, risk and uncertainty, real option, water, open-access resources |
| JEL: | D81 Q20 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1809&r=env |
| By: | Armon Rezai; Frederick van der Ploeg; Cees Withagen |
| Abstract: | In a calibrated integrated assessment model we investigate the differential impact of additive and multiplicative damages from climate change for both a socially optimal and a business-as-usual scenario in the market economy within the context of a Ramsey model of economic growth. The sources of energy are fossil fuel which is available at a cost which rises as reserves diminish and a carbon-free backstop supplied at a decreasing cost. If damages are not proportional to aggregate production output, and the economy is along a development path, the social cost of carbon and the optimal carbon tax are smaller as damages can more easily be compensated for by higher output. As a result, the economy switches later from fossil fuelto the carbon-free backstop and leaves less fossil fuel in situ. This is in contrast to a partial equilibrium analysis with damages in utility rather than in production which finds that the willingness to forsake current consumption to avoid future global warming is higher (lower) under additive damages in a growing economy if the elasticity of intertemporal substitution is smaller (bigger) than one. |
| Keywords: | climate change, multiplicative damages, additive damages, integrated assessment models, Ramsey growth model, fossil fuel, carbon-free backstop |
| JEL: | H21 Q51 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–09–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eus:ce3swp:0512&r=env |
| By: | Gebretsadik, Yohannes; Fant, Charles; Strzepek, Kenneth |
| Abstract: | Vietnam is among the countries that are assumed to be highly affected by the impacts of climate change through sea level rise; increased temperature and changes in precipitation resulting in changes in crop water requirements and yields; and changes in ri |
| Keywords: | climate change, water systems, agriculture, hydropower, Vietnam |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2012-79&r=env |
| By: | Chinowsky, Paul S.; Schweikert, Amy E.; Strzepek, Niko L.; Strzepek, Kenneth |
| Abstract: | Climate change is a potential threat to Vietnam.s development as current and future infrastructure will be vulnerable to climate change impacts. This paper focuses on the physical asset of road infrastructure in Vietnam by evaluating the potential impact |
| Keywords: | climate change, road infrastructure, stressor response functions, Vietnam |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2012-80&r=env |
| By: | Alexeeva-Talebi, Victoria; Böhringer, Christoph; Löschel, Andreas; Voigt, Sebastian |
| Abstract: | Global impact assessment of unilateral climate policies is commonly based on multi-sector, multi-region computable general equilibrium (CGE) models that are calibrated to consistent accounts of production, consumption, and bilateral trade flows. However, global economic databases such as GTAP treat energy-intensive and trade-exposed industries rather in aggregate, thereby missing potentially important details on the heterogeneity of these sectors. In this paper, we elaborate on the availability of data resources and methodological issues in disaggregating energy-intensive and tradeexposed sectors that receive larger attention in the public policy debate on unilateral emission regulation: non-ferrous metals, iron and steel and non-metallic minerals. Our sensitivity analysis revolves around three types of unobserved heterogeneity at the sub-sectoral level: trade elasticities, energy consumption and technology specifications. Drawing on the example of border tax adjustments, we find that for all given technology specifications and variation in energy shares, the biggest differences emerge from variations in Armington elasticities. Even moderate changes in Armington elasticities can alter the magnitude and the sign of the effects at the sectoral level. The implications of sub-sectoral disaggregation are not as pronounced for macroeconomic indicators and leakage as for sectoral indicators. -- |
| Keywords: | sectoral disaggregation,emissions trading,border adjustment,competitiveness,carbon leakage |
| JEL: | D58 H21 H22 Q48 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:12069&r=env |
| By: | Thierry Brechet; Yann Meniere; Pierre M. Picard |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the role of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) on the market for carbon quotas and countries’ commitments to reduce their carbon emission levels. We show that the CDM contributes to an efficient funding of clean technology investments in least developed countries. However, the CDM is not neutral on the global level of carbon emissions as it entices countries to raise their emission caps. The CDM may also make inappropriate the inclusion of any country that takes no emission abatement commitment. It can even make inefficient a country’s decision to commit to an emission target. |
| Date: | 2012–10–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eus:ce3swp:0612&r=env |
| By: | Lucas Bretschger; Nujin Suphaphiphat |
| 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 additonial 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: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eus:ce3swp:0412&r=env |
