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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Julie Rozenberg; Adrien Vogt-Schilb; Stephane Hallegatte |
| Abstract: | To mitigate climate change, some governments opt for instruments focused on investment, like performance standards or feebates, instead of carbon prices. We compare these policies in a Ramsey model with clean and polluting capital, irreversible investment and a climate constraint. Alternative instruments imply different transitions to the same balanced growth path. The optimal carbon price minimizes the discounted social cost of the transition to clean capital, but imposes immediate private costs that disproportionately affect the current owners of polluting capital, in particular in the form of stranded assets. A phased-in carbon price can avoid stranded assets but still result in a drop of income for the owners of polluting capital when it is implemented. Second-best standards or feebates on new investment lead to higher total costs but avoid stranded assets, preserve the revenues of vested interests, and smooth abatement costs over individuals and time. These results suggest a trade-off between political feasibility and cost-effectiveness of environmental policies. |
| Keywords: | Stranded Assets, Energy efficiency, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Power plants, Coal, Environmental taxes, Environmental Policy, Climate change mitigation, clean capital, stranded assets, BIDcambioclima |
| JEL: | L50 O33 O44 Q52 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:98039&r=env |
| By: | Jehan Sauvage; Christina Timiliotis |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the nature and scope of international trade in environmentally related services, and analyses the implications that services trade restrictions have on the provisions of these services domestically and abroad. Numerous services appear crucial to the delivery and proper functioning of environmental goods and equipment be they a wastewater-treatment facility or a renewable power plant. By helping lower the costs of these services and improving access to world-class suppliers, trade policy can contribute alongside energy and environmental policy to the prevention and abatement of greenhouse-gas emissions and pollution in all its forms. Besides clarifying the role and scope of services related to the environment, the analysis undertaken in this paper suggests that the restrictions that countries impose on services trade may have a detrimental effect on the provision of environmental activities through the establishment by specialised firms of a commercial presence abroad, i.e. through mode 3 trade in services. |
| Keywords: | climate change, Environmental services, services trade restrictions, trade in services, trade policy |
| JEL: | F14 F18 F64 L84 L97 Q56 |
| Date: | 2017–05–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:traaaa:2017/2-en&r=env |
| By: | Onil Banerjee (Inter-American Development Bank); Martin Cicowiez (FCE-UNLP); Thomas Ochuodho (University of Kentucky); Michel Masozera (Wildlife Conservation Society); Bernabas Wolde (Montclair State University); Pankaj Lal (Montclair State University); Sebastian Dudek (RMGEO); Janaki R.R. Alavalapati (Project Principal Investigator - Auburn University) |
| Abstract: | Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park is a biodiversity hotspot with the most endemic species in the ecoregion as well as the highest number of threatened species internationally. In addition to great biological diversity, Nyungwe National Park supplies significant ecosystem services to the Rwandan population including water provisioning and tourism services. Tourism in the Park has strong potential for improving the sustainable management of the Park for continued provision of natural habitat and critical ecosystem services. This paper explores quantitatively the economic impacts of adjustment in Park visitation fees and tourism demand as a source of revenues to improve Park tourism opportunities and ongoing operations and maintenance where budgetary restrictions are particularly acute. The methods developed in this paper are novel in integrating the results of stated preference techniques with regional economy-wide modelling approaches to capture multi-sectoral, direct, indirect and induced impacts. Such methods have strong potential for assessing revenue generation alternatives in other contexts where Park Managers are faced with the need to generate additional revenue for sustainable park management while facing diminishing budget allocations. |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dls:wpaper:0211&r=env |
| By: | Asta Mikalauskiene (Vilnius University); Dalia Streimikiene (Vilnius University) |
