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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Derya Keles (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France); Johanna Choumert (Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) Limited, High Wycombe, United Kingdom.); Pascale Combes-Motel (Centre d’Etude et de Recherche sur le Développement International (CERDI), UMR CNRS 6587, University of Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France); Eric N. Kéré (African Development Bank, Abidjan, Ivory Coast) |
| Abstract: | In this article, we explore the role of biofuel production on deforestation in developing and emerging countries. Since the 2000s biofuel production has been rapidly developing to address issues of economic development, energy poverty and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the sustainability of biofuels is being challenged in recent research, particularly at the environmental level, due to their impact on deforestation and the GHG emissions they can generate as a result of land use changes. In order to isolate the impact of bioethanol and biodiesel production among classic determinants of deforestation, we use a fixed effects panel model on biofuel production in 112 developing and emerging countries between 2001 and 2012. We find a positive relationship between bioethanol production and deforestation in these countries, among which we highlight the specificity of Upper-Middle-Income Countries (UMICs). An acceleration of incentives for the production of biofuels, linked to a desire to strengthen energy security from 2006 onwards, enables us to highlight higher marginal impacts for the production of bioethanol in the case of developing countries and UMICs. However, these results are not significant before 2006 for developing countries, and biodiesel production appears to have an impact on deforestation before 2006 on both subsamples. These last two results seem surprising and could be related to the role of biofuel production technologies and the crop yields used in their production. |
| Keywords: | Biofuel production; land use change; forest cover loss; panel data. |
| JEL: | Q16 Q23 Q55 |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2017-09&r=env |
| By: | Sigit Perdana; Rod Tyers |
| Abstract: | Global agreement to reduce carbon emissions has been weakened by slowing growth and burden-sharing conflicts. This paper examines strategic interaction amongst regions in the choice to implement carbon taxation. Benefits from climate change mitigation are constructed via a meta-analysis of existing studies that link carbon concentration with average surface temperature and region-specific measures of economic welfare. Implementation costs are then derived by modeling national and global economic performance. Multiplayer, normal form games with payoffs derived by netting costs from shared benefits are then constructed, revealing that the US and China are net gainers in net present value terms from unilateral implementation. Europe’s choice is marginal but sensitive to the temperature scenario. The dominant strategy for all other countries is to free ride. For the three large economies, there are net gains that are bolstered by universal adoption. In total, the compensatory side payments that would induce universal adoption are sufficient and affordable. The net gains to all regions do not begin to appear for at least two decades, rendering commitment to abatement politically difficult. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Carbon taxation, Global dynamic general equilibrium analysis |
| JEL: | F47 Q34 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2018-10&r=env |
| By: | Emeline Hily (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France; BETA, University of Lorraine, 13 Place Carnot – CO n°70026. 54035 NANCY Cedex - France); Martin Drechsler (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Ecological Modelling); Franck Wätzold (Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Chair of Environmental Economics) |
| Abstract: | Climate change is expected to be one of the key threats for biodiversity conservation in this century. Conservation literature has pointed to the inadequacy of current biodiversity conservation practices relying predominantly on static approaches and showed the need to develop “climate-proof” conservation strategies. However, this debate has taken place largely in the conservation planning literature so far and ignored incentivebased conservation policy instruments such as conservation payments. Our general understanding is thus poor about how should conservation payments be designed so that they can contribute to biodiversity conservation under climate change in a cost-effective manner. In this work we develop an ecological-economic model and investigate the cost-effectiveness of various payment design options involving varying degrees of payments’ differentiation and targeting in a landscape whose dynamics is driven by climate change, while considering the impact of changes in key economic and ecological parameters. We provide the first comparative cost-effectiveness analysis of conservation payment designs in a changing climate on a conceptual level. Our results demonstrate the significant cost-effectiveness gains enabled by payments’ differentiation and targeting for biodiversity conservation under climate change. Moreover, we demonstrate the existence of connectivity/area trade-offs under climate change. The cost-effectiveness performance of targeted payments compared to untargeted differentiated payments increase with a decreasing species dispersal ability but decrease with decreasing climate stability in the landscape. |
| Keywords: | Biodiversity, Conservation payments, Cost-effectiveness, Climate change, Ecological-economic modeling, Spatio-temporal dynamics |
| JEL: | Q19 Q54 Q57 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2017-01&r=env |
| By: | Rick van der Ploeg |
