|
on Environmental Economics |
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Issue of 2017‒02‒05
twenty-six papers chosen by Francisco S. Ramos Universidade Federal de Pernambuco |
| By: | Quaye, Archibold; Elliott, Matthew |
| Abstract: | The loss of nitrogen fertilizer into the atmosphere and waterways is of increasing concern for policy makers. This study conducts a cost-effective analysis (CEA) to determine the best strategies, and areas, to reduce nitrogen losses in South Dakota. This form of analysis is done by spatially comparing the amount of reductions per acre across the state, assuming alternative mitigation strategies and adoption rates. Using environmental factors, (Climate type, soil texture, soil organic carbon, soil drainage, soil pH and crop type), and management decisions (no till, conventional till, reduced till, crop rotations, and application timing), we assess the best areas and methods in South Dakota that can be targeted with management changes to gain the most cost effective continuous improvement in nitrogen losses. The Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model was used to simulate the homogeneous response units to changes in nitrogen management practices and assess nitrogen losses. Simetar was then used to derive certainty equivalence values for changes in nitrogen loss and producer returns from changes in nitrogen management. |
| Keywords: | Cost Effective Analysis, Nitrogen losses, Management decisions, Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q5, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252794&r=env |
| By: | Hezareh, Reza; Shayanmehr, Samira; Darbandi, Elham; Schieffer, Jack |
| Abstract: | This research applied a novel method to investigate the relationship between energy use and environmental pollution. We applied Spatial Panel Simultaneous-Equations for a panel of 22 developing countries over the period of 2000-2011. Previous researches indicate that the level of CO2 emissions increases with energy consumption. Also, Energy consumption is likely to have an increase in CO2 emissions. Appling a simultaneous equation model allowed us to estimate the relation between these two variables simultaneously. Identifying this relationship helps policymakers to design appropriate policies for achieving sustainable economic growth. On the other hand, the spatial models explain to what extent each dependent variable in a country depends on neighbors’ characteristics. Empirical results of this method show that energy consumption and environmental pollution in each country is affected by these factors in neighboring countries. Also, results confirm bidirectional causality and positive relation between energy use and environmental pollution. The econometrics estimation indicates that reducing CO2 emission in developing countries is dependent on the reform of energy consumption patterns and using renewable energy to replace fossil fuels in production simultaneously in these countries. |
| Keywords: | Developing countries, Energy consumption, Renewable energy, Spatial autoregression, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q1, Q5, Q40, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252818&r=env |
| By: | David A. Keiser; Joseph S. Shapiro |
| Abstract: | Since the 1972 U.S. Clean Water Act, government and industry have invested over $1 trillion to abate water pollution, or $100 per person-year. Over half of U.S. stream and river miles, however, still violate pollution standards. We use the most comprehensive set of files ever compiled on water pollution and its determinants, including 50 million pollution readings from 170,000 monitoring sites, to study water pollution's trends, causes, and welfare consequences. We have three main findings. First, water pollution concentrations have fallen substantially since 1972, though were declining at faster rates before then. Second, the Clean Water Act's grants to municipal wastewater treatment plants caused some of these declines. Third, the grants' estimated effects on housing values are generally smaller than the grants' costs. |
| JEL: | H23 H54 H70 Q50 R31 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23070&r=env |
| By: | Stefano Carattini; Simon Levin; Alessandro Tavoni |
| Abstract: | This paper surveys the existing empirical evidence on the scope for cooperation in the climate commons and on the effectiveness of possible interventions to spur it. Given the global public good properties of climate change mitigation, mitigation efforts have to rely on the willingness of individuals to contribute voluntarily to this public good, by reducing the demand on the environmental commons either in the form of ‘green’ consumer behaviour or through the acceptance of costly climate policy. Both are likely to be necessary. The authors survey evidence that suggests a central role for local social norms in the provision of global public goods. They discuss the importance of the visibility of norms and the role of beliefs when such visibility is lacking, concluding that some actors may behave as conditional cooperators when confronted with global dilemmas, similarly to what takes place in the local commons. |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp259&r=env |
| By: | Spencer, Daniel S.; Barnes, James N.; Coatney, Kalyn T.; Parman, Bryon J.; Coble, Keith H. |