| Abstract: | Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia successfully implemented Kyoto protocol commitments in the period from 2008 to 2012. Moreover, targets of the Europe 2020 strategy, in which countries committed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of 1990 by 20% until 2020 are also achievable for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It is forecasted that the reduction of GHG emissions in 2020 in the Baltic States will be much higher than EU average target. Baltic States have achieved significant reduction of GHG emissions during 1990-2015, especially in energy sector which is the major sources of GHG emissions in Baltic States. During the period 1990?2013, Lithuania?s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita increased by 56.8 per cent, while GHG emissions per GDP and GHG emissions per capita decreased by 66.7 and 47.8 per cent, respectively. The major reason for the decrease in per capita emissions are the structural changes in the energy sector. At the same period, Latvia?s population decreased by 24.4 per cent, GDP per capita increased by 64.0 per cent, while GHG emissions per GDP and GHG emissions per capita decreased by 66.4 and 44.8 per cent, respectively. Latvia?s economy grew rapidly in the period 2000?2007, with a GDP increase of 82.0 per cent. Economic growth rates and climatic conditions have been the most important drivers for GHG emissions trends in Latvia. Estonia?s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita increased by 85.1 per cent, while GHG emissions per GDP and GHG emissions per capita decreased by 65.1 and 35.3 per cent, respectively. Such significant GHG emission reduction in Estonia was driven by restructuring of the economy and efficiency improvement in the energy industry and energy demand sectors. There is a significant decoupling of emissions from economic growth in all three countries however countries have very different energy supply balances and implemented various climate change mitigation policies. |
| Keywords: | GHG emissions, drivers, energy sector, Baltic States |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iefpro:4507194&r=env |
| By: | Sonia Quiroga (University of Alcala); Cristina Suárez (Universidad de Alcalá); Juan Diego Solís (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua-León); Pablo Martínez-Juárez (Universidad de Alcalá) |
| Abstract: | Climate change will have a permanent impact over Mesoamerican agricultural sector. Present day crops such as coffee may not be enough to secure agricultural subsistence levels, therefore, the first stages of crop diversification are being observed in countries such as Nicaragua. Implementation of new crops such as cocoa may lead to new impacts over the environmental structure of the Mesoamerican ecosystem. These impacts may be of different, nature, but being diversification an already undergoing process attention must be paid to the underlying motivation and decision-making processes involved. This study analyses subjacent motivations and contexts that lead to the potential incorporation of cocoa crops in present-day Nicaraguan coffee farms. In order to achieve that, three main motivations were identified: climatic, economic and governmental. An econometric analyse was performed over the variables that affect farmers? motivations and decisions, in order first to analyse this decision-making process, and second, to understand how social and climatic evolution over the next decades will impact the context under which agricultural output is shaped. It was found that climatic perspectives are most closely affecting the smallholders? decision of incorporating cocoa plantations into their farms. Therefore, climate change will most certainly have a major role in the reshaping of agricultural structure in most of Nicaraguan geography. Moreover, results show a lower impact of market conditions and public subsidies over farmers? choices and decisions. These results favour the intuition that risk-reduction is a preferred strategy among Nicaraguan smallholders. |
| Keywords: | farmers perceptions analysis, climate risk adaptation, crop diversification, behavioural economics |
| JEL: | F64 C10 Q15 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iefpro:4507415&r=env |
| By: | Ke Wang; Yi-Ming Wei (Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEP), Beijing Institute of Technology); Zhimin Huang |
| Abstract: | Appropriate measurement of environmental and emission abatement efficiency is crucial for assisting policy making in line with constructing a more sustainable society. The majority of traditional approaches for environmental efficiency measures take pollutant emissions as either undesirable outputs or environmentally determined inputs which suffer a limitation of not satisfying the physical laws that regulate the operation of economic and environmental process. In this study, we propose a DEA based approach which is combined with the materials balance principle (MBP) that accounts for laws of thermodynamics to jointly evaluate environmental and abatement efficiency. This approach is along the line of weak G-disposability based modelling but is an extension to existing models that in our approach the identification of possible adjustments on polluting mass bound in inputs and outputs, and potential adjustments on abatement of pollutants are all included. The overall environmental efficiency measured by this approach is decomposed into the measures of technical efficiency, polluting inputs allocative efficiency, and polluting and non-polluting inputs allocative efficiency with the emphasizing of incorporating pollutant abatement activities. Accordingly, new measures of abatement efficiency are proposed which help to identify the pollutant abatement potential that can be achieved from end-of-pipe abatement technology promotion associated with polluting input quality promotion and input resources reallocation. Furthermore, several global Malmquist productivity indices for identifying the changes on environmental and abatement efficiency are proposed. This approach is applied to China¡¯s thermal power industry and some empirical results verifying the necessity of introducing the MBP are obtained. |