| Abstract: | A cap on global warming implies a tighter carbon budget which can be enforced with a credible second-best renewable energy subsidy designed to lock up fossil fuel and curb cumulative emissions. Such a subsidy brings forward the end of the fossil fuel era, but accelerates fossil fuel extraction and global warming in the short run. A weaker fossil fuel oligopoly implies that anticipation of a given global carbon budget induces fossil producers to deplete reserves more voraciously and accelerate global warming. This race to burn the last ton of carbon is more intensive for the feedback than open-loop Nash equilibrium, so that the Green Paradox effect of a renewable energy subsidy is stronger. There is an intermediate phase of limit pricing to keep renewable energy producers at bay, which becomes much more relevant when a cap on global warming is enforced. A stronger fossil fuel oligopoly lengthens the period of limit pricing and typically brings forward the carbon-free era. Finally, the mere risk of a cap on global warming being enforced at some unknown, future date makes fossil fuel extraction more voracious and accelerates global warming. |
| Keywords: | second-best climate policy, Green Paradox, carbon budget, stranded assets, oligopolistic resource markets, limit pricing, voracious extraction, regime shift |
| JEL: | H21 Q51 Q54 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6793&r=env |
| By: | Cosmas Kombat Lambini (Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany; Bayreuth Graduate School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (BayNAT), University of Bayreuth 95440, Bayreuth, Germany); Trung Thanh Nguyen (Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, Leibniz University of Hannover, Königsworther Platz 1, 30167 Hannover, Germany); Jens Abildtrup (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Économie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France); Van Dien Pham (Department of Silvilculture, Forestry University, Hanoi, Vietnam); John Tenhunen (Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany); Serge Garcia (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Économie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France) |
| Abstract: | Forest ecosystem services (FES) provisioning and management in Vietnam is highly rated in the Vietnamese’s environmental agenda. The main rationale of private forest management is to maximise profit from timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) production. From a social point of view there is an under-supply of positive forest externalities (or non-marketed ecosystem services). The paper contributes to the ecosystem services (ES) literature by assessing the production cost structure, i.e., the cost of marketed production and provision of carbon and biodiversity, based on a survey of private forest owners in the Hoa Binh Province. The econometric analysis is carried out applying a dual cost function approach to analyse the trade-off between forestry costs and ecological performance. This is, to our knowledge, the first time such an approach is applied to estimate the production relationship between marketed outputs and non-marketed ES in the forest sector. This approach appears to be appropriate for handling the multiple joint outputs of production in forest. It allows us to estimate marginal costs and other cost measures such as cost complementarities in production of multiple ES. Our results indicate that there is complementarity in the provision of timber and carbon sequestration and therefore, policies enhancing carbon sequestration in private forest in Vietnam can be implemented without additional costs for the forest owner. We also find that keeping deadwood had no significant cost and was complementary with NTFP, but could increase the marginal cost of producing timber. This means that biodiversity can be enhanced without additional costs on the condition of limited quantity of deadwood. |
| Keywords: | private forest owners, forest ecosystem services, Vietnam, cost function, cost complementarity |
| JEL: | C31 Q23 Q24 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2016-08&r=env |
| By: | Cahill-Webb, Finn |
| Abstract: | This paper explains the emergence of the "pledge and review" governance approach found in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, in place of the "obligatory targets and timetables" approach found in the Kyoto Protocol, from a neo-Gramscian perspective. The main argument is that the adoption of pledge and review was a response to both the pressure to agree a new international treaty and the simultaneous divergence of interests and fragmentation of negotiation groups within the UNFCCC regime. In explaining this pressure to agree a new treaty, particular attention is given to the US and China, being the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, looking at the key interests involved in shaping the recent move away from their long-held core negotiating positions of reluctance in accepting emission reductions. Shifts in the world political economy - the decline of US hegemony, the shift of power towards China and the East, and the emergence of a new multipolarity - and the complex nature of climate change as a problem were given as causes of fragmentation of the global climate regime. These power shifts all occur within the overarching dynamic of fossil capitalism, where the overuse of global sinks and the exploitation of natural resources remains unquestioned. Any attempt to address climate change emerges within this ideological framework of economic growth and economic development. This is continually apparent throughout the analysis, often influencing the actions of different interest groups and changes in the world political economy. When taken together, the pledge and review approach can be seen to have reinforced cooperation between nations and strengthened consensus building, facilitating the search for an agreement under differentiated interests. Being less fixed than obligatory quantitative emission reduction targets, this degree of flexibility is key to the functioning and adoption of the system. This flexibility allowed many of the key contentions within the negotiations to be sidestepped, in order for an agreement to be reached. |
