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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Katharina Rietig |
| Abstract: | Countries aiming to achieve ambitious international and national climate objectives need to integrate climate considerations into all sectoral policies. This contribution argues that since climate change is a diffuse and complex challenge, Climate Policy Integration cannot simply be modeled after the well-established principled priority of Environmental Policy Integration but requires a separate analytical framework. It distinguishes four levels of Climate Policy Integration: the EU strategic level, the EU policy-design level, the national strategy-setting and the national implementation level. Options available on the EU policy-design level are traditional single-purpose climate policies and Climate Policy Integration. Type-1 Climate Policy Integration refers to policy areas with inherent co-benefits for climate action such as renewable energy policy, while the mainstreaming approach (type-2) requires incentives or conditionalities such as regulatory support as policies have no inherent co-benefits. A case study on the German climate strategy illustrates Climate Policy Integration on the national strategy-setting level. |
| Date: | 2012–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp86&r=env |
| By: | Susannah Fisher |
| Abstract: | Climate justice is a well-used concept within the international climate debate yet it has often remained little more than a static ideal. This paper brings together literatures on environmental justice, development processes, and the politics of scale to argue that we need to be more attentive to the emerging geographies of climate justice, particularly in the global South where climate change provokes questions of uneven development processes as well as environmental concerns. Through an analysis of India’s climate policies and politics, as well as empirical work with civil society networks mobilising around climate change I make three arguments. Firstly, I show how climate justice has been scaled as an international justice issue through public discourses, national policies and civil society engagement in India. I show how this political scaling of climate justice as international has become institutionalised and civil society actors engage with climate justice issues at different scales within this framework. I argue that this institutionalisation narrows the political space for alternative articulations and claims for climate justice. Secondly, whereas climate justice has tended to focus on the nation-state as the key actor in addressing climate injustice I argue that this paper demonstrates the importance of a critical stance towards both state and non-state actors as both champions of justice and perpetrators of injustices. Lastly, I argue that there are multiple spaces for climate justice claims that go far beyond the state and the international fora. To understand what is meant by climate justice beyond the policy rhetoric requires an exploration of the multiple manifestations and scales of climate justice and geographers could offer a critical contribution to an understanding of what national and local climate justice would mean in practice. |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp83&r=env |
| By: | Cameron Hepburn; Alex Bowen |
| Abstract: | Debate about the relationship between environmental limits and economic growth has been taking place for several decades. These arguments have re-emerged with greater intensity following advances in the understanding of the economics of climate change, increases in resource and oil prices and the re-emergence of the discussion about “peak oil”. The economic pessimism created by the great recession of 2008-2012 has also put the spotlight back on the prospects for economic growth. This chapter provides a conceptual and synthetic analysis of the relationship between economic growth and environmental limits, including those imposed by climate change. It explores two related questions. Will environmental limits, including limits on the climate system, slow or even halt economic growth? If not, how will the nature of economic growth have to alter? It is concluded that continued economic growth is feasible and desirable, although not without significant changes in its characteristics. These changes need to involve ultimately the reduction of the rate of material output, with continued growth in value being generated by expansion in the ‘intellectual economy’. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp93&r=env |
| By: | David Grover |
| Abstract: | National governments are considering increasing spending on greenhouse gas mitigation R&D by billions of dollars per year at a time when many nations face severe fiscal austerity. This study investigates empirically whether it is realistic to expect market-based environmental policy instruments to stimulate a lot of environmental R&D spending on their own. The hypothesis developed is that increasingly market-based forms of environmental regulation might bring a conditional reduction in the level of environmental R&D spending, all else being equal; and that increasingly market-based approaches to climate mitigation policy may not necessarily induce the large amounts of environmental R&D spending that some corners of the induced innovation literature might predict. The hypothesis is tested using panel data on environmental R&D spending for 30 industry groups over 22 years. The evidence suggests the degree to which the prevailing policy regime embraced market forces may have diminished the R&D-motivating effect of the environmental regulatory burden. This implies that the quest to raise environmental R&D spending may be a good thing in its own right, and that the quest to incorporate market principles and institutions into environmental policy design may also be a good thing, but that market-based policies may undermine the incentives that firms have to invest in environmental R&D. |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp98&r=env |
| By: | Rafael Calel; Antoine Dechezleprêtre |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) on technological change. We exploit installations-level inclusion criteria to estimate the impact of the EU ETS on firms patenting. We ?nd that the EU ETS has increased low-carbon innovation among regulated firms by as much as 10%, while not crowding out patenting for other technologies. We also ?nd evidence that the EU ETS has not impacted patenting beyond the set of regulated companies. These results imply that the EU ETS accounts for nearly a 1% increase in European lowcarbon patenting compared to a counterfactual scenario. |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp75&r=env |
| By: | Aoshima, Yaichi; Shimizu, Hiroshi |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:iirwps:12-12&r=env |
| By: | Emanuele Campiglio |
| Abstract: | Recent international environmental negotiations have highlighted the importance of establishing a commonly agreed approach to attribute climate change responsabil- ities. In this paper I investigate how choices on allocation mechanisms are likely to affect optimal abatement effort paths and technological transfers. I derive a North- South optimal growth model from the 2007 version of the RICE model allowing for pollution-abating technological transfers and use it to test three different allocation approaches, based on sovereignty, egalitarian and polluter pays principles. Numerical simulations typical of integrated assessment models show that: a) the presence of technical transfers always improves intertemporal global welfare; b) the optimal abatement and technical transfers paths depend on the chosen burden-allocation rule; c) the costs associated with the introduction of a 2-degree limit to temperature increase are in all probability too high to be politically acceptable |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp96&r=env |
| By: | Tanya O’Garra |
| Abstract: | Individuals and households are responsible for about one third of all carbon emissions in the UK and the US, and yet, there has been limited policy attention to this sector. This chapter proposes that voluntary engagement by individuals and households in carbon-reducing behaviours might be significantly enhanced if climate change is framed clearly, and unequivocally, as a moral issue. However, climate change has a number of features that make it difficult to apprehend as a typical moral problem. This chapter examines each of these features, and discusses how they might be re-cast so that the climate change problem takes the form of a standard moral problem. This chapter also serves as a rudimentary review of the ethics literature relevant to climate change. |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp81&r=env |
| By: | Garth Heutel; David L. Kelly |
| Abstract: | Government policies that are not intended to address environmental concerns can nonetheless distort prices and affect firms' emissions. We present an analytical general equilibrium model to study the effect of distortionary subsidies on factor prices and on environmental outcomes. We model an output subsidy, a capital subsidy, relief from environmental regulation, and a direct cash subsidy. In exchange for receiving subsidies, firms must agree to a minimum level of labor employment. Each type of subsidy and the employment constraint create both output effects and substitution effects on input prices and emissions. We calibrate the model to the Chinese economy, where government involvement affects emissions from both state-owned enterprises and private firms. Variation in production substitution elasticities does not substantially affect input prices, but it does substantially affect emissions. |