| Keywords: | OR in environment and climate change; Electricity generation; Emission reduction; Materials balance principle; Pollutant abatement |
| JEL: | Q54 Q40 |
| Date: | 2017–04–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:biw:wpaper:108&r=env |
| By: | Onur A. Koska (Department of Economics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey); Frank Stähler (Department of Economics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Economics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia; Center for Economic Studies, The Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich, Germany); Onur Yeni (Department of Economics, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey) |
| Abstract: | In a simple reciprocal dumping model of trade, this study scrutinizes the strategic role of trade and commodity taxes as environmental instruments when consumption of an imported product generates pollution. The results suggest that both trade and commodity taxes have important implications on countries’ integration through trade. For sufficiently small values of the marginal disutility from pollution, the country claiming responsibility for pollution prefers commodity taxes over import tariffs, and compared to the case of trade policies, free trade can be maintained for larger values of the marginal disutility from pollution when commodity taxes are used strategically as environmental instruments. |
| Keywords: | International trade; Consumption-generated pollution; Trade policy; Commodity taxes |
| JEL: | F12 F18 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:met:wpaper:1704&r=env |
| By: | Sonia Quiroga (University of Alcala); Emilio Cerdá (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | Among the challenges facing the European Union agricultural sector in the coming years, the impacts of climate change could lead to much greater variability in farmers? incomes. In this context, the insurance industry will have to develop new instruments to cover farmers? incomes against losses due to meteorological factors. Some protective technologies that farmers can use for climate risk management have associated costs that vary as a function of the losses involved. These sorts of instruments compete with other less flexible instruments such as crop insurance. We here analyse an issue of decision-making, where the farmer can decide how much to invest in protection, as in situations where the farmer chooses which portion of a loss to protect in the case of adverse weather conditions, and we propose optimal management to mitigate the increasing negative effects of climate uncertainty. By analysing the optimal policy in a continuous choice situation, we consider whether farmers, as part of their crop management duties, should opt to protect some portion of their harvest value with available technologies, or whether they should protect the entire crop. To analyse this decision-making problem, we employ the cost-loss ratio model and take risk aversion into account. |
| Keywords: | Crop yield protection, climate risks, information value, cost-loss ratio, decision models |
| JEL: | Q00 C44 Q54 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iefpro:4507414&r=env |
| By: | Shahbaz, Muhammad; Shafiullah, Muhammad; Papavassiliou, Vassilios; Hammoudeh, Shawkat |
| Abstract: | Using a two-century long dataset and some recently popularized nonparametric econometric techniques, this study revisits the nexus between economic growth and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for the G7 countries over nearly two centuries. The use of nonparametric modelling is warranted by the fact that long historical time series are often subject to structural breaks and other forms of nonlinearity over the course of time. We employ nonparametric cointegration and causality tests along with the cross-validated Local Linear technique analysis and validate the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve in six of the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, U.K. and the U.S.– and the only exception is Japan. Our empirical analysis also finds CO2 emissions and economic growth to be cointegrated and closely interrelated in the Granger sense. Our results are robust and highlight the nonlinear causal relationship between the two variables. |
| Keywords: | G7 Countries, Economic Growth, CO2 Emissions, EKC Hypothesis, Nonparametric Econometrics. |
| JEL: | A1 |
| Date: | 2017–05–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:79019&r=env |
