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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Kube, Roland; Löschel, Andreas; Mertens, Henrik; Requate, Till |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the way the content of the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (JEEM) has developed over the last 40 years. We have classified the articles in the journal into five dimensions: content, methods, environmental media (pollutants and resources), cross-cutting issues and the regional dimension of studies. Up to about 10 years ago, non-market valuation and cost-benefit analysis, natural resource economics and environmental policy instruments were the subjects regularly representing the lion's share of the articles published in the journal. Thereafter we register a significant shift towards a more diversified array of research areas, with climate change and energy issues finding their way into the journal. In addition, increasing methodological plurality becomes apparent, reflected in a significant shift away from economic theory and towards empirical approaches. We also analyze key distinctions between the major environmental economics journals. To this end, we compare the 100 most frequently cited articles in JEEM, Ecological Economics, Land Economics, Environmental & Resource Economics, and the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. Here we find that non-market valuation studies play an important role in all the journals considered. Econometric studies are also widely represented in all of them, with theoretical models particularly strong in JEEM. Finally, we use citations as a criterion for analyzing JEEM's external influence on leading general economics (A+) journals. A regression analysis shows that a focus on market-based environmental policies and policy comparisons plus the use of econometric and statistical methods or experimental approaches correlates positively with an A+ citation. If we leave self-citations out of account, A+ citations are also positively correlated with a focus on air pollution and negatively correlated with a focus on water pollution and other pollutants. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cawmdp:95&r=env |
| By: | Di Bartolomeo Giovanni; Saltari Enrico; Semmler Willi |
| Abstract: | We study the problem of pollution control enacted by some policy of regulation and mitigation. The policymakers are subjected to a trade--off between welfare increasing economic activity and pollution effects from economic activity having a negative effect on current welfare. We hereby assume policymakers that are inattentive. They may respond imprecisely to the continuously available information since they have a limited information processing capacity or make decisions under limited information. Inattention is modeled by using Nonlinear Model Predictive Control. Specifically, our policymakers solve a dynamic decision problem with finite horizon that involves the repetitive solution of an optimal control problem at each sampling instant in a receding horizon fashion. A shorter horizon is interpreted as a measure of inattention. We find that inattention substantially affects the transition dynamics. It leads to quicker, but more costly, transitions. It also leads to an under-evaluation of the environmental costs that may accelerate climate change. |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ter:wpaper:00130&r=env |
| By: | Florentina Viorica Gheorghe (The Romanian Academy, National Institute of Statistics); Artur Emilian Simion (The Romanian Academy, National Institute of Statistics) |
| Abstract: | According to the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), countries should consider achieving all of the three dimensions of sustainable development, namely, economic, social and environmental. In this context, the external trade is acknowledged as a „mean of implementation” for the achievement of the SDGs, facilitating countries progress towards the achievement of sustainable development. However, evaluation of its contribution to sustainable development is a challenge. This paper intend to explore contribution of external trade of Romania to several key objectives of the 2030 Agenda, trying to capture, through specific or proxy statistical indicators, some trade-related aspects of the goals, as for example relationship tradeeconomic growth, evolution of trade exchanges by countries in different development stages, agro-food products trade, trade by technologies and trade with environment goods. When relevant, comparisons with other EU Member States and territorial decomposition by Romania’s counties or regions are presented to highlight aspects related to reducing inequalities. |
| Keywords: | trade, deficit, export, import, county, sustainable development goals, environment |
| JEL: | F14 F18 F31 Q56 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eub:wpaper:2017-02&r=env |
| By: | Aruga, Kentaka |
| Abstract: | As mitigating the effects of energy consumption on the environment is a crucial issue for the Asia-Pacific region, this study investigates the energy-environmental Kuznets curve (EEKC) hypothesis among the 19 Asia-Pacific regions. The study also test the hypothesis for the low-, middle-, and high-income groups of the region. The panel regression and cointegration models are used for this purpose. Both models suggest that the EEKC hypothesis does sustain for the whole Asia-Pacific region. However, the test performed on the income groups revealed that the hypothesis only holds for the high-income group and the low- and middle-income groups do not satisfy the hypothesis. This is likely indicating that the transition in the energy consumption along the EEKC is only occurring in the developed countries of the Asia-Pacific region. |
| Keywords: | Energy-environmental Kuznets curve, energy consumption, GDP per capita, Asian-Pacific region, panel regression model, panel cointegration model |
| JEL: | O53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2017–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:80692&r=env |
| By: | Itkonen, Juha |
| Abstract: | We model a network of linked permit markets to examine efficiency and dependencies between the markets in a competitive equilibrium. Links enable the participants of one emissions trading system to use the permits of another system. To improve the cost-efficiency of the international policy architecture, the Paris climate agreement set out a framework for linking local policies. International trade in permits reduces costs by merging markets, but in a large network it is generally not obvious which markets end up linked in the equilibrium. Also, indirect links might allow foreign regulators to undermine domestic policy outcomes. We apply graph theory to study dependencies between markets and to determine how the network is partitioned into separate market areas. Our main theorem characterizes the dependency structure of the equilibrium in an exogenous trading network. We show that markets merge when they are connected by a particular pattern of links. The results help to identify potential sources of both cost reductions and foreign interference, and to secure the efficiency of climate change policies. |