| JEL: | H23 Q52 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18924&r=env |
| By: | Stefanie Engel; Charles Palmer; Luca Taschini; Simon Urech |
| Abstract: | The paper analyses the implications of landowners’ option values in land allocation and derives policy recommendations for payments for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). Given that REDD will not represent a permanent change in the cumulative flux of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, payment scheme design is motivated by the need to secure forest carbon sinks over time (the ‘permanence criterion’) while remaining relatively cost-effective. Alternative payment schemes, combining fixed and variable components, are considered in a framework with two competing land uses, forest and agriculture. Cost-effectiveness depends on the dependency structure between the returns from the indexed component of the payment and the returns from the alternative land use, the relative volatility level of the underlying returns, and the relative combination of fixed and variable payments. After developing the general model, it is is applied to REDD policy scenarios in Parana State, Brazil. |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp72&r=env |
| By: | Thierry Bréchet (CORE and Louvain School of Management (LSM), Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium); Henry Tulkens (CORE, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium) |
| Abstract: | That climate policies are costly is evident and therefore often creates major fears. But the alternative (no action) also has a cost. Mitigation costs and damages incurred depend on what the climate policies are; moreover, they are substitutes. This brings climate policies naturally in the realm of benefit-cost analysis. In this paper we illustrate the “direct” cost components of various policies, and then confront them with the benefits generated, that is, the damage cost avoided. However, the sheer benefit-cost criterion is not a sufficient incentive to induce cooperation among countries, a necessary condition for an effective global climate policy. Thus, we also explore how to use this criterion in the context of international climate cooperation. |
| Keywords: | Climate Policy, Integrated Assessment, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Climate Cooperation |
| JEL: | Q54 H87 D61 D9 F42 Q2 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2013.21&r=env |
| By: | Hervé Leleu (CNRS-LEM and IESEG School of Management) |
| Keywords: | DEA,Efficiency, Environmental studies,Resource management |
| JEL: | D2 D24 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ies:wpaper:e201303&r=env |
| By: | Alex Bowen |
| Abstract: | The term ‘green jobs’ can refer to employment in a narrowly defined set of industries providing environmental services. But it is more useful for the policy-maker to focus on the broader issue of the employment consequences of policies to correct environmental externalities such as anthropogenic climate change. Most of the literature focuses on direct employment created, with more cursory treatment of indirect and induced job creation, especially that arising from macroeconomic effects of policies. The potential adverse impacts of green growth policies on labour productivity and the costs of employment tend to be overlooked. More attention also needs to be paid in this literature to how labour markets work in different types of economy. There may be wedges between the shadow wage and the actual wage, particularly in developing countries with segmented labour markets and after adverse aggregate demand shocks, warranting a bigger and longer-lasting boost to green projects with high labour content. In these circumstances, the transition to green growth and job creation can go hand in hand. But there are challenges, especially for countries that have built their industrial development strategies around cheap carbon-based energy. Induced structural change, green or otherwise, should be accompanied by active labour market policies. |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp76&r=env |
| By: | Shoibal Chakravarty (Princeton University); Massimo Tavoni (Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC) and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM)) |
| Abstract: | Energy poverty alleviation has become an important political issue in the most recent years. Several initiatives and policies have been proposed to deal with poor access to modern sources of energy in many developing countries. Given the large number of people lacking basic energy services, an important question is whether providing universal access to modern energy could significantly increase CO2 emissions. This paper provides one of the few formal assessments of this problem by means of a simple but robust model of current and future energy consumption. The model allows mapping energy consumption globally for different classes of energy use, quantifying current and future imbalances in the distribution of energy consumption. Our results indicate that an energy poverty eradication policy to be met by 2030 would increase global final energy consumption by about 7% (or 19EJ). This is the same quantity of energy which would be added between now and 2030 by individuals with energy consumption above current European standards. The additional energy infrastructure needed to eradicate energy poverty would produce 16-131 GtCO2 over the 21st century and contribute at most 0.1C of additional warming. |
| Keywords: | Energy Poverty, Climate Change, Household Energy Consumption |
| JEL: | Q43 Q54 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2013.25&r=env |
| By: | Dieter Helm; Cameron Hepburn; Giovanni Ruta |
| Abstract: | The lack of real progress at the Durban climate change conference in 2011—postponing effective action until at least 2020—has many causes, one of which is the failure to address trade issues and in particular carbon leakage. This paper advances two arguments. First, it argues that the conventional view of Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs) as a “dirty” trade barrier should be turned on its head. Rather, the absence of a carbon price comprises an implicit subsidy to dirtier production in non-regulated markets. Second, BCAs could act as a gamechanger when climate policy negotiations move at a glacial pace, if at all. Materially stronger progress could be achieved indirectly from the threat of unilateral trade policies. The paper shows how this could come about, using a simple political game theory model. The appropriate game form is one in which parties move unilaterally and sequentially, given the failure to agree on a common course of action, and are fully aware of the impacts of their actions. The paper shows that properly crafted BCAs could help reduce trade distortions, limit the competiveness effects, and help build a broader coalition of interests for more global actions. |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp80&r=env |
| By: | Serge Roudier (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Luis Delgado Sancho (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Rainer Remus (Umweltbundesamt (The German Federal Environment Agency)); Miguel Aguado-Monsonet (European Commission – ENTR – F1) |
| Abstract: | This BAT reference document for the Iron and Steel Production forms part of a series presenting the results of an exchange of information between EU Member States, the industries concerned, non-governmental organisations promoting environmental protection and the Commission, to draw up, review, and where necessary, update BAT reference documents as required by Article 13(1) of the Directive on industrial emissions (2010/75/EU). This document is published by the European Commission pursuant to Article 13(6) of the Directive. |
| Keywords: | Best Available Techniques, BAT reference document, Iron and Steel |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 Q55 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc69967&r=env |
| By: | Holstein, Fredrik (Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences); Gren, Ing-Marie (Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) |
| Abstract: | This paper tests the explanatory power of traditional enforcement instruments, environmental attitudes and abundance of social capital for violation of environmental regulations in Sweden. A count data model is used on a panel data set obtained from a survey to inspectors at the local and regional jurisdictions in Sweden. Regressions analyses are carried out for all firms but also for different firm categories depending on environmental impacts. The results indicate that traditional enforcement weapons, measured as number of inspection and a formal inspection style, curb violation by all types of firm categories. On the other hand, significant results are that environmental attitudes and abundance of social capital deter violation by large firms, but have no impact on violation by firms with minor environmental impacts. |
| Keywords: | environmental regulations; violation; economic motives; environmental attitudes; social capital; heterogeneous firms; count data model; Sweden |