| By: | Moreira, Paulo Pires |
| Abstract: | For the last ten years Portuguese railways has shown a gradual decrease in passengers’ annual figures; nearly 20 million. The major contributors are regional services and Lisbon’s commuting lines. Despite the number of passengers in the metropolitan area of Porto remains steady while the long-distance ridership market between the two major Portuguese cities, Lisbon and Porto presents a slightly growth starting in 2014, long-term perspectives for Portuguese railways are not optimistic. Lisbon and Porto, separated by a distance slightly greater than 300 km, are connected by the Northern Line, which was already competing with two parallel highways, is now facing a new threat in the form of an air-bridge launched one year ago with hourly airplane departures at very competitive ticket fares. There are clear indicators that this air-bridge will lure a large number of potential passengers away from long-distance rail therefore pressing up operator revenues over this important rail connection impacting its earning power: this line is responsible for more than 42% of the State-owned railways total earnings. Therefore, the aim of this article is to find why Portuguese rail languishes while air transport grows, increasing perverse results: climate change, health and non-health damages. Fuel exemption and the lack of excise duties produce enough market distortions to explain at some extent how aviation has seen such strong growth in demand at the expense of rail, but this market distortion do not tells the entire story. What is at stake is how to obtain a level playing field between the two modes. In that sense, it is necessary to internalise the social cost of carbon in a way to weight the real costs the society has actually to bear from each option because those costs are not borne by transport operators or users, but by society as a whole. After attach a money value to negative externalities, we identify as the root of the problem for the sustainability of Portuguese long-distance railways the lack of political will towards the internalisation of negative externalities. |
| Keywords: | Negative externalities; Climate change; Air pollutants; Aviation; Railways, Case-study. |
| JEL: | Q01 Q48 Q5 Q53 Q58 R40 R58 |
| Date: | 2017–05–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:79058&r=env |
| By: | Berhane, Guush; Dereje, Mekdim; Minten, Bart; Tamru, Seneshaw |
| Abstract: | The uptake of agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia is low with less than one percent of agricultural plots plowed with a tractor. However, in recent years the uptake of agricultural machinery has accelerated. We note an impressive increase in imports of combine-harvesters and of tractors, seemingly associated with the increasing costs of agricultural labor and animal traction, substitutes for agricultural mechanization. We estimate that a quarter of the area in Ethiopia planted to wheat – the fourth most important cereal in the country – is currently harvested by combine-harvesters, and they are widely used in the major wheat growing zones in the southeast of the country in particular. Private mechanization service providers have rapidly emerged. Smallholders in these wheat growing zones rely heavily on agricultural machinery rental services for plowing, harrowing, or harvesting. We find that mechanization is associated with significantly lower labor use, and that the adoption of combine-harvesters – but not tractors – is significantly associated with higher yields, seemingly due to lower post-harvest losses. While further expansion of mechanization in the country is desired, given the environmental and financial cost of holding oxen and the higher yields linked with some forms of mechanization, it appears to be hampered by farm structures, particularly small farm sizes and consequent limits in scale; fragmented plots; crop diversity; physical constraints, such as presence of stones, steepness of fields, and soil types; and economic and financial constraints, including limited access to foreign exchange and credit and the still relatively low wages in less commercialized zones. |
| Keywords: | mechanization; agricultural development; smallholders; wheats, , |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:105&r=env |
| By: | Olivier Damette; Philippe Delacote; Gaye del Lo |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates the factors influencing households’ energy choices, and the drivers of switching toward cleaner energy. We first present a theoretical framework to determine the factors that explain households’ energy consumption and highlight the motivations underlying their transition towards less polluting sources, including their environmental preference. Using French household data from ADEME, we provide an econometric test of qualitative variables following studies by Dubin and McFadden (1984). Our results show that income and prices are the main determinants of household energy consumption. Environmental considerations seem to influence the choice of energy sources more than consumption. We also find evidence that income and relative capital costs are the most important variables for household energy switching. |