| Abstract: | Several recent studies have examined how excess nutrient runoff from nitrogen and phosphorous have caused environmental damage in the United States. Perhaps the most significant is the hypoxia zone in the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, regulation of these nutrient levels has emerged as an important step toward environmental stewardship, yet this has been an uneven process. Some states have developed strict regulations to decrease nutrient runoff, but the majority of states have favored broader goals of reducing nutrient runoff using best management practices (BMPs) instead of strict regulations. Nevertheless, regulations that restrict the use of nutrients in production agriculture also restricts the property rights of input usability over said nutrients in the agricultural supply chain and its production processes, including at the farm-level. This paper reviews the economic literature on non-point source water regulations to reduce nutrient runoff in agricultural production in the United States. A new methodological approach is outlined that uses the Agricultural Policy and Environmental eXtender (APEX) biophysical simulation model to understand alternative production practices and nutrient management strategy economics from a farm level perspective. Some empirical examples are presented to demonstrate the usefulness of this approach. |
| Keywords: | Water Quality, Water Regulations, Property Rights, Hypoxia Gulf of Mexico, Nutrient Management, Environmental Economics, Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252835&r=env |
| By: | Christian Growitsch (University of Hamburg); Simon Paulus (University of Cologne); Heike Wetzel (University of Kassel) |
| Abstract: | Levels of CO2 emissions from electricity generation in the U.S. have changed considerably in the last decade. This development can be attributed to two factors. First, the shale gas revolution has reduced gas prices significantly, leading to a crowding out of the more CO2-intensive coal for electricity generation. Secondly, environmental regulations have been tightened at both the federal and the state level. In this article, we analyze the relative CO2 emission performance across 48 states in the U.S. using a two-stage empirical approach. In the first stage, we identify the states that followed best practice between 2000 and 2013, by applying nonparametric benchmarking techniques. In the second stage, we regress our CO2 emission performance indicators on the state-specific national gas prices, the states’ CO2 regulatory policies and a number of other state-specific factors in order to identify the main drivers of the developments. We find that the CO2 emission performance improved on average by 15% across all states from 2000 to 2013. Furthermore, our second-stage results support the argument that decreasing natural gas prices and stringent regulatory measures, such as cap-and-trade programs, have a positive impact on the state-specific CO2 emission performance. |
| Keywords: | Carbon dioxide emission performance, data envelopment analysis, global Malmquist index, environmental regulation |
| JEL: | C61 D24 L94 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201709&r=env |
| By: | Growitsch, Christian (Universitaet Hamburg); Paulus, Simon (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI)); Wetzel, Heike (Universitaet Kassel) |
| Abstract: | Levels of CO2 emissions from electricity generation in the U.S. have changed considerably in the last decade. This development can be attributed to two factors. First, the shale gas revolution has reduced gas prices significantly, leading to a crowding out of the more CO2-intensive coal for electricity generation. Secondly, environmental regulations have been tightened at both the federal and the state level. In this article, we analyze the relative CO2 emission performance across 48 states in the U.S. using a two-stage empirical approach. In the first stage, we identify the states that followed best practice between 2000 and 2013, by applying nonparametric benchmarking techniques. In the second stage, we regress our CO2 emission performance indicators on the state-specific national gas prices, the states’ CO2 regulatory policies and a number of other state-specific factors in order to identify the main drivers of the developments. We find that the CO2 emission performance improved on average by 15% across all states from 2000 to 2013. Furthermore, our second-stage results support the argument that decreasing natural gas prices and stringent regulatory measures, such as cap-and-trade programs, have a positive impact on the state-specific CO2 emission performance. |
| Keywords: | Carbon Dioxide Emission Performance; Data Envelopment Analysis; Global Malmquist Index; Environmental Regulation |
| JEL: | C61 D24 L94 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:ewikln:2017_003&r=env |