| JEL: | L14 F13 Q54 Q58 D41 |
| Date: | 2017–08–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofrdp:2017_020&r=env |
| By: | Adriaan (A.R.) Soetevent (University of Groningen, The Netherlands; Tinbergen Institute, The Netherlands); Gert-Jan Romensen (University of Groningen, The Netherlands;) |
| Abstract: | How to engage workers in conservation efforts when the company pays the bill? In a field experiment with 409 bus drivers, we investigate the potential of targeted peer-comparison feedback and on-the-road coaching. Drivers receive individualized reports with peer-comparison messages on multiple driving dimensions. In addition, coaches quasi randomly provide drivers with in person coaching moments on the bus. Based on 800,000 trip-level observations, we find that the targeted peer-comparison treatments do not improve driving. On-the-road coaching significantly improves driving on multiple dimensions but only temporarily. Further analysis reveals negative interaction effects between the two programs. |
| Keywords: | peer comparisons; coaching; worker motivation; fuel conservation |
| JEL: | D2 M5 Q5 |
| Date: | 2017–08–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20170073&r=env |
| By: | Sigel, K.; Klasser, C.; Zozmann, H.; Talozi, S.; Klauer, B.; Gawel, E. |
| Abstract: | [Background and survey objectives] In Jordan, which is one of the water poorest countries in the world, water supply is generally intermittent. As a consequence, water supplied by private water vendors via tanker trucks is an important source of drinking water for many Jordanians. The impacts of partially illegal private tanker water markets on sustainable water supply in Jordan’s cities are manifold and complex. The markets significantly contribute to the welfare of commercial establishments and households. However, they also have strong negative impacts on sustainability for example through groundwater depletion. A deepened understanding of emergence, spreading, and functioning of private tanker water markets in Jordanian cities is a precondition for developing policies and interventions towards more sustainable water supply regimes. The study of publicly available data and reports on private tanker water markets in Jordan revealed that there is a need for empirical data and investigations on the supply side of private tanker water as well as on the demand side, especially in terms of commercial establishments who are the major customers of tanker water within cities. Against this background, in the period from September 2015 to October 2016 five mostly quantitative surveys were conducted within the Stanford-led Belmont Forum "Jordan Water Project (JWP)" in order to collect socioeconomic as well as physical and technical data about private tanker water supply and demand in three different Jordanian cities. The objective of the surveys is to provide an empirical basis for two major fields of investigation: * Socioeconomic studies (e.g. market analyses) on the impacts of private tanker water markets on water supply in the city of Amman with a focus on sustainability issues. * Modelling studies on private tanker water markets in Jordan as part of a hydro-economic model on freshwater resources sustainability in Jordan (e.g. estimation of demand functions for piped and tanker water of commercial establishments, simulation of partially illegal markets of private tanker water providers, spatial statistical analyses of commercial water consumption). Jordan’s capital Amman was the location of three surveys targeted at the following key market actors of tanker water: (i) operators of private wells selling water to private water tankers, (ii) water tanker drivers purchasing water from private wells and delivering the water throughout the city of Amman and (iii) commercial establishments using piped and/or tanker water. In order to broaden the empirical basis for advanced modelling studies and simulations on the country level the survey with commercial establishments was repeated in a slightly modified version with (iv) commercial establishments in the city of Irbid and (v) commercial establishments in the city of Ajloun. In this discussion paper the design and methodology of all five surveys is described in detail. For the Amman surveys in addition the survey locations and the spatial distribution of interviews are specified and represented by GIS maps. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ufzdps:42017&r=env |
| By: | Fiorini, Matteo; Hoekman, Bernard; Jansen, Marion; Schleifer, Philip; Solleder, Olga; Taimasova, Regina; Wozniak, Joseph |
| Abstract: | Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) have become a common attribute of international production and trade. Even though VSS are not mandatory (required by law), in practice they often are necessary for producers to participate in global value chains. This paper uses a new international database to shed light on specific institutional dimensions of VSS systems that directly impact on the costs of compliance borne by producers and identifies a number VSS-specific features that are associated with the "producer-friendliness" of different VSS systems. These include membership in meta-standard organizations and stakeholder engagement in VSS decision-making. |
| Keywords: | certification; SMEs; sustainability; voluntary standards |
| JEL: | F13 L15 O10 Q01 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12204&r=env |
| By: | Donadelli, Michael; Jüppner, Marcus; Riedel, Max; Schlag, Christian |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the welfare implications of rising temperatures. Using a standard VAR, we empirically show that a temperature shock has a sizable, negative and statistically significant impact on TFP, output, and labor productivity. We rationalize these findings within a production economy featuring long-run temperature risk. In the model, macro-aggregates drop in response to a temperature shock, consistent with the novel evidence in the data. Such adverse effects are long-lasting. Over a 50-year horizon, a one-standard deviation temperature shock lowers both cumulative output and labor productivity growth by 1.4 percentage points. Based on the model, we also show that temperature risk is associated with non-negligible welfare costs which amount to 18.4% of the agent's lifetime utility and grow exponentially with the size of the impact of temperature on TFP. Finally, we show that faster adaptation to temperature shocks results in lower welfare costs. These welfare benefits become substantially higher in the presence of permanent improvements in the speed of adaptation. |
| Keywords: | temperature shocks,long-run growth,asset prices,welfare costs,adaptation |
| JEL: | E30 G12 Q0 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:177&r=env |