| By: | Thomas Coisnon (Granem - Groupe de Recherche ANgevin en Economie et Management - Agrocampus Ouest - INRA : UMR49); Walid OUESLATI (UMR GRANEM - UMR MA 49 – Université d'Angers et Agrocampus Ouest - Université d'Angers); Julien Salanié (Granem - Groupe de Recherche ANgevin en Economie et Management - Agrocampus Ouest - INRA : UMR49) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a spatial general equilibrium analysis of an agri-environmental policy in a suburban context. We present a static monocentric model of an open city where agricultural bid-rents and agricultural amenities vary endogenously in space. Amenities are valued by households and are thus a factor of urban decentralisation. This leads us to focus on the spatial effects of agri-environmental policies promoting amenities. The model characterises a suburban mixed land-use area where households and farmers share space. We provide theoretical evidence that agri-environmental policies are not adopted uniformly by farmers and that they impact on several city features. We highlight that the funding of an agri-environmental policy through household income taxation can modify urbanisation patterns. We also discuss its distributional aspects. |
| Keywords: | agricultural amenities; land development; agri-environmental policy; urban sprawl; leapfrog; monocentric model |
| Date: | 2012–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00753221&r=env |
| By: | Arndt, Channing; Tarp, Finn; Thurlow, James |
| Abstract: | Unlike existing studies, we adopt a multi-sectoral approach and consider the full range of climate projections. Biophysical damages are translated into economic costs using a dynamic economywide model. Our results for Vietnam indicate that the negative im |
| Keywords: | climate change, uncertainty, multi-sector, CGE model, Vietnam |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2012-82&r=env |
| By: | Fabio Cerina |
| Abstract: | I build a dynamic general equilibrium model of a small economy specialized in tourism where visitors are attracted by the stock of existing environmental assets, and the stock of tourism and leisure facilities. Residents, at any date, choose the level of consumption, the number of visitors, and the quantity of resources to be devoted to abatement of pollution, the latter being generated by the existing stock of tourism facilities and by the flow of tourists. I analyze the balanced growth path properties of this economy, and focus on the sensitiveness of its qualitative dynamic behaviour, according to different subsets in the parameters space. The model is able to perform both endogenous growth and sustainability of the environmental resource. We analyse the condition for this result to hold and we find that when tourists preferences are greener (i.e. they care for environmental quality and they are crowding-adverse), the economy generally grows faster. Finally, we develop the transitional dynamics analysis in the case of constant environmental quality in the long-run. Given its generality and flexibility, we believe our model may serve as a workhorse model suitable to be used as an instrument to perform for many relevant policy exercises. |
| Keywords: | Growth; Tourism Specialization; Tourism Facilities; Environmental Assets; Pollution Abatement; Transitional Dynamics |
| JEL: | Q56 O41 L83 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:201234&r=env |
| By: | Halkos, George; Tzeremes, Nickolaos |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a conditional directional distance function model in order to examine the link between regional environmental efficiency and GDP per capita levels. As an illustrative example we apply our model to USA regional data revealing an inverted ‘U’ shape relationship between regional environmental efficiency and per capita income. The results derived from a non-parametric regression indicate a turning point at 49,000 dollars. |
| Keywords: | Regional environmental efficiency; Directional distance function; Conditional measures; U.S. regions |
| JEL: | Q50 C14 Q56 R11 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:42675&r=env |
| By: | Richard S. J. Tol (Department of Economics, University of Sussex, UK; Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Department of Spatial Economics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands); Francisco Estrada (Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Circuito Exterior, Mexico; Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands; ); Carlos Gay-García (Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México) |
| Abstract: | Integrated assessment models (IAMs) typically ignore the impact of climate change on economic growth, or simply scale down output and hence the entire future growth. In this manner, IAMs typically assume that the shocks caused by climate change impacts dissipate and have no persistence at all, affecting only the period when they occur. Clearly, this could lead to the underestimation of costs of climate change at global, regional, national and local scales. We adopt an empirical approach for analyzing the observed GDP series for different world regions in order to estimate the persistence of shocks on growth. We interpret the direct impact of climate change as such shocks, and use the estimated models to assess the implications for growth. We compare this to the scaling method pioneered by Nordhaus (Nordhaus and Boyer, 2000). A simple version of the widely used PAGE2002 model (Hope, 2006) is applied to conduct a sensitivity analysis varying the degree of a persistence measure in simulated future GDP. It is shown that when a persistence similar to the observed one is chosen, the economic impacts of climate change are considerably larger in comparison to the "zero persistence" implied by the original scaling method. If the persistence of shocks is ignored, as it is currently done by most IAMs, the economic impacts of climate change can be severely underestimated. Results are not sensitive to the selection of the discount rate. Moreover, it is shown that the original scaling method embedded in most IAMs can be interpreted as assuming an autonomous, costless, extremely large and effective (reactive) adaptation capacity. |