| Keywords: | Energy choice, Switching, Environmental preference, Discrete and continuous model. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:1702&r=env |
| By: | Benjamin Dequiedt; Emmanuel Servonnat |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate how risk and risk aversion influence the fertilisation behavior of farmers. We show analytically that a decreasing variance of yield along with nitrogen inputs encourages risk averse farmers to apply larger quantities of fertilizers compared with risk neutral behavior. Then, we use data concerning three departments in France (Deux-Sèvres, Seine-Maritime and Eure-et-Loir) to determine (i) crop yield response function to N fertilizers and (ii) risk aversion behavior of farmers on the basis of their actual fertilizers applications. We find that risk averse farmers represent 29,7% of farmers while risk seeking ones represent 35,5%. Risk aversion behavior is associated with an additional application of 29 kg/ha compared with risk neutral behavior which represents an average loss of 76 euros/ha. We show that the reduction of abatement linked to risk aversion behavior should appear only when crop yield variance is convex with respect to N fertilizers. Lastly, our results show that an insurance covering yield variability could be foreseen as an interesting tool to mitigate emissions. |
| Keywords: | Risk aversion, Emissions Tax, Mitigation Insurance, Fertilisation, Agriculture |
| JEL: | D81 D92 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:1606&r=env |
| By: | Agnès Festré (Université Côte d'Azur, France; GREDEG CNRS); Pierre Garrouste (Université Côte d'Azur, France; GREDEG CNRS); Ankinée Kirakozian (Université Côte d'Azur, France; GREDEG CNRS); Mira Toumi (Université Côte d'Azur, France; GREDEG CNRS) |
| Abstract: | It is recognized widely that incentives can influence the cooperation of individuals in the provision of public goods. The aim of this study is to adapt a public good game (PGG) to the environmental issue of waste management. We report an experiment where the players have to cooperate in order to reduce the cost of waste sorting treatment. We consider a traditional PGG involving groups with four players. A fifth player representing the third-party is introduced in the incentivized treatments. The third-party can provide advice about the desired individual contribution (Advice Treatment), or can punish collectively non-cooperative behaviors by increasing the tax rate (Sanction Treatment). Furthermore, participants are asked to perform an effort task to increase their given initial endowments. A social preferences measure is introduced in the form of a social value orientation (SVO) test. We find that initially, both advice and the threat of sanction significantly increase the average individual contribution level. However, once the sanction is applied, we find it has no significant effect in increasing cooperation, rather the contrary. Also, we find results in line with Becker (1974)'s altruism hypothesis that high income individuals contribute more in absolute value than low income individuals only under the threat of a sanction. |
| Keywords: | Waste sorting, Laboratory experiment, Advice, Sanction, Pro-social behavior |
| JEL: | Q53 C91 D03 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2017-15&r=env |
| By: | Honma, Satoshi; Yoshida, Yushi |
| Abstract: | By implementing the world input-output tables for 40-countries by 35-industries to account for intermediate trade, we constructed the pollution terms of trade (PTT) on the basis of CO2 emissions between 1995 and 2009. We examine whether the PTTs have converged among the 40 countries in the past 15 years. The empirical evidence supports PTT convergence; PTT growth is negatively related to its initial level, and this empirical result is robust to various control variables. |
| Keywords: | World input-output table; International trade; Pollution haven hypothesis; Pollution terms of trade |
| JEL: | F18 |
| Date: | 2017–04–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:78810&r=env |
| By: | Banzhaf, H. Spencer |
| Abstract: | As economists took up the task of measuring the "demand" for environmental services not traded in markets, some chose to substituted survey-based methods known as contingent valuation (CV). Doing so, they could not help but find themselves in the uncomfortable position of self-evidently constructing their observations rather than merely observing them. Apparent anomalies between the constructs and the predictions for economic man led to a fierce debate over the merits of contingent valuation--a debate that hinged on the question of whether economic theory was being "applied" or "tested." |
| Keywords: | Contingent Valuation, Stated Preference, History, Environmental Economics |
| JEL: | B2 C9 D6 Q5 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:78814&r=env |