| By: | Alena Miftakhova (University of Zurich); Kenneth L. Judd (Stanford University, Center for Robust Decisionmaking on Climate & Energy Policy (RDCEP), and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)); Thomas S. Lontzek (University of Zurich; Center for Robust Decisionmaking on Climate & Energy Policy (RDCEP)); Karl Schmedders (University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | In many studies involving complex representation of the Earth's climate, the number of runs for the particular model is highly restricted and the designed set of input scenarios has to be reduced correspondingly. Furthermore, many integrated assessment models, in particular those focusing on intrinsic uncertainty in social decision-making, suffer from poor representations of the climate system ue to computational constraints.In this study, using emission scenarios as input and the temperature anomaly as a predicted response variable, we construct low-dimensional approximations of high-dimensional climate models, as represented by MAGICC. In order to extract as much explanatory power as possible from the high-dimensional climate models, we construct orthogonal emissions scenarios that carry minimum repetitive information. Our method is especially useful when there is pressure to keep the number of scenarios as low as possible. We demonstrate that temperature levels can be inferred immediately from the CO2 emissions data within a one-line model that performs very well on conventional scenarios. Furthermore, we provide a system of equations that is ready to be deployed in macroeconomic optimization models. Thus, our study enhances the methodology applied in the emulation of complex climate models and facilitates the use of more realistic climate representations in economic integrated assessment models. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Greenhouse Gas, Single Equation Models |
| JEL: | Q54 C20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp1676&r=env |
| By: | Ofori, Eric; Tack, Jesse; Li, Xiaofei; Harri, Ardian |
| Abstract: | In this study, we utilize a panel of subnational district-level yields for corn matched to weather data that is spatially interpolated from observed weather station data to identify whether warming impacts exhibit spatial heterogeneities for both the mean and variance of corn yields in Ghana. Results are expected to demonstrate that there exist pertinent regional differences in climate change impacts. Some of these differences will likely be attributed to the localized change in climate, while others will likely be associated with particular agronomic characteristics (e.g. soil type) that can partially mitigate (or exacerbate) the effects of warming temperatures. Climate change impacts on agriculture have been widely researched in recent years. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), many of these studies have focused on spatially aggregate impacts at the country or higher level, and typically do not discuss the heterogeneity of within-region impacts. Thus, there is a growing interest in more localized climate change impacts that could help inform regional adaptation within a country. Globally, climate change is estimated to have adverse effects on crop yields. With agriculture being the mainstay of many economies in SSA, it is expected that these economies are especially vulnerable to climate change. Ghana is one of the fastest growing economies in SSA (World Bank Report, 2015). Over 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and two-thirds of agricultural GDP in Ghana are staple crops and livestock production (OECD Report, 2010). It is therefore important to quantify the effect of climate change on crop yields in Ghana. In addition, we explore the extent to which impacts might vary across different agronomic regions of the country as this can aid producers and policy makers in defining potential adaptation mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | corn, yields, climate, change, Ghana, Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252801&r=env |
| By: | Willis, David B.; Privette, Charles |
| Abstract: | Water runoff from residential developments is the third leading source of water pollution in the United States. A linear programming model is developed using nutrient runoff loadings for nitrogen and phosphorous generated by the Reedy River Model Simulation Program to estimate the potential cost savings of using a basin wide targeted approach for the location of best management control practices relative to a uniform control practice that requires each sub-basin within a rapidly grown urban watershed to decrease nitrogen and phosphorous runoff by the same percentage to achieve a downstream water quality target. In one policy scenario the targeted approach reduced control cost at the basin outlet by 42% relative to instituting a uniform control standard in each sub-basin within the watershed. |
| Keywords: | Water Quality, Best Management Practices, Cost Effectiveness, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252820&r=env |
| By: | Rafael Morales-Lage (Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Aurelia Bengochea-Morancho (Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Mariam Camarero (Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso (Dept of Economics and Center for Statistics, Georg-August Universitaet Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany & Dept of Economics, Universitat Jaume I) |