| JEL: | K33 K42 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slueko:2013_003&r=env |
| By: | David Grover |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the extent to which ‘advanced’ knowledge and technology is likely to play a role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in future by looking at the role that advanced knowledge and technology played in the technological change process that reduced SO2 emissions under the US SO2 cap and trade program. It investigates the hypothesis that advanced knowledge and technology dedicated to pollution abatement played a minor role in that process while pre-existing, relatively unadvanced forms of knowledge and technology played the main role. New qualitative evidence is used to investigate the hypothesis including interviews with electric power plant R&D managers, plant-level compliance data, and the nature of the changes undergone by the boiler manufacturer, coal mining and railroad companies in the plants’ upstream supply chain. The paper finds that advanced knowledge dedicated to pollution abatement like the type now being emphasised for carbon capture and storage (CCS) played a minor role, while unadvanced knowledge and technology as well as general purpose knowledge repurposed to the pollution problem, played the main role. There are limits to how far these findings can be generalised to the role that knowledge will play in controlling GHG emissions. Nonetheless, one contribution is to point out that at least with respect to reducing pollution emissions, ‘innovation’ in pollution control can be inexpensive and effective without involving universal advance in dedicated pollution control technology. |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp100&r=env |
| By: | Tim Laing; Misato Sato; Michael Grubb; Claudia Comberti |
| Abstract: | As an increasing number of countries, regions, cities and states implement emission trading policies to limit cap CO2 emission, many turn to the experience of the European Union’s Emissions Trading System, as the largest greenhouse gas emissions trading system currently operating. The aim of this paper is to survey the literature conducted over the past eight years of the scheme’s existence, particularly those focusing on three key challenging areas of evaluation: emissions impacts in relation to the balance with economic objectives; investment and innovation impacts; and finally profits and price impacts. Among the key conclusions is that the lack of flexibility in the structure of the EU ETS cap, and its inability to adjust to radically shifted wider economic conditions, in the shape of the financial crisis, threatens to undermine its efficacy in providing incentives for abatement. |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp106&r=env |
| By: | Misato Sato |
| Abstract: | Measuring consumption-based emissions and the implied embodied emissions in trade (EET) has seen a resurgence in recent years, with a growing number of papers reporting country-level embodied emissions in imports and exports, as well as the net balance of embodied emissions in trade. This paper compares the quantitative results reported across studies and discusses methodological and data issues that contribute to the variability of results. In doing so, it assess the extent to which this literature overall provides a consistent empirical understanding of embodied carbon flows. Based on the assessment of the ranges of EET flows, it discusses the strengths of the conclusions drawn from the empirical literature on the various policy issues that surround the climate and trade nexus. |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp77&r=env |
| By: | Michael Jacobs |
| Abstract: | The paper explores the concept of ‘green growth’ as it has emerged in international policy discourse over recent years. Identifying the core meaning of the concept and sister terms such as ‘green economy’, it relates green growth to the prior concept of sustainable development. The paper distinguishes between a ‘standard’ version of green growth which asserts the long-run economic benefit of environmental protection and a ‘strong’ interpretation which claims, more boldly, that environmental policy can be a driver for growth. Three different forms of this claim are identified and the evidence for them surveyed. The first is a Keynesian argument for short-term ‘green stimulus’ in times of recession. Second, a revision of standard growth theory identifies the contribution made to growth by investment in natural capital and the correction of a variety of market failures through environmental policy. Third, the theories of comparative advantage and long waves of capitalism emphasise the importance of technological innovation in generating growth. The paper offers some conclusions on the political economy of green growth and how likely it is to succeed in increasing the priority given to environmental policy. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp92&r=env |
| By: | Philippe Aghion; Antoine Dechezleprêtre; David Hemous; Ralf Martin; John Van Reenen |
| Abstract: | Can directed technical change be used to combat climate change? We construct new firm-level panel data on auto industry innovation distinguishing between “dirty” (internal combustion engine) and “clean” (e.g. electric and hybrid) patents across 80 countries over several decades. We show that firms tend to innovate relatively morein clean technologies when they face higher tax-inclusive fuel prices. Furthermore,there is path dependence in the type of innovation both from aggregate spillovers andfrom the firm’s own innovation history. Using our model we simulate the increasesin carbon taxes needed to allow clean to overtake dirty technologies |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp102&r=env |
| By: | Svetlana Batrakova |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the role of firm’s market power and industry concentration in a still debated issue of pollution haven effects or carbon ’leakage’ representedas increased trade fows in the most polluting sectors from the developing worldspurred by regulations in developed countries. A firm in a relatively competitiveindustry with less market power has no option to transfer costs of environmentalregulations to consumers and may be more likely to resort to ’importing pollution’from places with lax environmental standards that insure cheaper inputs as a resultof such regulations at home. This paper finds that a degree of industry’s concentration has an effect on firms’ margins of products that were affected by the EU ETSpolicy in 2005 and that are imported from the developing world. Firms in from the developing world post 2005 more than firms in a less competitive setting. |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp90&r=env |
| By: | Nicholas Stern |
| Abstract: | The principal purpose of this paper is to set out a framework for combining economic and ethical analyses of climate change in the context of the science. The science of climate change indicates thatbusiness-as-usual implies substantial risks of temperatures not seen on the planet for tens of millions of years, with consequences that could lead to the movement of hundreds of millions of people and thus possibly severe and prolonged conflict. Risks on this scale take us far outside the familiar policy questions and standard, largely marginal, techniques commonly used by economists; they raise deep questions about ethical perspectives beyond those traditionally captured in analyses of Pareto efficiency or social welfare functions. Climate change is absolutely central to economic policy-making around the world and we must therefore ask carefully how we can put economics and ethics to work to tackle the questions posed by the science and by our past, current and future patterns of economic growth and emissions. |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp84&r=env |
| By: | Ling Tang (School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China); Qin Bao (Institute of Systems Science, Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China); ZhongXiang Zhang (Department of Public Economics, School of Economics, Fudan University, Center for Energy Economics and Strategy Studies, Fudan University, China); Shouyang Wang (Institute of Systems Science, Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China) |
| Abstract: | With large shares in global trade and carbon emissions, China’s international trade is supposed to be significantly affected by the proposed carbon-based border tax adjustments (BTAs). This paper examines the impacts of BTAs imposed by the USA and EU on China’s international trade, based on a multi-sector dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. The simulation results suggest that BTAs would have a negative impact on China’s international trade in terms of large losses in both exports and imports. As an additional border tariff, BTAs will directly affect China’s exports by cutting down exports price level, whereas Chinese exporting enterprises will accordingly modify their strategies, significantly shifting from exports to domestic markets and from regions with BTAs policies towards other regions without them. Moreover, BTAs will affect China’s total imports and sectoral import through influencing the whole economy in an indirect but more intricate way. Furthermore, the simulation results for coping policies indicate that enhancing China’s power in world price determination and improving energy technology efficiency will effectively help mitigate the damages caused by BTAs. |