| By: | Holden , Stein T. (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Quiggin, John (School of Economics, University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | Climate risk represents an increasing threat to poor and vulnerable farmers in drought-prone areas of Africa. This study assesses the fertilizer adoption responses of food insecure farmers in Malawi, where Drought Tolerant (DT) maize was recently introduced. A field experiment, eliciting risk attitudes of farmers, is combined with a detailed farm household survey. A state-contingent production model with rank-dependent utility preferences is estimated. Over-weighting of small probabilities was associated with less use of fertilizer on all maize types and particularly so on the more risky improved maize types. |
| Keywords: | Climate risk; state-contingent production; subjective probability weighting; technology adoption; adaptation; maize; Drought Tolerant maize; fertilizer use |
| JEL: | C93 D03 O33 Q12 Q18 |
| Date: | 2017–05–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2017_008&r=env |
| By: | Adel Ben Youssef (University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis); Mohamed Arouri; Cuong Viet Nguyen |
| Abstract: | In this study, we examine the effect of extreme weather events on migration among governorates in Egypt using migration gravity models and data from the 1996 and 2006 Population and Housing Census. We find that low or high temperature and precipitation does not affect the migration of people. Instead, people are considering the weather in destination areas to decide where they should migrate. The number of months with temperature below the five percentiles the distribution of monthly temperature of destination governorates strongly increases in-migration. An additional month with low temperature increases the number of in-migrants by 9.98 percent. For the elderly, they also avoid a governorate with more months of high temperatures. One additional month with temperature above the 95 percentile reduces in the destination governorates the number of old migrants by 8.15 percent. |
| Date: | 2017–05–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1099&r=env |
| By: | Edward Barbier; Philippe Delacote; Julien Wolfersberger |
| Abstract: | The forest transition describes a reversal or turnaround in longrun land-use trends for a country or region from a period of net forest area loss to net gain. Such forest recovery has occurred in high-income economies, and increasingly in developing countries. Although this process has been studied extensively by geographers, social scientists and historians, only recently has it been analyzed by economists. This contribution has focused on how competing land use values result in changing patterns of use that lead to an increase or decrease in forest cover. A simple model of forest transition is developed to illustrate this approach in the literature. Empirical applications attempt to explain the underlying economic factors, including governance and institutions, which determine the long-run transition in land use values and patterns. The various findings of these analyses have important policy implications, including for REDD+ and other forest recovery programs. |
| Keywords: | Deforestation, Forest Transition, Forest Policy, Land Use Change, REDD+. |
| JEL: | Q23 Q24 O13 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:1605&r=env |
| By: | Jacob, Arun; Møller, Anders K |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the trends in trade flows and trade policies in environmental goods (EGs) and related services, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific Economies. The paper finds that the region is a dominant player in both exports and imports of EGs in the world, contributing to 42% and 44%, respectively. Renewable energy related goods dominate both the export and import basket of EGs in the region. The paper warns that even though specific environmental goods in general face very low tariffs, many other goods that are however required for environmental projects still face high tariffs, especially in least developed countries. Hence, the paper calls for a ‘holistic approach’ for tariff liberalization. The paper highlights the role of services in environmental sectors. The paper estimates an augmented gravity model of trade flows that integrates non-tariff measures (NTMs) and services trade restrictions. The estimations find that while tariffs have had an insignificant impact on environmental goods trade, NTMs have a strong negative impact. The impact of NTMs is more strongly felt by exports from low income countries when compared with middle income and high-income ones. The services trade restrictions also have a significant negative impact on the EG trade. The results point to the need for integrating NTMs and service sector policies within the framework of environmental goods negotiations to expedite the process of liberalizing global trade in EG. |
| Keywords: | Green Trade, Environmental Goods, Trade and Environment |
| JEL: | Q2 Q27 Q28 Q5 Q56 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:78774&r=env |
| By: | Monica Patricia Parra Acevedo |