| Keywords: | climate change,environmental governance,neo-Gramscianism,world political economy |
| JEL: | F50 F53 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ipewps:992018&r=env |
| By: | Serge Garcia (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France); Claudio Petucco (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France); Bo Jellesmark Thorsen (Department of Food and Resource Economics and Center for Macro Ecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, bjt@ifro.ku.dk.); Suzanne Elizabeth Vedel (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark, sve@ifro.ku.dk) |
| Abstract: | Forests provide ecosystem services jointly with timber production. In some cases, private forest owners implement management actions in order to enhance the provision of such services. They may get direct benefits from this decision such as private amenity values or effects on (e.g., hunting), they may have altruist traits in their utility function for providing public goods (e.g., biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration), or they may be incited for by a public authority and compensated for the costs. Specifically, this paper focuses on the decision of setting aside forest land. It raises the more general question of the efficiency of multiple-use vs. specialized management of forest lands. We propose an econometric analysis to identify factors of the set-aside choice and to measure the impact of this decision on forest management costs. A flexible cost function is modelled and estimated for both types of management. The percentages of old/mature deciduous and old/mature coniferous forests are used as biodiversity and carbon indicators. Results show that the set-aside choice depends on the landowners’ income and on their socio-economic characteristics. Set-aside decision has a significant and positive impact on the management costs. This implies that the additional private and public benefits achieved from specialized relative to multiple-use management should exceed this cost premium. |
| Keywords: | Forest; multiple-use vs. specialized management, household production model, cost function, corner solution, recursive mixed system |
| JEL: | Q41 Q48 Q23 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2017-04&r=env |
| By: | Laura Recuero Virto (CESCO (MHNH) et ARAFER) |
| Abstract: | The SDGs are intended to address sustainable development processes in both developed and developing countries, and to facilitate action at all levels and with all actors, including government, civil society, the private sector and the science community to strengthen the capacity of the State to achieve the desired outcomes. The SDG 14 “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development” covers, among other features, economic pressures on the marine environment, as well as the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and coastal communities since they are particularly impacted by the economic pressures and dependent on the oceans in socio-economic terms. This paper reviews the rational for the SDG 14, as well as the framework for the SDG 14 indicators including (i) the basic concepts, i.e. the role of uncertainty, irreversibility and thresholds in the marine context, the multidimensionality of the SDG 14 indicators, and how to ensure effective SDG 14 monitoring and implementation through SMART SDG 14 targets; (ii) synergies and trade-offs among the SDG 14 targets and between SDG 14 and other SDGs targets, and how to track progress on policy coherence at the national level; (iii) synergies between SDG 14 indicators, and ocean-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 7 and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) targets and indicators; and (iv) the role of non-traditional sources of data such as big data. In addition, some preliminary indicators for the SDG 14 at the global and national scales (France) are also explored. As a result of this analysis, some areas for future research in the framework of SDG 14 indicators are proposed, i.e. building on the frontiers of ocean science, the development of innovative approaches for data collection, the development of common approaches in valuing marine ecosystem services and national accounting, the provision of incentives for best practice and peer-learning, the harmonisation of measurement methodologies and the selection of SDG 14 indicators according to the geographical level of intervention. |
| Keywords: | Oceans, sustainable development goals, indicators |
| JEL: | Q01 Q20 Q30 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:ppaper:2018.03&r=env |
| By: | Chang, C-L.; Mai, T.K.; McAleer, M.J. |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the paper is to provide a clear mechanism for determining carbon emissions pricing in China as a guide to how carbon emissions might be mitigated to reduce fossil fuel pollution. The Chinese Government has promoted the development of clean energy, including hydroelectric power, wind power, and solar energy generation. In order to involve companies in carbon emissions control, a series of regional and provincial carbon markets have been established since 2013. Since China’s carbon market was established in 2013 and mainly run domestically, and not necessarily using market principles, there has been almost no research on China’s carbon price and volatility. This paper provides an introduction to China’s regional and provincial carbon markets, proposes how to establish a national market for pricing carbon emissions, discusses how and when these markets might be established, how they might perform, and the subsequent prices for China’s regional and national carbon markets. Power generation in manufacturing consumes more than other industries, with more than 40% of total coal consumption. Apart from manufacturing, the northern China heating system also relies on fossil fuels, mainly coal, which causes serious pollution. In order to understand the regional markets well, it is necessary to analyze the energy structure in these regions. Coal is the primary energy source in China, so that provinces that rely heavily on coal receive a greater number of carbon emissions permits from the Chinese Government. In order to establish a national carbon market for China, a detailed analysis of eight important regional markets will be presented. The four largest energy markets, namely Guangdong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hubei, traded around 82% of the total volume and 85% of the total value of the seven markets in 2017, as the industry structure of the western area is different from that of the eastern area. The China National Development and Reform Commission has proposed a national carbon market, which can attract investors and companies to participate in carbon emissions trading. This important issue will be investigated in the paper. |