| Keywords: | Border Carbon Tax Adjustments, International Trade, Dynamic Computable General Equilibrium Model, Price Determination Power, Technological Change |
| JEL: | D58 F18 Q43 Q48 Q52 Q54 Q56 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2013.17&r=env |
| By: | Belbute, José |
| Abstract: | The goal of this paper is to test for the presence of long memory in final energy demand in Portugal. Our findings suggest the presence of long memory in aggregate and disaggregate energy demand in Portugal. All fractional-difference parameters are positive and lower than 0.5 indicating that the series are both stationary and mean reverting. In addition, our findings also indicate that there are no clear seasonal effects over the degree of fractional integration. These results have important implication for the design of environmental policies. First positive policy shocks are likely to be more effective in moving energy consumption away from its predetermined target. Second, those policies may cause energy demand to revert to its (new) trend over a long period of time. Third, our results also suggest that switching between types of energy will be easier given that all components of aggregate final energy demand have long range dependency. Finally, given the strong connection of the energy sector with the rest of the economy, energy policies may be transmitted to other sectors of the economy and may also have impacts on the real economy. Moreover, positive shocks associated with permanent energy policies stimulating the switch to renewable energy sources may contribute to changing the energy consumption mix and to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. |
| Keywords: | Long memory, final energy demand, environmental policy, ARFIMA model, Portugal. |
| JEL: | C22 O13 Q41 |
| Date: | 2013–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:45717&r=env |
| By: | Meena, M.S..; Singh, K.M. |
| Abstract: | The natural resources of most developing countries are under increasing stress, and many nations are increasingly concerned about achieving environmental sustainability through efficient use of land and water resources. As population is escalating very fast and consumer demand for high value agricultural products (fruits and vegetables, animal or fish products, etc.) is also changing rapidly. Hence, there is need to take stronger step by national government to monitor their natural resources and take immediate steps to maintain these resources when being overused. Data generation by visiting the place physically is tedious and time consuming. Modern ICT techniques provide the solution helpful in collecting data without visiting the place from distance. With development of modern technologies, ICTs are of immense use in Sustainable Natural Resource Management. These technologies are time and money saving, accurate compared to conventional assessment. Products of these technologies help the scientists and policy makers for taking appropriate decision in agriculture production. It is thus important to recognize that the dissemination of these land and water-use management practices are largely knowledge-based; therefore, developing countries will be required to make substantial investment in public extension to train small and medium-scale farmers how to use Sustainable Natural Resource Management (SNRM) practices. |
| Keywords: | Information & Communication Technologies, Natural Resource Management, Sustainable NRM, |
| JEL: | Q0 Q01 Q16 Q59 Z0 |
| Date: | 2012–10–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:45818&r=env |
| By: | Lindqvist, Martin (Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences); Gren, Ing-Marie (Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Technical change is an important factor to take into consideration when analysing environmental issues that span over a long time horizon. One important source of technical change is learning-by-doing. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of technical change through learning-by-doing on the cost effective implementation of the nutrient goals stipulated in the 2007 HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan. Effects of learning-by-doing on the cost and allocation of abatement are analysed using a dynamic discrete model of control costs for abatement in the riparian countries of the Baltic Sea. The results indicate that the impact of learning-by-doing on the cost of abatement can be substantial depending on the learning rate and that technical change could lead to substantial cost decreases for the largest polluter, which is Poland. |
| Keywords: | Cost effectiveness; learning-by-doing; eutrophication; nutrient abatement; technical change; Baltic Sea |
| JEL: | D99 Q52 Q55 |
| Date: | 2013–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slueko:2013_001&r=env |
| By: | Oskar Lecuyer (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRAD : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - AgroParisTech); Philippe Quirion (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRAD : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - AgroParisTech) |
| Abstract: | This article constitutes a new contribution to the analysis of overlapping instruments to cover the same emission sources. Using both an analytical and a numerical model, we find that when the risk that the CO2price drops to zero and the political unavailability of a CO2tax (at least in the European Union) are taken into account, it can be socially beneficial to implement an additional instrument encouraging the reduction of emissions, for instance a renewable energy subsidy. Our analysis has both a practical and a theoretical purpose. It aims at giving economic insight to policymakers in a context of increased uncertainty concerning the future stringency of the European Emission Trading Scheme. It also gives another rationale for the use of several instruments to cover the same emission sources, and shows the importance of accounting for corner solutions in the definition of the optimal policy mix. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00801927&r=env |
| By: | Fumitoshi Mizutani (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University); Tomoyasu Tanaka (Kinki University, Faculty of Business Administration); Noriyoshi Nakayama (Nagoya City University, Graduate School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The main purpose of this study is to estimate the optimal city size which would attain maximum total surplus and sustainability, or a city size in which total benefits would equal total costs. We apply regressions to the total benefit function and the total cost function for 269 employment metropolitan areas for the year 2000 in Japan. Our study can be distinguished from others in that we include in total costs such social costs as environmental pollution. Our findings are that the optimal city size is 393,151 persons. The sustainable limit for city size is 1,057,412. |
| Keywords: | Optimal City Size, Total Surplus, Environmental Costs, Social Costs |
| JEL: | R10 R12 Q50 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kbb:dpaper:2012-19&r=env |
| By: | Simon Dietz; Carmen Marchiori; Alessandro Tavoni |
| Abstract: | The theory of international environmental agreements overwhelmingly assumes that governments engage as unitary agents. Each government makes choices based on benefits and costs that are simple national aggregates, and similarly on a single set of national-level motivations, together drawing a strong analogy with the behaviour of an individual or firm in other strategic contexts. In reality, however, various domestic special interests shape environmental policy, including how national governments cooperate on cross-border issues. Therefore in this paper we introduce to a classic model of international environmental cooperation the phenomenon of domestic political competition, whereby lobby groups seek to influence policy by offering to fund political campaigning. We use the model to establish some general conditions for the effects of lobbying on the stringency of policy and the size of coalitions cooperating to provide an environmental good. Using specific functional forms, we obtain a range of further results, including circumstances in which the omission of lobbying results in environmental protection being underestimated. |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp87&r=env |
| By: | Moussa Diaby (CREM - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Management - CNRS : UMR6211 - Université de Rennes 1 - Université de Caen Basse-Normandie); Hélène Ferrer (CREM - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Management - CNRS : UMR6211 - Université de Rennes 1 - Université de Caen Basse-Normandie); Fabrice Valognes (CREM - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Management - CNRS : UMR6211 - Université de Rennes 1 - Université de Caen Basse-Normandie) |
| Abstract: | We consider in the present paper an original approach to a decision making problem related to the management of a primary resource, namely the rubber tree. By using the social choice theory through approval voting, we show that it is possible to improve the return of the crop. Hence, by selecting the best varieties to be planted with respect to some environmental constraints, we demonstrate that approval voting can be easily used (opposed to classical operation research methods) by the African rubber tree planters in order to get a plantation at peak performance. |