| Keywords: | Climate change; economic impacts; dynamic model |
| JEL: | Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:4312&r=env |
| By: | Muhammad, Shahbaz; Naceur , Khraief; Gazi Salah , Uddin |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to investigate the existence of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in an open economy like Tunisia using annual time series data for the period of 1971-2010. The ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration is applied to test long run relationship in the presence of structural breaks and vector error correction model (VECM) to detect the causality among the variables. The robustness of causality analysis has been tested by applying the innovative accounting approach (IAA). The findings of this paper confirmed the long run relationship between economic growth, energy consumption, trade openness and CO2 emissions in Tunisian Economy. The results also indicated the existence of EKC confirmed by the VECM and IAA approaches. The study has significant contribution for policy implications to curtail energy pollutants by implementing environment friendly regulations to sustain the economic development in Tunisia. |
| Keywords: | EKC; Energy; Tunisia |
| JEL: | O1 Q4 |
| Date: | 2012–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:42706&r=env |
| By: | Arndt, Channing; Fant, Charles; Robinson, Sherman; Strzepek, Kenneth |
| Abstract: | Analysis of climate change is often computationally burdensome. Here, we present an approach for intelligently selecting a sample of climates from a population of 6800 climates designed to represent the full distribution of likely climate outcomes out to |
| Keywords: | Gaussian quadrature sampling, climate uncertainty, computational burden, information theory |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2012-60&r=env |
| By: | Wilfried Rickels; Dennis Görlich; Gerrit Oberst; Sonja Peterson |
| Abstract: | In this paper we empirically investigate potential determinants of allowance (EUA) price dynamics in the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) during Phase II. In contrast to previous papers, we analyze a significantly longer time series, place particular emphasis on the importance of price variable selection, and include an extensive data of renewable energy feed-in in Europe. We show (i) that results are extremely sensitive to choosing different price series of potential determinants, such as coal and gas prices, (ii) that EUA price dynamics are only marginally influenced by renewable energy provision in Europe, and iii) that EUA prices currently do not reflect marginal abatement costs across Europe. We conclude that the expectation of a more mature allowance market in Phase II cannot be confirmed |
| Keywords: | Carbon emission trading, EU ETS, Carbon price influence factors, Fuel switching |
| JEL: | C22 G14 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1804&r=env |
| By: | Richard S. J. Tol (Department of Economics, University of Sussex, UK; Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Department of Spatial Economics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands); Sebastian Petrick (Kiel Institute for the World Economy); Katrin Rehdanz (Kiel Institute for the World Economy; Department of Economics, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany) |
| Abstract: | In order to explore the impact of climate change on energy use, we estimate an energy demand model that is driven by temperature, prices and income. The estimation is based on an unbalanced panel of 62 countries over three decades. We limit the analysis to the residential sector and distinguish four different fuel types (coal, electricity, natural gas and oil). Compared to previous papers, we have a better geographical coverage and consider both a heating and cooling threshold as well as further non-linearities in the impact of temperature on energy demand and temperature-income interactions. We find that oil, gas and electricity use are driven by a non-linear heating effect: Energy use decreases with rising temperatures due to a reduced demand for energy for heating purposes, but the speed of that decrease declines with rising temperature levels. We cannot find a significant impact of temperature on the demand for cooling energy. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, energy demand, heating and cooling effect, temperature |
| JEL: | Q41 Q43 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:4412&r=env |
| By: | Huang, Yongfu; He, Jingjing |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is one of the major greenhouse gas (GHG) emission sources in China. This paper aims to identify the key factors that have led to rising GHG emissions in China.s agricultural sector in recent decades. This research allows for spatial dependence |
| Keywords: | agriculture; emission reductions; spatial dependence; China |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2012-74&r=env |
| By: | Massol, O.; Tchung-Ming, S. |