| Keywords: | Pricing Chinese Carbon Emissions, National Pricing Policy, Energy, Volatility, Energy Finance, Provincial Decisions |
| JEL: | C22 C58 G12 Q48 |
| Date: | 2018–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:eureir:104257&r=env |
| By: | Afees A. Salisu; Lateef O. Akanni (Department of Economics, University of Lagos,Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria); Ahamuefula Ephraim Ogbonna (Centre for Econometric and Allied Research, University of Ibadan) |
| Abstract: | Extant studies in the literature on carbon emissions have done so using numerous methodologies. However, the Environmental Kuznets Curve has remained the workhorse for modelling the link between development and emissions. This study sets out to test the predictability of the EKC hypothesis for CO2 emissions in the US and consequently offers to answer two key questions. First, does the choice of estimator matter for the predictability of EKC in forecasting CO2 emissions? Second, are the results sensitive to any of the following: measures of CO2 emission and output and multiple forecast periods? The results uphold the stance of the inverted U-shaped relationship postulated by the EKC hypothesis. Also, the choice of estimator matters for accurate forecast performance of EKC for CO2 measures. More importantly, any estimator that ignores the inherent statistical properties of the predictors such as endogeneity, conditional heteroscedasticity and persistence, among others, may produce less desirable forecasts than the time series models. This conclusion is valid regardless of the proxies for CO2 emissions and output. |
| Keywords: | US, Environmental Kuznets Curve, CO2 Emissions, Forecast evaluation |
| JEL: | C53 Q51 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cui:wpaper:0045&r=env |
| By: | Karine Constant (Université Paris Est, Erudite, UPEC); Marion Davin (LAMETA, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ. Paul Valéry) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we consider the unequal distribution of climate change damages in the world and we examine how the underlying costs can spread from a vulnerable to a non-vulnerable country through international trade. To focus on such indirect effects, we treat this topic in a North-South trade overlapping generations model in which the South is vulnerable to the damages entailed by global pollution while the North is not. We show that the impact of climate change in the South can be a source of welfare loss for northern consumers, in both the short and the long run. In the long run, an increase in the South’s vulnerability can reduce the welfare in the North economy even in the case in which it improves its terms of trade. In the short run, the South’s vulnerability can also represent a source of intergenerational inequity in the North. Therefore, we emphasize the strong economic incentives for non-vulnerable -and a fortiori less-vulnerable – economies to reduce the climate change damages on – more – vulnerable countries. |
| Keywords: | International Trade, Climate change, Heterogeneous damages, Overlapping generations., |
| JEL: | F18 F43 O41 Q56 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2018.01&r=env |
| By: | John C. V. Pezzey (Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | The social cost of carbon (SCC), a carbon price calculated from cost-benefit based integrated assessment models and used to inform some climate policies, will always be highly disputed, partly because a key model assumption, the centennial climate damage valuation function (CDF), will "always" be highly unknowable. Current disputes are highlighted here by the huge range of SCCs resulting from alternative values of key parameters like discount rates, climate sensitivity and the CDF; by the implausibility to climate scientists of a leading model's warming projections; and by strong criticisms of mainstream CDFs by many climate economists. The claim that statistical analyses of "weather" impacts on local economies can improve centennial CDFs rests on untestable out-of-sample extrapolation. Compared to astronomy, geology and other earth sciences, prediction testing in climate science is generally harder because of Earth's uniqueness, and the unprecedented range and speed of likely centennial climate change, but stable underlying laws make modelling based on past observations meaningful. By contrast, the added complexity of human behaviour means there are no reliable laws for modelling centennial CDFs. For this reason alone, SCCs will always be disputed. I suggest instead more use of carbon prices based on marginal abatement costs, computed on cost-effective paths that achieve socially agreed, physical climate targets. Downplaying the SCC approach to carbon prices poses challenges to many economists, and a cost-effectiveness approach is no panacea, but it avoids the illusion of optimality, and allows more detailed analysis of many current climate policies. |
| Keywords: | Climate policy, cost-benefit analysis, global warming, centennial damage valuation, high unknowability, cost-effectiveness analysis |
| JEL: | Q54 Q51 D80 D61 E17 C18 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:1802&r=env |