| Keywords: | Natural resource management; Rubber tree; Social choice; Group decision making |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00804065&r=env |
| By: | Geoffrey Heal; Antony Millner |
| Abstract: | Uncertainty is intrinsic to climate change: we know that the climate is changing, but not precisely how fast or in what ways. Nor do we understand fully the social and economic consequences of these changes, or the options that will be available for reducing climate change. Furthermore the uncertainty about these issues is not readily quantified and expressed in probabilistic terms: we are facing deep uncertainty or ambiguity rather than risk in the classical sense, rendering the classical expected utility framework of limited value. We review the sources of uncertainty about all aspects of climate change and resolve these into various components, commenting on their relative importance. Then we review decision-making frameworks that are appropriate in the absence of quantitative probabilistic information, including non-probabilistic approaches and those based on multiple priors, and discuss their application in climate change economics. |
| JEL: | D81 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18929&r=env |
| By: | Bradford Mills (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University); Joachim Schleich (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research - Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, MTS - Management Technologique et Strategique - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)) |
| Abstract: | Relationships between a number of measures of household energy use behavior are estimated using a unique dataset of approximately 5,000 households in ten EU countries and Norway. Knowledge of energy consumption and energy-efficient technology options is found to be associated with household use of energy conservation practices, but not with adoption of energy-efficient technologies. Household characteristics also influence household energy use behavior. Younger household cohorts are more likely to adopt energy-efficient technologies and energy conservation practices and place primary importance on energy savings for environmental reasons, while households with a high share of elderly members place more importance on financial savings. Education also influences attitudes towards energy conservation. Low education households indicate they primarily save electricity for financial reasons, while high education households indicated they are motivated by environmental concerns. Significant country differences also exist. Households in transitioning Eastern European countries generally have lower levels of energy-efficient technology adoption, but strong propensities to employ energy-conservation practices, and place less importance on saving electricity for environmental reasons compared to households in Western European countries. EU policies to promote residential adoption of energy-efficient technologies and energy conservation practices must be sensitive to both cross-country and intra-county variations in household energy use behavior. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:gemptp:hal-00805711&r=env |
| By: | Baran Doda |
| Abstract: | CO2 emissions and GDP are positively correlated over the business cycle. Most climate change researchers would agree with the preceding intuitive statement despite the absence of a study that formally analyzes the relationship between emissions and GDP at business cyclefrequencies. The current paper attempts to address this gap in the literature by providing a simple, rigorous and consistent analysis of the relationship in a comprehensive cross country panel. To this end, I decompose the aggregate emissions and GDP series into their growth and cyclical components using the HP filter and focus on the cyclical components. Four robustfacts emerge from this analysis: i) Emissions are procyclical and cyclically more volatile than GDP in a typical country; ii) Cyclical volatility of emissions is negatively correlated with GDP per capita across countries; iii) Procyclicality of emissions is positively correlated with GDP per capita across countries; and iv) The composition of GDP is crucial for the business cycle properties of emissions but the relationship is complex. I undertake and report an extensive set of robustness checks which corroborate these findings. Finally, I propose some preliminarythoughts on the mechanisms that may be generating the data with these properties. |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp78&r=env |
| By: | Ralf Martin; Mirabelle Muûls; Laure B. de Preux; Ulrich J. Wagner |
| Abstract: | When industry compensation is offered to prevent relocation of regulated firms, efficiency requires that payments be distributed across firms so as to equalize marginal relocation probabilities, weighted by the damage caused by relocation. We formalize this fundamental economic logic and apply it to analyze industry compensation rules proposed under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which allocate permits for free to carbon and trade intensive industries. We estimate that this practice will result in overcompensation in the order of €6.7 billion every year. Efficient allocation would reduce the aggregate risk of job loss by two thirds without increasing aggregate compensation. |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp85&r=env |
| By: | David Albouy; Walter F. Graf; Ryan Kellogg; Hendrik Wolff |
| Abstract: | We present a hedonic framework to estimate U.S. households' preferences over local climates, using detailed weather and 2000 Census data. We find that Americans favor an average daily temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit, will pay more on the margin to avoid excess heat than cold, and are not substantially more averse to extremes than to temperatures that are merely uncomfortable. These preferences vary by location due to sorting or adaptation. Changes in climate amenities under business-as-usual predictions imply annual welfare losses of 1 to 3 percent of income by 2100, holding technology and preferences constant. |
| JEL: | H49 I39 Q54 R10 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18925&r=env |
| By: | Saraly Andrade de Sá; Charles Palmer; Salvatore Di Falco |
| Abstract: | The expansion of a given land use may affect deforestation directly if forests are cleared to free land for this use, or indirectly, via the displacement of other land-use activities from non-forest areas towards the forest frontier. Unlike direct land conversion, indirect land-use changes affecting deforestation are not immediately observable. They require the linking of changes occurring in different regions. This paper empirically estimates these indirect effects for the case of Brazil. It presents evidence of a positive relationship between sugarcane expansion in the south of the country and cattle ranching in the Amazon, suggesting that the former is indeed displacing the latter towards the forest frontier. This displacement effect is shown to be a dynamic process materializing over 10 to 15 years. |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp74&r=env |
| By: | Charles F. Mason (H.A. True Chair in Petroleum and Natural Gas Economics, Department of Economics & Finance, University of Wyoming) |
| Abstract: | As addressing climate change becomes a high priority it seems likely that there will be a surge in interest in deploying nuclear power. Other fuel bases are too dirty (coal), too expensive (oil, natural gas) or too speculative (solar, wind) to completely supply the energy needs of the global economy. To the extent that the global society does in fact choose to expand nuclear power there will be a need for additional production. That increase in demand for nuclear power will inevitably lead to an increase in demand for uranium. While some of the increased demand for uranium will be satisfied by expanding production from existing deposits, there will undoubtedly be pressure to find and develop new deposits, perhaps quite rapidly. Looking forward, it is important that policies be put in place that encourage an optimal allocation of future resources towards exploration. In particular, I argue there is a valid concern that privately optimal levels of industrial activity will fail to fully capture all potential social gains; these sub-optimal exploration levels are linked to a departure between the private and social values of exploration information. |
| Keywords: | Uranium, Nuclear Power, Exploration |
| JEL: | Q48 L72 D83 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2013.19&r=env |
| By: | Rhona Barr; Susana Mourato |
| Abstract: | We determine the effects of various management restrictions on adoption rates of marine PES schemes. Choice experiments are used in order to determine how fisher participation rates differ under different marine PES programme designs. Various designs, with differing restriction rates, show different rates of adoption. However, fishers’ express a high utility loss associated with any move away from the current management situation, irrespective of restriction levels. This indicates that PES scheme costs may be high and creating an enabling environment could be important to reducing these perceived losses, as could investment into conditional in-kind compensation mechanisms. The paper also shows choice experiments to be a useful tool in marine PES design. |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp101&r=env |