| Abstract: | Understanding the evolution of sectoral CO2 emissions of all EU countries in the past decades should be useful for political authorities when designing future environmental policies, as greater efforts must be done both in sectors with higher potential for reduction in order to reach the EU reduction targets. This paper focuses on the process of convergence in sectoral per capita CO2 emissions to ascertain whether the measures taken within the EU to meet its commitments have had the desirable impact. We apply time series techniques to CO2 data for the 28 member countries over the period 1960-2012 to test whether stochastic and club convergence has occurred. We only find evidence of weak club convergence as some EU countries are increasing their emissions whereas others are in a process of controlling them significantly but, at the same time, we observe major differences among the sectors and subsectors considered. |
| Keywords: | Convergence, CO2 emissions, European Union |
| JEL: | C22 O47 Q53 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2017/01&r=env |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This Policy Paper describes the relatively new phenomenon of publicly-capitalised green investment banks and examines why they are being created and how they are mobilising private investment. It draws on the OECD report “Green Investment Banks: Scaling up Private Investment in Low-carbon, Climate-resilient Infrastructure". |
| Date: | 2017–01–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaac:6-en&r=env |
| By: | Ye Qi; Nicholas Stern; Tong Wu; Jiaqi Lu; Fergus Green |
| Abstract: | Slowing GDP growth, a structural shift away from heavy industry, and more proactive policies on air pollution and clean energy have caused China's coal use to peak. It seems that economic growth has decoupled from growth in coal consumption. |
| Keywords: | Climate-change mitigation; Energy efficiency; Energy supply and demand; Sustainability |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2016–07–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:67503&r=env |
| By: | Adusumilli, Naveen; Hendrix, James; Girouard, Ernest; Carpenter, Josh |
| Abstract: | Runoff from agricultural fields in Lake St. Joseph watershed caused sediment inflow into the lake resulting in the lake not meeting one of its designated uses, propagation of fish and wildlife. As a result, the lake was added to the state's year 2002 list of impaired waters for turbidity. Conservation agencies worked with local farmers to promote the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to decrease sediment runoff from crop fields within the watershed. In 2016, it was proposed that Lake St. Joseph be removed from the list of impaired waters. Such delisting is believed to provide a variety of benefits to people, often referred as ecosystem services. We measured the value of the ecosystem services provided by recreational activities, mainly fishing, using a meta-analysis based function transfer approach. The preliminary results show significant benefit in terms of fishing as a result of an increase in fish populations. Although ecosystem services are not exactly bought and sold in the market, their contribution to the local economy is significant, especially in Louisiana. |
| Keywords: | Watershed, Best Management Practices, Turbidity, Valuation, Benefits Transfer, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q51, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252681&r=env |
| By: | Sharp, Misti; Suter, Jordan; Hoag, Dana |
| Abstract: | Uncertainty remains problematic for pollution control in water resources due to difficulties in tracing pollution flows and uncertainty regarding future regulation. This study uses experimental techniques to evaluate how farmers in a water quality trading (WQT) market behave when they are able to resolve two issues of uncertainty: uncertainty regarding the benefits of WQT participation and uncertainty over future regulation. Experiments were conducted in the summer of 2016 with participants assigned the role of “farmer” (seller) or “wastewater treatment plant manager” (buyer) in a WQT market. In the base treatment, all farm credit generation required two units of clean-up for one pollution credit and voluntary practice implementation by farmers. In a second treatment, farmers had an opportunity to verify their true trading ratio. Preliminary results suggest that farmers will invest in verification and market outcomes typically improve. A third treatment asked farmers to implement practices voluntarily to reach a threshold to avoid regulation. Results indicate that farmers are unlikely to meet voluntary thresholds; moreover, market outcomes are worse as voluntarily abatement comes at an opportunity cost in the trading market. These results suggest an opportunity for regulators to increase participation and improve social outcomes by resolving uncertainty in WQT markets. |
| Keywords: | Water quality, behavioral economics, experiments, pollution markets, Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252743&r=env |
| By: | Wilhelms, Steven C.; Coatney, Kalyn T.; Chaudhry, Anita M.; Barnes, James N. |