| Abstract: | The large-scale diffusion of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) imposes the construction of a sizeable CO2 pipeline infrastructure. This paper analyzes the conditions for a widespread adoption of CCS by a group of emitters that can be connected to a common pipeline system. It details a quantitative framework capable of assessing how the tariff structure and the regulatory constraints imposed on the pipeline operator impact the overall cost of CO2 abatement via CCS. This modeling framework is applied to the case of a real European CO2 pipeline project. We find that the obligation to use cross-subsidy-free pipeline tariffs has a minor impact on the minimum CO2 price required to adopt the CCS. In contrast, the obligation to charge non-discriminatory prices can either impede the adoption of CCS or significantly raises that price. Besides, we compared two alternative regulatory frameworks for CCS pipelines: a common European organization as opposed to a collection of national regulations. The results indicate that the institutional scope of that regulation has a limited impact on the adoption of CCS compared to the detailed design of the tariff structure imposed to pipeline operators. |
| Keywords: | OR in environment and climate change; carbon capture and storage; CO2 pipeline; club theory; regulation; cross-subsidy-free tariffs |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cty:dpaper:12/10&r=env |
| By: | Budy Resosudarmo (Division of Economics, RSPAS, The AUstralian National University); Arief Anshory Yusuf (Department of Economics, Padjadjaran University); Ditya A. Nurdianto (Division of Economics, RSPAS, The AUstralian National University) |
| Abstract: | Approximately 10 per cent of the world’s tropical forests or around 144 million ha are located in Indonesia, scattered from the westernmost tip of Sumatra to the eastern border of Papua, occupying approximately 70 per cent of the country’s land area (Barbier, 1998). Thus, Indonesia ranks third — after Brazil and Zaire — in its endowment of tropical forests (Forest Watch Indonesia, 2002). Indonesia’s forests have been one of its most important natural assets. Forestry related activities have provided an important source of formal as well as informal employment for many people and have generated large amounts of both government revenue and foreign exchange (Indonesia-UK Tropical Forest Management Program, 2001). Meanwhile, deforestation and forest degradation has been the main source of Indonesia’s Green House Gas (GHG) emission; i.e. 70-80% of Indonesia’s GHG emission. Incentive to reduce the rate of deforestation, through the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) program, has recently widely discussed. In general, the program allows international communities to transfer a certain amount of funding to Indonesia to compensate its successful efforts to reduce its rate of deforestation. The question is what will the likely impact on the Indonesian economy, if Indonesia commits to be involved in this REDD program. This report illustrates the impacts of reduced deforestation have on the Indonesian economy and demonstrates the complexity in distributing Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) fund to compensate the negative economic impacts of reduced deforestation. |
| Keywords: | REDD, Indonesia |
| JEL: | Q5 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unp:wpaper:201204&r=env |
| By: | Chabé-Ferret, Sylvain; Subervie, Julie |
| Abstract: | Agro-environmental schemes (AES), which pay farmers to adopt greener practices, are increasingly important components of environmental and agricultural policies both in the US and the EU. Here we study the French implementation of the EU AES program. We estimate additional and windfall effects of five AESs for a representative sample of individual farmers using Difference-In-Difference (DID) matching. We derive the statistical assumptions underlying DID-matching from a structural household model and we argue that the economics of the program make it likely that these assumptions hold in our data. We test the implications of the identifying assumptions, provide a lower bound using triple-difference matching, test for crossover effects and insert our estimates of both additionality and windfall effects into a cost-benefit framework. We find that the AESs promoting crop diversity have inserted one new crop into the rotation but on a small part of the cropped area. We also find that the AES subsidizing the planting of cover crops has increased cover crops by 10 hectares on the average recipient farm at the expense of almost 7 hectares of windfall effect. This AES does not appear to be cost effective. In contrast, we find that the AES subsidizing grass buffer strips could be socially efficient despite large windfall effects. We finally estimate that the AES subsidizing conversion to organic farming has low windfall effects and high additionality. |
| Keywords: | Agro-environmental Schemes - Additionality - Windfall Effects - Treatment Effects - Difference in Difference Matching - Agricultural Practices - Crop Diversity - Cover Crops - Grass Buffer Strips - Organic Farming. |
| Date: | 2012–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:26568&r=env |
| By: | Kudamatsu, Masayuki; Persson, Torsten; Strömberg, David |
| Abstract: | We estimate how random weather fluctuations affected infant mortality across 28 African countries in the past, combining high-resolution data from retrospective fertility surveys (DHS) and climate-model reanalysis (ERA-40). We find that infants were much more likely to die when exposed in utero to much longer malaria spells than normal in epidemic malaria regions, and to droughts in arid areas, especially when born in the hungry season. Based on these estimates, we predict aggregate infant deaths in Africa, due to extreme weather events and to maternal malaria in epidemic areas for 1981-2000 and 2081-2100. |
| Keywords: | climate change; maternal malaria; maternal malnutrition; natural experiments |
| JEL: | I15 O13 O15 O55 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9222&r=env |