| By: | Antoine Dechezleprêtre; Richard Perkins; Eric Neumayer |
| Abstract: | This article examines the impact of environmental regulation within countries as well as regulatory distance between countries on international technology transfer. We employ a recently-assembled dataset of automobile emission standards and corresponding data on non-resident patent filing of automotive environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) in 49 countries between 1992 and 2007. Our analysis shows that an important factor shaping transfers is relative regulatory distance in that countries are more likely to receive newly-innovated technologies from source countries whose regulatory standards are “closer” to their own. Absolute stringency matters as well, consistent with conventional wisdom, although raising domestic environmental standards as such only leads to higher inflows of ESTs in developing countries. Novel to the literature, we show that regulatory standards in the third markets of a country's trading partners also influence transfers: countries receive more ESTs from a specific source country where they export more to markets whose regulatory standards are similar to those of the source country of the transferred technologies. As concerns both domestic regulation and regulation in a country’s major export markets, it is therefore regulatory distance that matters most rather than absolute regulatory levels. |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp73&r=env |
| By: | Sam Fankhauser; Alex Bowen; Raphael Calel; Antoine Dechezleprêtre; David Grover; James Rydge; Misato Sato |
| Abstract: | As the world considers greener forms of economic growth, countries and sectors are beginning to position themselves for the emerging green economy. This paper combines patent data with international trade and output data in order to investigate who the winners of this “green race” might be. The analysis covers 110 manufacturing sectors in eight countries (China, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, UK and the US) over 2005-2007. We identify three success factors for green competitiveness at the sector level: the speed at which sectors convert to green products and processes (measured by green innovation), their ability to gain and maintain market share (measured by existing comparative advantages) and a favourable starting point (measured by current output). We find that the green race is likely to alter the present competitiveness landscape. Many incumbent country-sectors with strong comparative advantages today lag behind in terms of green conversion, suggesting that they could lose their competitive edge. Japan, and to a lesser extent Germany, appear best placed to benefit from the green economy, while other European countries (Italy in particular) could fall behind. However, the green economy is much broader than the few flagship sectors on which the debate tends to focus, and each country has its niches of green competitiveness. |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp94&r=env |
| By: | Robin Burgess; Matthew Hansen; Benjamin Olken; Peter Potapov; Stefanie Sieber |
| Abstract: | Tropical deforestation accounts for almost one-Öfth of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and threatens the worldís 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 Önd 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 e§ect disappears over time as political turnover occurs. The results illustrate how incentives faced by local government o¢ cials a§ect deforestation, and provide an example of how standard economic theories can explain illegal behavior. |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp79&r=env |
| By: | Eiji Sawada (Keio Advanced Research Centers, Keio University); Shunsuke Managi (Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a new non-renewable resource extraction model with both extraction and exploration technologies. We show how these technological changes affect efficient non-renewable resource extraction differently. Policy-makers therefore need to carefully choose the type of technology by considering their properties. |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kei:dpaper:2012-048&r=env |
| By: | David Grover |
| Abstract: | Greenhouse gas emission limits are a major source of technical and policy uncertainty for electric power industry professionals. This paper tries to reduce some of this uncertainty by investigating the main forces that were responsible for the productivity gains made by the electric power sector with respect to SO2 emissions under the US SO2 cap and trade program. The SO2 cap and trade experience has important parallels with the GHG pollution problem, in both policy design and technical response. Linear and quantile regression are used to compare the effect of new technical knowledge (R&D) on SO2 productivity, against the effect of pre-existing techniques that did not involve very much new knowledge creation. Compliance techniques that involved little new technical knowledge and which were incremental and pragmatic played the most important role in SO2-saving technological change. Implications of this finding for electric power plants’ technical response to GHG pollution limits are elaborated. |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp99&r=env |
| By: | Shoup, Donald |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Natural Resources and Conservation, Social Sciences, solar parking, solar panels, parking lots |
| Date: | 2012–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:uctcwp:qt46c64527&r=env |
| By: | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) |
| Abstract: | This 2012 Global Food Policy Report is the second in an annual series that provides an in-depth look at major food policy developments and events. Initiated in response to resurgent interest in food security, the series offers a yearly overview of the food policy developments that have contributed to or hindered progress in food and nutrition security. It reviews what happened in food policy and why, examines key challenges and opportunities, shares new evidence and knowledge, and highlights emerging issues. |
| Keywords: | Brazil; China; India; South Asia; East Asia; Latin America; South America; Africa South of Sahara; Africa; Asia; European Union; United States; North America; Food policy; food policies; Sustainability; Agricultural productivity; Gender; Women; Women in agriculture; Labor; Agricultural policies; Agricultural laborers; subsidies; Agricultural subsidies; Agricultural research.; Climate change; food security; Nutrition security; Food wastes; Postharvest losses; Agricultural development; employment; Food supply; green economy; Rural development; Sustainable development; Resilience; youth; Smallholder farmers; Rio20; Biofuels; Bioenergy; Doha Developmental Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO); Doha round; Property rights; Land rights; Land acquisitions; Food prices; Land degradation; International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade; IMPACT model; Developing countries; Developed countries |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:resrep:2012globalfoodpolicyreport&r=env |
| By: | Steven J. Lade; Alessandro Tavoni; Simon A. Levin; Maja Schlüter |
| Abstract: | Ecological regime shifts are rarely purely ecological. Not only is the regime shift frequently triggered by human activity, but the responses of relevant actors to ecological dynamics are often crucial to the development and even existence of the regime shift. Here,we show that the dynamics of human behaviour in response to ecological changes can be crucial in determining the overall dynamics of the system. We find a social-ecological regime shift in a model of harvesters of a common-pool resource who avoid over-exploitation of the resource by social ostracism of non-complying harvesters. The regime shift, which can be triggered by several different drivers individually or also in combination, consists of a breakdown of the social norm, sudden collapse of co-operation and an over-exploitation of the resource. We use the approach of generalised modelling to study the robustness of the regime shift to uncertainty over the specific forms of model components such as the ostracism norm and the resource dynamics. Importantly, the regime shift in our model does not occur if the dynamics of harvester behaviour are not included in the model. Finally, we sketch some possible early warning signals for the social-ecological regime shifts we observe in the models. |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp105&r=env |