| Abstract: | Sustainability of the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA) is a growing concern for regulators and farmers alike. Currently, non-binding and unmonitored regulatory policies have not decelerated the rapid depletion of the MRVAA. As such, the State of Mississippi is facing significant challenges in developing, if necessary, future regulations to maintain water sustainability. The primary goal of this study is to investigate the potential impacts on voluntary water use restrictions and welfare resulting from credible and binding future use-limit regulations. To maintain relevance to MRVAA, we develop a novel commons extraction game accounting for heterogeneously endowed producers in regards to recharge rates and the potential for localized complete depletion. Credibility in the game is established once the majority of producers have ran out of water and are assumed to support regulation. Predictions of the game without regulation, under various strategic assumptions, are subsequently tested in laboratory experiments across various regulatory treatment policies. Treatment policies include: no regulation, limited-use, and moratorium. Preliminary results indicate, that without the extreme credible threat of moratorium, users do not significantly volunteer to reduce extraction rates. Planned replication of experiments should provide robust insights into future water levels if regulation or volunteering is not instituted. |
| Keywords: | natural resource, experimental economics, commons, aquifer, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, C72, C91, Q25, |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252855&r=env |
| By: | Sébastien Desbureaux (CERDI, Université d'Auvergne & CIRAD) |
| Abstract: | A sufficient level of collective action between community members is often presented as a strong pre-requisite to sustainably governing local common property resources(CPR). What if in some contexts instead, strong collective action led to short-term depletion of CPR instead of their sustainable use? This paper brings to light causal evidence on the environmental impact of establishing community-managed forests in Madagascar and highlights the complexities underlying collective action in their sustainable management. I compile fine-scale deforestation data over 15 years, use a unique spatial census of locally managed CPR and mobilize firsthand field data from four case studies to show that transferring management rights to local communities has failed to decrease deforestation. Instead, the policy has led to an increase in deforestation in some areas, often when collective action was strong, not when it was weak. This is what I call the possible "dark side" of collective action. |
| Keywords: | Commons, Collective Action, Impact Evaluation, Experimental Economics, Forests, Madagascar |
| JEL: | Q15 Q23 D02 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2016.30&r=env |
| By: | Almas, Lal K; Guerrero, Bridget L; Lust, David G; Fatima, Hina; Mensah, Emmanuel |
| Abstract: | Agriculture production plays an integral role in the regional economy. However, the Ogallala Aquifer that supports the intensive irrigated agriculture and livestock operations is waning rapidly, which raises alarm for future sustainability of agriculture in the area. The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect of forage quality of corn and sorghum silage on milk yield per ton of silage dry matter. The traditional quantitative analysis and the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) are used. The DEA approach takes into account the comparative production efficiency analysis of corn and sorghum silage. The results revealed that there is a 16% more milk yield from corn silage due to better forage quality than sorghum silage. However, it is economically more profitable to feed dairy the sorghum silage. Improvement in crude protein, in-vitro true digestibility and starch content of sorghum silage will increase milk production per ton of forage dry matter. Considering both global and local concerns on water scarcity coupled with unpredictable climate changes, it is economically prudent to consider sorghum silage. Education on the true value of sorghum silage to the dairy industry can reduce silage production cost and save more water for future use in the Texas High Plains. |
| Keywords: | Silage Forage Quality, Milk Production, Ogallala Aquifer, Texas High Plains, Data Envelopment Analysis, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252737&r=env |
| By: | Stephenson, Kurt; Shabman, Leonard |
| Abstract: | Governmental agencies and agricultural organizations promote water quality trading programs as an innovative policy to engage agricultural producers in conservation activities. Cost analyses suggest regulated sources can reduce compliance costs by purchasing agricultural nonpoint source credits. Yet, such “point-nonpoint” trades are rare. This paper assesses the demand for agricultural nonpoint sources in well-developed nutrient trading programs in Virginia for industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants, municipal stormwater programs, and land developers. Evidence suggests nutrient trading programs in Virginia will not stimulate investments in pollutant reduction practices on working agricultural lands. The lack of demand for agricultural nonpoint source credits can be attributed to a substantial degree to the design features and incentives present in multiple overlapping regulatory programs. |
| Keywords: | water quality trading, nutrients, nonpoint, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252701&r=env |