| By: | Azevedo, Susana; Cudney, Elizabeth A.; Grilo, António; Carvalho, Helena; Cruz-Machado, V. |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to study the influence of eco-innovation practices on eco-efficiency of business, which embraces environmental and economic performance. Four hypotheses are drawn up based on the existing literature in green supply chain and considering the business innovation. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data on a sample of USA and Portuguese innovative organizations. Multivariate statistics and Partial Least Squares (PLS) path modelling techniques were used to test the proposed hypothesis. The statistical analysis allows to conclude that there are differences between the eco-innovation practices deployed by organizations belonging to different sectors and with different sizes. Also, it was found that the level of implementation of the different eco-innovation practices by organizations influence the eco-efficiency of businesses. |
| Keywords: | Eco-innovation; eco-efficiency; economic performance; environmental performance |
| JEL: | C14 C12 C42 M21 |
| Date: | 2012–11–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:42704&r=env |
| By: | Bevan, David |
| Abstract: | This paper sets out to provide an introduction to two sets of questions, and to some relevant literature that has tried to answer them. The first set of questions concern what determines growth in low-income countries, and how the answers are conditioned |
| Keywords: | structural change, low-income countries, environment, public capital and public financing |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2012-77&r=env |
| By: | Gollier, Christian |
| Abstract: | Because of the uncertainty about how to model the growth process of our economy, there is still much confusion about which discount rates should be used to evaluate actions having long-lasting impacts, as in the contexts of climate change, social security reforms or large public infrastructures for example. We characterize efficient discount rates when the growth of log consumption follows a random walk with uncertain parameters. We examine different models in which the parametric uncertainty affects the trend and the volatility of growth, or the frequency of catastrophes. This uncertainty implies that the term structures of the risk free discount rate and of the aggregate risk premium are respectively decreasing and increasing. It also implies that the discount rate is increasing with maturity if the beta of the investment is larger than half of relative risk aversion. Another important consequence of parametric uncertainty is that the risk premium is not proportional to the beta of the investment. Finally, we apply our findings to the evaluation of climate change policy. We argue in particular that the beta of actions to mitigate climate change is relatively large, so that the term structure of the associated discount rates should be increasing. |
| Keywords: | asset prices, term structure, risk premium, decreasing discount rates, parametric uncertainty, CO2 beta, rare events, macroeconomic catastrophes. |
| JEL: | E43 G11 G12 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:26574&r=env |
| By: | Giovanna d’Adda (University of Birmingham, Department of Economics); Ian Levely (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we examine the effects that variations in the quality of the environment at birth have on children’s other-regarding preferences, as measured through four binary-choice dictator games run with school-age children in rural Sierra Leone. We examine the effect of exogenous variations in rainfall level by location and year on children’s social preferences. We also study how age at which children had access to improved water sources, such as protected wells, correlates with preferences. Children born within a healthier environment are more generous, when generosity comes at no personal cost, more likely to choose socially efficient allocations and less averse to advantageous inequality. The correlation between rainfall shocks at birth and children’s height-for-age suggest that environmental quality affects preferences through its impact on health. We find that proxies for early childhood health affect experimental outcomes in a similar way as age, which helps to explain the process by which individuals develop social preferences. No significant relationship is found in our data between environmental quality and educational outcomes, such as school attendance and grades. |
| Keywords: | Field experiments, Health and Economic Development, Altruism, Inequality Aversion |
| JEL: | C93 I15 D64 |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2012_26&r=env |
| By: | Huang, Yongfu; He, Jingjing; yTarp, Finn |
| Abstract: | This research studies whether the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol achieves its objective of emission reductions in the host countries. It empirically investigates the impacts of CDM projects on CO? emission reductions for 60 CDM ho |
| Keywords: | clean development mechanism, emission reductions, dynamic panel data model; X-differencing |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2012-73&r=env |
| By: | Rajesh Kumar Rai; Helen Scarborough |
| Abstract: | There are limitations associated with the application of non-market valuation techniques, including choice experiments, in subsistence economies. In part, this is due to the concern that using money as a mode of contribution may not capture the potential contribution of low-income households. To address this limitation, respondents in this study were provided with the option of contributing towards the management of invasive plants in labour terms if they were unwilling to contribute in monetary terms. The results show that the existing practice of using dollar values to estimate willingness to contribute may disproportionately exclude the concerns of some groups within the community. The analysis also indicates that allowing respondents to express their willingness to contribution in labour increases their participation in environmental decision-making processes and hence, increases the estimated value of forest ecosystem services. This study contributes to the limited empirical literature on the development of non-market valuation surveys, including CEs, in low-income countries in general and rural areas in particular. |