| By: | Caterina Cruciani (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Ca’ Foscari University); Silvio Giove (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Ca’ Foscari University); Mehmet Pinar (Edge Hill University); Matteo Sostero (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Ca’ Foscari University) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an application of a multi-attribute aggregation methodology to the construction of a sustainability index. Sustainability is a multi-faceted issue, in which synergies or conflicts may arise among the different components, thus making it a complex concept to which multi attribute methods can be employed. This paper addresses the development of the FEEM Sustainability Index (FEEM SI), a composite index including 19 different indicators grouped in the three classical pillars of sustainability ? economic, social and environmental. We present the relevance of multi-attribute aggregation methodologies when dealing with such complex concepts and provide an aggregation methodology used for this case study, the Choquet-integral aggregation. First, we normalize each sustainability indicator with the use of a benchmarking procedure with a smooth target of sustainability. Furthermore, an ad-hoc questionnaire implemented to assess the importance of each sustainability indicator and their interaction with other indicators through expert elicitation. After normalizing each sustainability indicator and computing consensus importance of each sustainability indicator and their interactions for the Choquet-integral aggregation procedure, the overall sustainability index, the FEEM SI is calculated. This paper also conducts robustness analysis and discusses the main implications of the aggregation methodology used. |
| Keywords: | Sustainability Indices, Composite Indicators, Choquet Integral, Multiattribute Value Theory |
| JEL: | C43 C44 Q01 Q56 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2013.16&r=env |
| By: | Simon Baptist; Cameron Hepburn |
| Abstract: | Many models of economic growth exclude materials, energy and other intermediate inputs from the production function. Growing environmental pressures and resource prices suggest that this may be increasingly inappropriate. This paper explores the relationship between intermediate input intensity, productivity and national accounts using a panel data set of manufacturing subsectors in the United States over 47 years. The first contribution is to identify sectoral production functions that incorporate intermediate inputs, while allowing for heterogeneity in both technology and productivity. The second contribution is that the paper finds a negative correlation between intermediate input intensity and total factor productivity (TFP) — sectors that are less intensive in their use of intermediate inputs have higher rates of productivity.This finding is replicated at the firm level. We propose tentative hypotheses to explain this association, but testing and further disaggregation of intermediate inputs is left for further work. Further work could also explore more directlythe relationship between material inputs and economic growth — given the high further work on material efficiency. Depending upon the nature of the mechanismlinking a reduction in intermediate input intensity to an increase in TFP, the implications could be significant. A third contribution is to suggest that an empirical bias in productivity, as measured in national accounts, may arise due to the exclusion of intermediate inputs. Current conventions of measuring productivity in national accounts may overstate the productivity of resource-intensive sectors relative to other sectors. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp95&r=env |
| By: | Elofsson, Katarina (Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences); Gren, Ing-Marie (Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) |
| Abstract: | The issue of timing and scope of policies to manage invasive species has achieved considerable attention in the economic literature. Whereas many earlier studies compare prevention and control for a single invading species, we focus instead on the optimal balance of adaptation and control when an invasive species competes for scarce resources with a resident species. In particular, we focus on the role that species’ life history, i.e. the degree of evolutionary specialization in survival or reproduction, plays for the choice of strategy. A numerical age-structured optimization model is used for the analysis. Results show that life history is an important factor for the trade-off between direct control of the invader and adaptation of harvesting strategies for the resident species. Life history is also crucial for the trade-off between early and delayed control of the invader. When a direct control technology is not available, there are larger economic losses with a resident species specialized in survival, whereas if such technologies are available, the larger losses occur with a resident species specialized in reproduction. |
| Keywords: | Invasive species; life history; control; harvest; adaptation; costs |
| JEL: | D99 Q29 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slueko:2013_004&r=env |
| By: | Adrien Vogt-Schilb (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRAD : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - AgroParisTech); Ruben Bibas (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRAD : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - AgroParisTech); Christophe Cassen (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRAD : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - AgroParisTech); Céline Guivarch (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRAD : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - AgroParisTech); Jean-Charles Hourcade (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRAD : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - AgroParisTech) |
| Abstract: | Cette fiche synthétise les arguments en faveur d'un investissement précoce pour le développement de l'électrification des véhicules, qui ont été développés dans le cadre de l'étude " Vision Europe-Chine 2010-2011 ". Cette étude, menée en collaboration entre le Cired et l'Observatoire des Émergents, visait à comparer les contextes macroéconomiques et énergétiques de l'émergence de véhicules électrifiés en Europe et en Chine. |
| Date: | 2013–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00802401&r=env |
| By: | Villeneuve, Bertrand |
| Abstract: | L'article modélise un programme de gestion de déchets nucléaires à haute activité. La physique du refroidissement permet d'entreposer un certain temps un colis chaud afin d'économiser le volume de stockage définitif : en effet, les colis plus froids peuvent être davantage serrés. La durée optimale théorique d'entreposage sans contrainte est caractérisée. Les diverses contraintes (contrainte sur la capacité de stockage, contrainte sur la durée d'entreposage, contrainte sur la capacité d'entreposage) sont envisagées. Elles conduisent à des traitements très différenciés selon les millésimes. |
| Abstract: | The paper models a program of high‐activity nuclear‐waste management. The physics of cooling incites to store hot waste for a while to spare scarce disposal volume: indeed, colder parcels may be put in tighter conditions. The optimal unconstrained duration of storage is characterized. Various constraints (on disposal capacity, on the length of storage, on storage capacity) are considered. They all lead to contrasted strategies depending on vintage. |
| Keywords: | déchets nucléaires; durée d’entreposage; stockage; contrainte de capacité; |
| JEL: | Q49 L94 R32 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:dauphi:urn:hdl:123456789/11179&r=env |
| By: | Liu, Xiangping (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Taylor, Laura (Center for Environmental and Resource Economic Policy); Hamilton, Timothy (Department of Economics, University of Richmond); Grigelis, Peter (Office of Policy Analysis, U.S. Deparment of Interior) |
| Abstract: | The National Wildlife Refuge system is a network of permanently protected open space encompassing more than 150 million acres across 50 states. Maintaining such a large network of permanently protected open space can put the federal government at odds with local communities when management priorities differ from the local community’s objectives. This can be especially true in rapidly urbanizing areas where local jurisdictions voice concerns over the loss of property tax revenues and economic activity resulting from lands’ protected status. While refuge recreation and ecosystem benefits have been identified, we know little about the property value benefits accruing to local homeowners. This research quantifies the property value benefits of all refuges on the east coast that are near urban areas. Our approach is made possible through access to confidential U.S. Census data identifying property values surrounding all refuges with high geographic resolution. Results from hedonic property value models suggest that the amenity values of refuges located near urbanized areas are capitalized into the value of homes in very close proximity, averaging $11 million per refuge. These capitalized values add directly to the local tax base and are considerable complements to the annual economic value created by the refuge system. |
| Keywords: | National Wildlife Refuges; open space; amenity values; hedonic analysis |
| JEL: | Q24 Q51 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0562&r=env |