| By: | Stephan B. Bruns (Department of Economics, University of Göttingen, Germany); Zsuzsanna Csereklyei (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University); David I. Stern (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | We model the role of the ocean in climate change, using the concept of multicointegration. Surface temperature and radiative forcing cointegrate and the accumulated cointegration disequilibria represent the change in Earth system heat content, which is predominantly stored in the ocean. System heat content in turn cointegrates with surface temperature. Using a multicointegrating I(2) model, we find that the climate sensitivity is 2.8ºC and the rate of adjustment to equilibrium is realistically slow. These results contrast strongly with those from I(1) cointegration models and are more consistent with global circulation models. We also estimate Earth system heat content as a latent variable for the full period, 1850-2014, and this predicted heat content cointegrates with available ocean heat content observations for 1940-2014. |
| Keywords: | Climate sensitivity, econometrics, ocean heat content |
| JEL: | C32 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:1801&r=env |
| By: | F. Zhou; W.J.W. Botzen |
| Abstract: | The theory on the disaster impacts on firm growth is ambiguous and the empirical evidence on this topic is scarce, which hampers the design of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation policies. This paper estimates growth models of the impacts of natural disasters on labour, capital, and value-added growth of firms in the short run, and identifies the role of financial constraints in shaping disaster outcomes. The analysis uses a comprehensive enterprise census data (2000-2009) and also two different types of disaster measures from Vietnam: the physical intensity measures and the socioeconomic damage measures. We apply the Blundell-Bond generalized method of moments (GMM) to estimate firm level disaster impacts, and find robust evidence that natural disasters on average increase firm growth significantly. We also find stronger positive impacts in labour and output growth for more constrained firms. We argue that this occurs because financially more constrained firms substitute labour for capital during the reconstruction phase after a disaster. |
| Keywords: | Natural disaster, disaster impact, firm growth, financial constraints, disaster measure |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:use:tkiwps:1720&r=env |
| By: | Kenneth Gillingham; Anders Munk-Nielsen |
| Abstract: | Pricing greenhouse gases is widely understood as the most efficient approach for mitigating climate change, yet distributional effects hamper political acceptance. These distributional effects are especially important in transport, the fastest growing sector for greenhouse gas emissions. Using rich data covering the entire population of vehicles and households in Denmark, this study uncovers an important feature of driving demand: two groups of much more responsive households in the lower and upper tails of the work distance distribution. We further estimate the causal effect of public transport–a critical determinant of the upper tail–and show how public transport access can both reconcile differences in fuel price elasticities between the United States and Europe, and considerably influence the distributional effects of fuel pricing. |
| Keywords: | transportation, distributional effects, urban form, environmental taxes |
| JEL: | L90 R40 Q40 N70 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6792&r=env |
| By: | Rita SOUSA; Andrés Camilo ÁLVAREZ-ESPINOSA; Nicolás ROJAS PARDO; Germán ROMERO OTALORA; Silvia Liliana CALDERON DIAZ; Catarina VAZAO |
| Abstract: | Este artículo analiza las implicaciones económicas de un Sistema de Comercio de Emisiones (SCE) en Colombia para el cumplimiento de los acuerdos de reducción de emisiones. Para ello se diseñó un módulo de comercio de emisiones en el modelo de equilibrio general MEG4C. A partir de este análisis se logró identificar que un SCE puede tener dos efectos: i) los sectores regulados incorporan el costo marginal de las emisiones en la producción, lo que trae una reducción en la producción y ii) los sectores sustituyen los bienes intensivos en emisiones, buscando minimizar los costos asociados al valor de permiso de emisión, lo que conduce a una disminución de las emisiones por cambio en la intensidad. Finalmente, se observa que cuando el recaudo, logrado por la venta de los permisos, se usa para fomentar la demanda de capital (incentivar la inversión), los resultados son positivos ya que estos recursos contribuyen a la transformación económica, al desarrollo sostenible y a la generación de otros co-beneficios. |
| Keywords: | sistema de comercio de emisiones, cambio climático, modelo de equilibrio general, mitigación |
| JEL: | C68 O44 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–01–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000118:016051&r=env |
| By: | Brandon Wagner (Texas Tech University); Louis Donnelly (Princeton University); Sara McLanahan (Princeton University); Irwin Garfinkel (Columbia School of Social Work); Jeanne Brooks-Gunn (Teachers College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University) |
| Abstract: | Exposure to airborne toxins is associated with a variety of health risks. A growing body of research suggests exposure to air pollution negatively impacts neurological function, although the extent to which cumulative exposure throughout childhood matters for children’s cognitive development is unclear. To address this question, we join Census tract-level data on air pollution estimated in the National Air Toxics Assessment by the Environmental Protection Agency to individual-level data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a birth cohort study following children born in large US cities between 1998 and 2000. We find that children who grow up in neighborhoods with higher levels of neurologically hazardous air pollution score lower on multiple measures of intellectual and academic ability at age 9, even after accounting for parental intelligence and the socio-economic characteristics of families and neighborhoods. We also show that cumulative exposure to air pollution during childhood is associated with declines in relative vocabulary test scores between ages 3 and 9, net of air pollution exposure at birth. Overall, our findings provide strong evidence for the deleterious effect of childhood air pollution on children’s cognitive development. |