| Keywords: | Choice experiments, Willingness to contribute, low-income communities, mode of contribution |
| Date: | 2012–11–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dkn:econwp:eco_2012_8&r=env |
| By: | Doerr, Eva Maria |
| Abstract: | Das internationale Freihandelsregime wurde in den vergangenen Jahren von wenigen Themen so stark geprägt, wie von seinem Verhältnis zum Umweltrecht. Der vorliegende Beitrag konzeptualisiert und problematisiert den im wissenschaftlichen Diskurs häufig verkürzt dargestellten Zielkonflikt zwischen Handel und Umwelt. Die Annahme, mit der strukturellen Änderung des Freihandelsregimes 1994 habe sich seine Regelsetzung zugunsten restriktiverer Umweltstandards entwickelt, wird anhand eines Vergleiches der beiden WTO-Streitschlichtungsverfahren, US-Tuna und US-Shrimp, bewiesen. Die Ursachen dieser Entwicklung gilt es jedoch kritisch zu hinterfragen. Ein detaillierter Blick auf beide Streitfälle entkräftet supra-national sowie sozialkonstruktivistisch argumentierende Erklärungsmodelle, die die Schlussfolgerung zu-lassen, es habe ein institutioneller bzw. normativer Wandel hin zu einem Greening of the GATT stattgefunden. Stattdessen, so die These, eignet sich vielmehr ein intergouvernementaler Erklärungsansatz, der Entscheidungen der WTO vor dem Hintergrund der rationalen Interessen ihrer Mitgliedsstaaten reflektiert. Um künftig effektiven und nachhaltigen Umweltschutz zu garantieren, bedarf es einer substantiellen Neuorientierung staatlicher Präferenzen, die bisher nicht stattgefunden hat. -- Few topics have influenced the international free-trade regime in recent years as much as its relation to environmental legislation. This working paper conceptualizes and discusses the conflict of objectives be-tween trade and environment often oversimplified in academic discourse. It argues that the structural changes of the free-trade regime in 1994 have led to a regulation towards more restrictive environmental standards based on a comparison of two dispute settlement procedures, US Tuna and US Shrimp. At this juncture, however, it is important to look more critically at the causes of this development. A detailed analysis of both disputes refutes explanatory models which argue from a supranational as well as a social-constructivist perspective and conclude that an institutional or normative change towards a Greening of the GATT has taken place. This paper argues that an intergovernmental perspective which analyses the decisions of the WTO in light of the rational interests of its member states is a more reasoned approach. In order to guarantee effective and sustainable environmental protection in the future, there must be a substantial reorientation of national preferences, which up until now has not occurred. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fubipe:122012&r=env |
| By: | Myriam Merad (INERIS - Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques - INERIS); Nicolas Dechy (INERIS - Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques - INERIS); Lisa Serir (FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies - CNRS : UMR6174 - Université de Franche-Comté - Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard - Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques); Michel Grabisch (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris); Frédéric Marcel (INERIS - Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques - INERIS) |
| Abstract: | The implementation of Sustainable Development (SD) within an Organization is a difficult task. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to deal with conflicting and incommensurable aspects such as environmental, economic and social dimensions. In this paper we have used a Multi-Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA) methodology to cope with these difficulties. MCDA methodology offers the opportunity to avoid monetary valuation of the different dimensions of the SD. These dimensions are not substitutable for one another and all have a role to play. There is an abundance of possible aggregation procedures in MCDA methodology. In this paper we have proposed an innovative method to choose a suitable aggregation procedure for SD problems. Real life case studies of the implementation of an outranking approach (i.e., ELECTRE) and of a mono-criterion synthesis approach (i.e., MAUT approaches based on the Choquet integral) were done to respectively rank 22 SD strategic actions within an expertise Institute and rank 20 practical operational actions to control energy consumption of the Institute's buildings. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable Development indicators; Sustainable Development action plan; Multi-Criteria Decision Aid; ELECTRE; Choquet Integral |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00752736&r=env |
| By: | Huang, Yongfu; He, Jingjing; Tarp, Finn |
| Abstract: | One of the dual objectives of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol is to promote sustainable development in the host countries. With different CDM indicators for 58 CDM host countries over 2005-10, this paper empirically assesses wh |
| Keywords: | clean development mechanism, sustainable development, dynamic panel data model, long-differencing |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2012-72&r=env |