| By: | Alvarez, Sergio; Solis, Daniel; Hwang, Joonghyun |
| Abstract: | Among causative agents of food-borne illness associated with shellfish consumption, Vibrio vulnificus has been identified as a special concern due to the high mortality it can induce, particularly to individuals with poor health and immune disorders. Food-borne V. vulnificus infections increase during the summer months due to higher densities of the bacteria in warmer water and increased risks associated with inappropriate handling of shellfish. To prevent the incidence of V. vulnificus infections, the FDA requires shellfish producing states to develop a Vibrio control plan and conduct an annual risk evaluation. In Florida the daily harvest period is regulated to minimize the length of time between shellfish harvest and processing, and this harvest period has been recently reduced for summer harvest to prevent food borne illness. The adoption of these public health regulations could affect the profitability and sustainability of oyster harvesting in Florida, especially among resource-dependent coastal communities. This study combines bioeconomic modeling and cost benefit analysis to assess the impact of this regulation on fishers’ harvest and revenues, and weighs that impact against the regulation’s potential public health benefits. Our results show that fishers will experience reduced harvests early in the season due to the shorter length of the harvest days, but this initial loss will be recouped later in the season as harvests remain high for longer than they would have if the harvest time regulations were not in place. The new regulations may yield significant net benefits even if only a small number of cases of V. vulnificus can be prevented. |
| Keywords: | bioeconomic model, shellfish, food safety, regulation, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q22, Q57, I18, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252721&r=env |
| By: | Caleb Stair (Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University); Sriparna Ghosh (Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University); Randall Jackson (Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | The Marcellus Shale Energy and Environmental Laboratory, or MSEEL is the nation’s first integrated research initiative on shale gas drilling. An experimental hydraulic fracturing gas well is the centerpiece of the MSEEL project, “which West Virginia University launched in fall 2014 in partnership with Northeast Natural Energy, the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy and Ohio State University. The five-year, $11 million project is the first-ever long-term, comprehensive field study of shale gas resources in which scientists will study the process from beginning-to-end.” Because one dimension of the MSEEL analysis is the economic impacts and implications of well-drilling activity, this report has been prepared to provide a statistical overview and description of the local and regional economies leading up to the initiation of the MSEEL project, and to set the stage generally for subsequent socioeconomic analyses. The report includes various graphs and tables that describe the local economy during the 2001 to 2014 period, providing a context within which to view the role of gas extraction activities in the economy. |
| Keywords: | regional economics, regional analysis, energy economics, environmental economics |
| JEL: | Q41 Q42 Q48 Q55 |
| Date: | 2017–01–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rri:wpaper:2017rd01&r=env |
| By: | Ahmadiani, Mona; Landry, Craig E. |
| Abstract: | Expanding the National Flood Insurance Program to allow policyholders to purchase optional erosion coverage eliminate coverage disputes when erosion and flood both contribute to a loss, and provide affordable national erosion coverage. We examine the household welfare effect of multi-peril hazard insurance coverage by coupling information on NFIP policy in force with a survey data for a sample of coastal households in the US southeast. Our results indicate that the value of multi-peril hazard insurance is substantially higher for households who live in the coastal zone. We also test effect of risk perception (subjective risk assessment) on individuals’ decision to purchase multi-peril hazard insurance and find that higher risk perception lead to higher probability of purchasing multi-peril insurance coverage and increases the mean willingness to pay for insurance. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, Q54, D81, |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252817&r=env |
| By: | Iyigun, Murat (University of Colorado, Boulder); Nunn, Nathan (Harvard University); Qian, Nancy (Northwestern University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the long-run effects of climate change on conflict by examining cooling from 1400-1900 CE, a period that includes most of the Little Ice Age. We construct a geo-referenced and digitized database of conflicts in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East from 1400-1900, which we merge with historical temperature data. We first show that during this time, cooling is associated with increased conflict. Then, turning to the dynamics of cooling, we allow the effects of cooling over a fifty-year period to depend on the extent of cooling during the preceding fifty-year period. We find that the effect of cooling on conflict is significantly larger if the same location experienced cooling during the preceding period. We interpret this as evidence that the adverse effect of climate change intensifies with its duration. |