| JEL: | Q53 I24 J13 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:crcwel:wp17-08-ff&r=env |
| By: | Halkos, George; Gkargkavouzi, Anastasia; Matsiori, Steriani |
| Abstract: | In this study we examine the multi-dimensional structure of environmental behavior and its potential domains. Factor analysis reveal six behavioral domains: civic actions, policy support, recycling, transportation choices, behaviors in a household setting and consumerism. We use the Connectedness to Nature and Inclusion of Nature in Self scales to measure connection with nature, the New Environmental Paradigm to measure ecological worldviews, and Environmental Motives Scale to assess people’s environmental concern. We further explore the predictive power of connectedness to nature, ecological worldview, and environmental concern for explaining the diverse behavioral domains. Connectedness to nature and ecological worldview were more predictive of civic actions, recycling, household behaviors, and consumerism than were environmental concerns. In the case of policy support and transportation choices, environmental concerns explained more variance than the other constructs. |
| Keywords: | Environmental behavior; connectedness to nature; ecological worldview; environmental concern. |
| JEL: | A14 C38 Q00 Q51 Q56 Q59 |
| Date: | 2018–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:84631&r=env |
| By: | Andersen, Lykke E.; Groom, Ben; Killick, Evan; Ledezma, Juan Carlos; Palmer, Charles; Weinhold, Diana |
| Abstract: | We introduce a hybrid simulation model ('SimPachamama') designed to explore the complex socio-environmental trade-offs of alternative policy bundles and policy sequencing options for stemming deforestation and reducing poverty in tropical countries. Designed and calibrated to the initial conditions of a small forest village in rural Bolivia, the model consists of: (a) an optimising agricultural household module of heterogeneous agents that make individually optimal land-use decisions based on factor endowments and market conditions; (b) an encompassing general equilibrium ‘shell’ module that endogenously determines wages and links the agricultural labour market and rural-urban migration rates; and (c) a novel user-controlled policy-maker module that allows the user to make ‘real time’ choices over a variety of public and environmental policies that in turn impact land use, welfare, and migration. Over a 20-year simulation period the results highlight trade-offs between reductions in deforestation and improvements in household welfare that can only be overcome either when international REDD payments are offered or when decentralized deforestation taxes are implemented. The sequencing of policies plays a critical role in the determination of these results. |
| Keywords: | simulation; Bolivia; deforestation; land use; policy; REDD |
| JEL: | Q23 Q28 Q56 R14 |
| Date: | 2017–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:69004&r=env |
| By: | Thomas Kuhn (Chemnitz University of Technology, Department of Economics, Professur VWL IV Finanzwissenschaft); Radomir Pestow (Chemnitz University of Technology, Department of Economics, Professur VWL IV Finanzwissenschaft); Anja Zenker (Chemnitz University of Technology, Department of Economics, Professur VWL IV Finanzwissenschaft) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we discuss the endogenous formation of climate coalitions in an issue-linkage regime. In particular, we propose to build a link to the issue of preferential free trade. Trade privileges exclusively granted to members of the climate coalition work as an incentive mechanism for countries to join in. A multi-stage strategic trade framework is used in which coalition (fringe) countries can dispose of a policy set comprising a discriminatory import-tariff on dirty goods as well as producer emission permits traded on a common (local) permits market. A fairly novel modelling of the preferential free trade area is incorporated which is at the core of our approach. We find strong support for the claim that trade liberalization can promote relatively large and effective climate coalitions compared to the single issue regime. As a policy implication, negotiations on international climate treaties and free trade arrangements should be interlinked. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, International Environmental Agreements, Free Trade, Issue Linkage, Emission Permits |
| JEL: | Q54 Q56 F18 F15 Q58 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tch:wpaper:cep018&r=env |
| By: | David A. Keiser (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Joseph K. 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. |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:17-wp571&r=env |
| By: | Claudio Petucco (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France); Pablo Andrés-Domenech (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France); Lilian Duband (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France) |
| Abstract: | Wind storms are one of the most important risks for forest management. After a storm hits a forest stand the forest owner has two possibilities: clear cut and start a new rotation or keep the standing trees until maturity. We compute the Land Expectation Value (LEV) under the risk of windthrow and introduce an endogenous rule to account for this decision. We compare the result with the alternative - often used in the literature- of clear cut and replant by default after each storm. We calibrated our model to represent maritime pine plantations in south-western France. Our results show that roughly 75% of the time it is profitable to keep the standing trees until maturity. So doing the forest owner may increase payoffs by up to 90% when the economic risk (i.e. probability of having a storm) is high. Although payoffs are sensitive to economic risk, the optimal rotation age does not change much with significant increases in the risk probability. |