| By: | Giulia Fiorese (FEEM and European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability); Michela Catenacci (FEEM); Valentina Bosetti (FEEM and CMCC - Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici); Elena Verdolini (FEEM and CMCC - Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici) |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on technologies which use thermo-chemical or biochemical processes to convert biomass into electricity. We present the results from an expert elicitation exercise involving sixteen leading experts coming from different EU Member States. Aim of the elicitation was to assess the potential cost reduction of RD&D (Research, Development and Demonstration) efforts and to identify barriers to the diffusion of these technologies. The research sheds light on the future potential of bioenergy technologies both in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and non-OECD countries. The results we present are an important input both for the integrated assessment modeling community and for policy makers who draft public RD&D strategies |
| Keywords: | Expert Elicitation, Research, Development and Demonstration, Bioenergy |
| JEL: | Q42 Q55 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2013.18&r=env |
| By: | Yoann Verger (REEDS - Centre international de Recherches en Economie écologique, Eco-innovation et ingénierie du Développement Soutenable - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines : EA4456) |
| Abstract: | L'écologie industrielle et l'économie stationnaire peuvent se rejoindre dans la notion de cycles : ainsi les industries pourraient fonctionner en boucle quasiment fermées si la théorie de l'écologie industrielle était suivie jusqu'au bout, et l'économie dans sa forme plus générale ne perturberait pas les grands cycles naturels et écologiques qui lui permettent de subsister du point de vue de l'économie stationnaire, au contraire elle s'y insérerait parfaitement. C'est sur ce deuxième point que je veux travailler, en cernant dans quelles mesures une économie stationnaire pourrait s'organiser en préservant ces cycles naturels, voir en essayant de les renforcer. Sans aller jusqu'aux dérives de la bio-ingénierie, qui cherche à faire, littéralement, la pluie et le beau temps, mon postulat de base est que l'économie se sert de produits ou de services issus de processus environnementaux, et qu'elle en dégrade d'autres : les injonctions couplées du principe de précaution et du développement durable (en pensant notamment aux générations futures) nous obligent donc à nous préoccuper du bon fonctionnement de ces processus, qu'il s'agissent des grands cycles géochimiques ou des services liés plus spécifiquement aux écosystèmes (pollinisation par exemple). Les bienfaits économiques ou les effets économiques des dégradations ne sont pas forcément bien pris en compte, notamment à cause de ce que les économistes appellent les failles du marché (l'économie est myope concernant les biens publics). Des modèles ont tenté de définir les bénéfices économiques apportés par les services éco-systémiques, d'autres ont cherché à internaliser les dégâts causés sur ces mêmes services. Mon approche va se focaliser sur un type de modèle néo-ricardien de production jointe : je vais, à l'aide de celui-ci, décrire simplement la structure d'une économie qui s'appuie en partie sur la production de services éco-systémiques, pour montrer ensuite les implications en termes de changements structurels permettant de rendre viable le système sur le long terme. Je chercherai ainsi à démontrer que le seul système économique viable est alors une économie stationnaire qui va se servir du profit généré pour revitaliser le capital écologique, et non seulement pour servir la croissance du sous-système économique. Les principes de l'économie stationnaire tels que la non-consommation des ressources renouvelables à un taux plus élevé que leur renouvellement seront soulignés. Je me pencherai plus spécifiquement sur le cas d'un ensemble de processus décrivant le fonctionnement d'un système de production/consommation de bioénergie. Cet exemple se basera sur le développement récent en France de coproduction de chaleur et d'énergie à base de biomasse, ou permettant l'injection de biogaz dans le réseau de gaz de ville : dans le cadre de la " transition énergétique " récemment évoquée au plus haut niveau de l'Etat, ce type d'unité énergétique peut être vu comme un moyen à la fois d'assurer une autonomie locale vis-à-vis des ressources fossiles, et à la fois de réduire les émissions polluantes. L'exploration au niveau théorique des échanges de matière et d'énergie entre les différents processus impliqués permettra de souligner les enjeux évoqués plus haut. Puis, au niveau des applications pratiques, dans le cadre de l'exemple évoqué des bioénergies, je montrerai que les politiques permettant la viabilité du système peuvent s'inspirer des principes de l'écologie industrielle et de l'économie de fonctionnalité. L'objectif est donc double : d'une part théoriser les liens entre environnement et économie via la caractérisation d'un capital naturel produisant des biens et des profits accaparés par l'économie humaine, d'autre part construire une vision pratique de scénarios permettant de tirer profit des implications d'une économie stationnaire. Le rapprochement entre économie stationnaire et écologie industrielle me parait dans ce sens inévitable. |
| Keywords: | écologie industrielle ; économie écologique ; production jointe ; bioénergie ; économie stationnaire ; capitalisme naturel |
| Date: | 2013–03–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00804223&r=env |
| By: | Yamamura, Eiji |
| Abstract: | Although natural disasters have been found to influence economic growth, their impact on income inequality has not yet been explored. This paper uses cross-country panel data during the period 1965 to 2004 to examine how the occurrence of natural disasters has affected income inequality. The major findings of this study are that although natural disasters have increased income inequality in the short term, this effect disappears in the medium term. These findings are observed even after the fixed effects of year and country are controlled for. |
| Keywords: | natural disasters, income inequality |
| JEL: | D63 Q54 |
| Date: | 2013–03–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:45623&r=env |
| By: | Swenja Surminski; Andrew Williamson |
| Abstract: | The last two decades have witnessed an explosion in the publication of country indexes that measure and rank the relative policy performances of governments. Whilst there is a well understood audience for such rankings amongst policy-makers and the media, much less is known about their use and applicability to business users and business planning. In this study we explore if and how policy indexes can assist business decision-making and compare and contrast the strength and weaknesses of using indexes between their current target audience of government decision makers and business planners. We focus on one particular area – climate policy – where several of these types of indexes have been developed, all with different aims, varying in investigation of the information content of these climate change indexes and by a number of stakeholder interviews with business representatives. Despite several challenges and limitations to the use of policy indexes by business leaders, we suggest that the need for data and information to support business planning and market entry decisions is strong – particularly in emerging markets and in sectors that face political uncertainty. |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp88&r=env |
| By: | Jean-Michel Salles |
| Abstract: | Les principales causes de la dégradation des écosystèmes et de la crise annoncée de la biodiversité sont désormais bien identifiées ; présentées le plus souvent en cinq catégories (GBO3, 2010) : destruction, dégradation et transformation des habitats ; surexploitation des ressources naturelles ; pollutions des milieux ; espèces invasives ; changement climatique. Derrière leur diversité et, parfois, leur complexité, chacun peut noter leur point commun : elles sont toutes directement ou indirectement liées à des choix et des comportements socio-économiques.[...] |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lam:estudy:13-02&r=env |
| By: | Arnaud De La Tour (CERNA - Centre d'économie industrielle - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris); Matthieu Glachant (CERNA - Centre d'économie industrielle - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris); Yann Ménière (CERNA - Centre d'économie industrielle - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) |
| Abstract: | Except in few locations, photovoltaic generated electricity remains considerably more expensive than conventional sources. It is however expected that innovation and learning-bydoing will lead to drastic cuts in production cost in the near future. The goal of this paper is to predict the cost of PV modules out to 2020 using experience curve models, and to draw implications about the cost of PV electricity. Using annual data on photovoltaic module prices, cumulative production, R&D knowledge stock and input prices for silicon and silver over the period 1990 - 2011, we identify a experience curve model which minimizes the difference between predicted and actual module prices. This model predicts a 67% decrease of module price from 2011 to 2020. This rate implies that the cost of PV generated electricity will reach that of conventional electricity by 2020 in the sunniest countries with annual solar irradiation of 2000 kWh/year or more, such as California, Italy, and Spain. |
| Keywords: | Learning curve; solar photovoltaic energy; cost prediction |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00805668&r=env |