| Abstract: | Se invita a investigadores y miembros de la comunidad académica colombiana e internacional a proponer la presentación de sus trabajos de investigación en el Simposio sobre Crecimiento Verde y Política Económica. El simposio es organizado por el Departamento Nacional de Planeación (DNP), el Instituto Global de Crecimiento Verde (GGGI), el grupo de investigación sobre Estudios Ambientales, Recursos Naturales y Economía Aplicada (REES-EfD) de la Universidad de los Andes, el Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Público de Colombia y el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), y tendrá lugar los días 18 y 19 de julio de 2017 en la ciudad de Bogotá D.C. Este simposio se realiza en el marco de la Misión de Crecimiento Verde, cuyo objetivo es la formulación de la política de crecimiento verde de largo plazo en Colombia, y brindará el espacio para recibir insumos técnicos del ámbito académico a partir de investigaciones destacadas. En el evento se discutirán los aportes de la teoría económica en el diseño y evaluación de políticas públicas en pro del crecimiento verde, evidencias en términos de los instrumentos económicos y la regulación económica asociados a la sostenibilidad ambiental, y se ahondará en el análisis de ideas innovadoras y políticas emergentes que ofrezcan alternativas para consolidar el crecimiento verde en Colombia |
| Date: | 2017–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000118:015564&r=env |
| By: | Haradinova, Anelia; Ivanova, Daniela; Vasileva, Elka |
| Abstract: | The technological and economic progress in the last couple of decades has posed significant pressure over the planet. Fact that calls for urgent imposing of significant measures for sustainable development – measures that are the baseline for the current ecological policies. One of the most widely distributed and recognizable tools in this area is the Environment System Management (EMS) according to ISO 14001 and EMAS. Worldwide researches on the benefits of their implementations clearly reveal that EMS adds actual value to companies regardless of their size. The main identified advantages include internal processes optimization; innovations encouragement and proportional increase of business; development and introduction of new products and services; penetration and even creation of new markets. On that grounds, the current article provides a review and evaluation of the benefits the Bulgarian companies find after the EMS implementation in the last three years. The described data is based on the results of a survey among 135 Bulgarian companies with working EMS according to ISO 14000 or EMS. |
| Keywords: | Environment System Management, benefits, business, Bulgaria |
| JEL: | Q5 Q59 |
| Date: | 2015–11–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75218&r=env |
| By: | Simon Quemin; Christian de Perthuis |
| Abstract: | Linkages between Emissions Trading Systems are deemed to play an important role in implementing the Paris Agreement. However linkages have been few and far between. This is attributable to their multi-faceted nature and growing heterogeneity in policy designs. This article compares various link restrictions in facilitating linkage negotiations, namely quantitative restrictions, border permit taxes, exchange and discount rates, and unilateral linkage. These restrictions undermine cost-efficiency and generate rents and should thus be used as a transitory mechanism to full linkage. Trial restricted-link periods may allow to test the effects of the link while containing its reach, spur cooperation and provide more time and flexibility in circumventing impediments to full linkage. There is no ideal transitional restricted link as each has its relative merits and weaknesses. While quantitative restrictions seem to be the natural route to a full link, their implications can be misleading. While those of a border tax are more manageable, this policy seems harder to pursue. Exchange rates adjust for programmes' stringencies and have potential to increase overall ambition, but are challenging to select. As experience corroborates, unilateral linkage may constitute a practical and promising approach. |
| Keywords: | Emissions trading, Linkage, Trade restrictions. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:1701&r=env |
| By: | Kailin Kroetz; James N. Sanchirico; Elsa Galarza Contreras; David Corderi; Nestor Collado; Elaine W. Swiedler |
| Abstract: | The implementation of rights-based management programs is increasing worldwide yet there are few ex post evaluations, especially in developing country contexts. In this paper we examine changes following the implementation of a catch share system in the Peruvian anchovy fishery, which is the world's largest commercial fishery by volume. After implementation of the Individual Vessel Quota (IVQ) management system, we observe a shift toward higher-value products and a 97% increase in per-unit revenue from 2008 to 2013. We also find that landings are more spread out over the fishing season, with an increase in the number of fishing days. Additionally, fleet consolidation occurs over time with a shift toward larger vessels in the steel fleet. Finally, using cost estimates from a large fishing firm on the cost of steel vessel operation, we estimate variable harvesting profit increased from 34-41% of the ex-vessel price pre-IVQ to 63-65% post. |