| Keywords: | environment, development, political economy |
| JEL: | D74 Q34 P16 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10475&r=env |
| By: | Legesse, Befikadu; Yeboah, Osei |
| Abstract: | Watersheds are tremendously degraded worldwide, largely in developing countries especially in the Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia. The degradation is due to several factors including pressure from land use and economic development. The degradation might be characterized by poor water quality, irregularity in water quantity, heavy floods that destroy life and property, sediment deposition in streams and irrigation canals; and sediment deposition on dams etc. Several researchers have suggested different watershed management interventions to end these problems, especially in developing countries. They include reforestation; construction of stone terrace; soil bunds; water harvesting technologies; and crop residue management. However, most landholders are not adopting these recommended technologies mainly due to socio-economic, institutional and policy-related issues. This paper empirically examines existing factors that are perceived to affect landholders’ decisions for adopting improved watershed management intervention technologies in the Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia. A multi-stage probability sampling techniques was used to sample 300 respondents and a binary Logit model was applied to the data. Results indicate that education, farm size, fertilizer, tropical livestock unit, traditional local institutions, land security and distance to nearest market are found to be significant factors that influence downstream landholders’ decision to adopt improved watershed management technologies. |
| Keywords: | Adoption behavior, improved watershed management, Blue Nile basin, downstream landholders, binary logit model, Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252691&r=env |
| By: | Nakakeeto, Gertrude; Pope, Jaren; Shaikh, Rahman; Asare, Eric |
| Abstract: | Recent empirical studies have investigated the impact of noise barriers on housing prices of adjacent homes. Their results have conflicting evidence. One important observation is that the existing literature examines the impact of berm barriers. Missing in this literature is the impact of barriers made out of other materials. This paper investigates the impact of Noise Barrier Walls (made out of other materials) on the market value of adjacent residential homes. We use a data set containing 141 noise barriers built in 12 counties of Washington State, U.S.A. The data on the location of noise barrier walls is obtained from Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Environmental Service Office (ESO) -Environmental Information Program. Two models are employed, the hedonic price model and a mofied hedonic model in a quasi-random experiment. The modified Hedonic price method results are very impressive: On average, Noise Barrier walls increase prices of residential homes within 300m by 15.24% . This impact decreases as the distance from the noise barriers increases. We estimate an increase in housing prices of 6.96 % more for houses between 300m and 600m away from the noise barrier. |
| Keywords: | Highway traffic noise, noise barriers, hedonic pricing method, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252857&r=env |
| By: | Thomas J. Venus; Dusan Drabik; Justus Wesseler |
| Abstract: | We analyze the market and welfare effects of regulating crops derived by New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBTs) as genetically modified (GM) or conventional products. We consider the EU mandatory scheme for labeling GM products and a voluntary non-GM scheme for labeling livestock products derived from non-GM feed. We develop a partial equilbrium model that explicitly takes into account both the coexistence costs at farm-level and the segregation and identity preservation costs at downstream level. By applying the model to EU rapeseed, we find that regulating NPBTs as GM (as compared to non-GM) in combination with mandatory and voluntary labeling increases prices and makes consumers overall worse off and producers better off. We also show that higher coexistence costs make the price increasing effect even stronger. Voluntary non-GM labeling applied to feed makes consumers in this sector overall worse off but benefits farmers and rapeseed oil consumers overall as long as segregation costs are low. Consumers of biodiesel and industrial products such as lubricants produced from GM rapeseed benefit from high segregation costs. We show that the effects of farm-level coexistence costs largely differ from the effects of downstream market segregation costs. |
| Keywords: | New Plant Breeding Techniques, GMO, labeling, coexistence, identity preservation,, regulation, vertical product differentiation |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:licosp:569361&r=env |