| Keywords: | Faustmann; land expectation value; optimal rotation age; risk; windthrow; wind storm; forestry; pine; plantation; Landes |
| JEL: | Q20 Q23 Q54 |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2017-06&r=env |
| By: | Vincent Bertrand (Climate Economics Chair, Univ. Paris Dauphine, Paris, France; CRESE EA3190, Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-25000 Besançon, France); Sylvain Caurla (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France); Elodie Le Cadre (Climate Economics Chair, Univ. Paris Dauphine, Paris, France); Philippe Delacote (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France) |
| Abstract: | We compute the optimal subsidy level to fuelwood consumption that makes it possible to achieve the French biomass energy consumption target. In this view, we model the competitions and trade-offs between the consumption of fuelwood for heat (FW-H) and the consumption of fuelwood for power generation (FW-E). To do so, we couple a forest sector model with an electricity simulation model and we test different scenarios combining FW-H and FW-E that account for contrasted potential rise in carbon price and potential reduction in the number of nuclear plants. We assess the implications of these scenarios on (1) the budgetary costs for the Government, (2) the industrial wood producers’ profits, (3) the costs savings in power sector for the different scenarios tested and (4) the carbon balance. We show that the scenario with the higher carbon price and the lower number of nuclear plants is the less expensive from a budgetary perspective. Indeed, when associated with a high carbon price, co-firing may increase FW-E demand with lower subsidy level, which enables reducing the cost of reaching the target. However, in this case, FW-E crowds-out part of FW-H which may cause political economy issues. From a carbon balance perspective, a FW-H only scenario better performs than any other scenario that combines FW-H and FW-E due to the relatively low emissions factors of alternative technologies for electricity generation, in particular nuclear energy. |
| Keywords: | Forestry sector, Bioenergy, Biomass-based electricity, Carbon pricing, Nuclear power |
| JEL: | Q41 Q48 Q23 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2017-03&r=env |
| By: | Jonah Busch (Center for Global Development); Anit Mukherjee (Center for Global Development) |
| Abstract: | In February 2014, India’s 14th Finance Commission added forest cover to the formula that determines the amount of tax revenue the central government distributes annually to each of India’s 29 states. The Government of India estimates that from 2015–2019 it will distribute $6.9–12 billion per year to states in proportion to their 2013 forest cover, amounting to around $174–303 per hectare of forest per year. Assuming that contemporary forest cover will remain an element of the formula beyond 2020, Indian states now have a sizeable new fiscal incentive to protect and restore forests, contributing to the achievement of India’s climate goals. India’s tax revenue distribution reform creates the world’s first ecological fiscal transfers (EFTs) for forest cover, and a potential model for other countries. In this paper we discuss the origin of India’s EFTs and their potential effects. In a simple preliminary analysis, we do not yet observe that the EFTs have increased forest cover across states, consistent with our hypothesis that one to two years of operation is too soon for the reform to have had an effect. This means there remains substantial scope for state governments to protect and restore forests as an investment in future state revenues. |
| Keywords: | climate, conservation finance, ecological fiscal transfers, forests, incentives, PES, REDD+ |
| Date: | 2017–12–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:473&r=env |
| By: | Thais NUNEZ-ROCHA; Inmaculada MARTíNEZ-ZARZOSO |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:leo:wpaper:2505&r=env |
| By: | Ruediger Bachmann; Gabriel Ehrlich; Dimitrije Ruzic |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the 2015 Volkswagen emissions scandal as a natural experiment to provide causal evidence that group reputation externalities matter for firms. Our estimates show statistically and economically significant declines in the U.S. sales and stock returns of, as well as public sentiment towards, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Smart as a result of the Volkswagen scandal. In particular, the scandal reduced the sales of these non-Volkswagen German manufacturers by approximately 76,000 vehicles over the following year, leading to a loss of approximately $3.7 billion of revenue. Volkswagen’s malfeasance materially harmed the group reputation of “German car engineering” in the United States. |
| Keywords: | automobiles, collective reputation, country reputation, difference-in-differences, event study, Google trends, firm reputation, natural experiment, reputation externalities, Twitter sentiment, Volkswagen emissions scandal |
| JEL: | D12 D90 F23 L14 L62 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6805&r=env |
| By: | Nathalie Cliquot, (OECD); Lauren Hermanus (Western Cape Government Environmental Affairs And Development Planning); Rushka Ely (Western Cape Government Environmental Affairs And Development Planning) |
| Abstract: | The OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Programme recently undertook an international project on ‘Boosting skills ecosystems for greener jobs’ in four countries: Belgium (Flanders), Poland (Pomorskie), Greece (Attica) and South Africa (Western Cape). The project seeks to explore how local areas and industry clusters identify the specific skills needed to support green growth. Furthermore, it considered how related skills policies and practices can be made more effective in supporting and accelerating the transition to a green economy. This report specifically considers the aquaculture sector of the Western Cape Province in South Africa. While this sector is still relatively small in the Western Cape, it presents important new opportunities for the region’s labour market through business growth, innovation, increasing food production, addressing environmental challenges and job creation. Aquaculture has been identified as a priority sector, but does not yet fully benefit from the mechanisms to foster green growth. |