| Keywords: | Peruvian Anchovy, Total Allowable Catch, Individual Transferable Quotas, Biomass, Marine resources, Fishery Management, Anchovy Fishery, Peruvian Anchovy |
| JEL: | Q22 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:97216&r=env |
| By: | Carina Cavalcanti; Andreas Leibbrandt |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the actual willingness to reduce overfishing in a fishnet exchange program implemented in Brazilian fishing villages. Fishermen who use fishnets with small mesh sizes were invited to an auction where they could bid negative or positive amounts to exchange their fishnet for a fishnet with a bigger mesh size. We observe that the majority of fishermen are willing to exchange their fishnets without further compensation. In addition, we observe that environmental perceptions and experiences with fishnets help explaining the heterogeneity in bids. Fishermen who are more optimistic that local overfishing can be stopped and who have already used fishnets with larger mesh sizes place significantly higher bids. These findings may provide useful information about the limitations and possibilities of changing the behavior of individuals who strongly exploit resources. |
| Keywords: | auction, common pool resources, fishing, resource exploitation, willingness to change. |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2017-09&r=env |
| By: | Andreas Leibbrandt; John Lynham |
| Abstract: | A popular solution to the Tragedy of the Commons is to create private property rights to access the commons. If resource users care about equity, they may be unwilling to respect property rights regimes that lead to less equitable outcomes. We explore in a series of laboratory experiments whether it is possible to undermine the efficiency of property rights solutions through the allocation process. We find that both the extent to which property rights are enforced and how they are allocated significantly affect extraction and compliance. Our findings suggest that one of the most popular allocation methods is suboptimal: we observe that occasional enforcement and the grandfathering of property rights is dominated by no enforcement and the equal allocation or inverse grandfathering of property rights. Our results challenge the view that equity is irrelevant for property rights solutions to the commons problem. |
| Keywords: | tragedy of the commons; privatization; grandfathering; equity; social norms |
| JEL: | A13 C92 D23 D62 D63 H23 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2017-04&r=env |
| By: | Liski, M.; Vehviläinen, I. |
| Abstract: | Subsidies to renewable energy are costly and contentious. We estimate the reduction in prices that follows from the subsidized entry of wind power in the Nordic electricity market. A relatively small-scale entry of renewables leads to a large-scale transfer of surplus from the incumbent producers to the consumers: 10 % market share for wind generation eliminates one-half of the total electricity market expenditures. The subsidies generate net gains to consumers. We develop an approach to analyzing storage and renewable energy in equilibrium, and provide an anatomy of a market dominated by such technologies. |
| Keywords: | Electricity, renewables, storage, climate policies |
| JEL: | L51 L94 Q28 Q42 Q48 |
| Date: | 2017–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1701&r=env |
| By: | Ambler, Kate; de Brauw, Alan; Godlonton, Susan |
| Abstract: | Reducing food loss and waste are important policy objectives prominently featured in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. To optimally design interventions targeted at reducing losses, it is important to know where losses are concentrated between the farm and fork. This paper measures farmlevel postharvest losses for three main crops—maize, soy, and groundnuts—among 1,200 households in Malawi. Farmers answered a detailed questionnaire designed to learn about losses during harvest and transport, processing, and storage and which measures both total losses and reductions in crop quality. The findings indicate that fewer than half of households report suffering losses conditional on growing each crop. In addition, conditional on losses occurring, the loss averages between 5 and 12 percent of the farmer’s total harvest. Compared to nationally representative data that measure losses using a single survey question, this study documents a far greater percentage of farmers experiencing losses, though the unconditional proportion lost is similar. We find that losses are concentrated in harvest and processing activities for groundnuts and maize; for soy, they are highest during processing. Existing interventions have primarily targeted storage activities; however, these results suggest that targeting other activities may be worthwhile. |
| Keywords: | food wastes; postharvest losses; agriculture; production; maize; groundnuts; soybeans; vegetables; nuts; cereals; households; farmers; harvesting; transport; processing; food processing; storage; food storage; crop storage; crops; farm storage; sustainable development, agricultural production, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1632&r=env |