| Date: | 2018–03–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envddd:2018/1-en&r=env |
| By: | Claire Montagné-Huck (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France); Marielle Brunette (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France) |
| Abstract: | Natural disturbances have always affected forest ecosystems, altering or disrupting the flows of goods and services provided by forests. In response, people have had to adapt their economic activities and decisions to take such hazards into account and to limit their consequences. In this paper, we conduct a survey on how economic analysis deals with such an issue, considering the different natural hazards affecting forests. Our database includes 340 papers collected from 1916 to 2014. We use an original Driver-Pressure-State-Impact- Response model to present our analysis of the literature. |
| Keywords: | forest, economics, risk, natural disturbance, hazard |
| JEL: | Q23 Q54 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2017-08&r=env |
| By: | Newbery, David M G |
| Abstract: | Renewable electricity, particularly solar PV and wind, creates external benefits of learning-by-doing that drive down costs and reduce CO2 emissions. The Global Apollo Programme called for collective action to develop enewable energy. This paper sets out a method for assessing whether a trajectory of investment that involves initial subsidies is justified by the subsequent learning-by-doing spillovers and if so, computes the maximum justifiable additional subsidy to provide, taking account of the special features of renewable electricity -- geographically dispersed and variable quality resource base and local saturation. Given current costs and learning rates, accelerating the current rate of investment appears globally socially beneficial for solar PV in most but not all cases, less so for on-shore wind. The optimal trajectory appears to involve a gradually decreasing rate of growth of installed capacity. |
| Keywords: | cost-benefit analysis; learning-by-doing; PV; Subsidies; wind |
| JEL: | C6 H23 H43 Q42 Q5 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12700&r=env |
| By: | Geir H. M. Bjertnaes |
| Abstract: | A tax on fuel combined with tax-exemptions or subsidies for purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles is implemented in many countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other negative externalities from road traffic. This study, however, shows that a tax on fuel should be combined with heavier taxation of fuel-efficient vehicles to curb externalities from road traffic. The tax on fuel is implemented to curb externalities linked to both consumption of fuel and road use. The heavier tax on fuel-efficient vehicles prevents that motorists avoid the road user charge on fuel by purchasing fuel-efficient vehicles. |
| Keywords: | transportation, optimal taxation, environmental taxation, global warming |
| JEL: | H20 H21 H23 Q58 R48 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6789&r=env |
| By: | Rohan Best (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University); Paul J. Burke (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the roles of policies and preferences in national adoption of solar and wind energy technologies. We use cross-sectional and panel regressions for both the European Union and a broader international sample. We find that countries that price carbon emissions have gone on to adopt more solar and wind energy. The aggregate level of policy support, measured in euros per megawatt hour, appears to have been important for solar energy adoption. We also find that solar energy adoption has been larger in countries with higher proportions of people concerned about climate change. In addition, we assess the effects of other key explanators including financial system size and income levels. |
| Keywords: | Solar energy, wind energy, carbon pricing, aggregate policy support, renewable energy preference, climate change perception |
| JEL: | Q40 Q42 Q48 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:1803&r=env |
| By: | Carvajal, Franco |
| Abstract: | Se espera que este reporte sea un documento de referencia y apoyo para robustecer los programas y proyectos de cuentas ambientales en los países de la región. Este estudio está dirigido principalmente a funcionarios y autoridades de gobierno encargados de la gestión de estadísticas sobre el ambiente y a las políticas de sostenibilidad; y a organismos regionales internacionales interesados en apoyar su implementación. En la primera sección se presenta una breve introducción al SCAE como herramienta de información para responder a diferentes necesidades de política. En la segunda sección se presenta un breve contexto de ALC al respecto de la relevancia de los recursos naturales para su desempeño económico y los problemas ambientales que la caracterizan, su visión política como región para avanzar a un desarrollo sostenible, y se exponen los programas internacionales que apoyan a los países para desarrollar mayores capacidades sobre esta herramienta de información. La tercera sección analiza los avances y desafíos de la región en su conjunto, y en el cuarto capítulo se exponen los perfiles nacionales de 15 países detallando los diferentes aspectos de desarrollo de cuentas económico-ambientales que sistematiza este estudio. Finalmente, en la última sección concluye con las principales lecciones aprendidas y se presentan algunas recomendaciones. |
| Keywords: | MEDIO AMBIENTE, CUENTAS NACIONALES, CONTABILIDAD AMBIENTAL, COOPERACION REGIONAL, ENVIRONMENT, NATIONAL ACCOUNTS, ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING, REGIONAL COOPERATION |
| Date: | 2017–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col027:43314&r=env |
| By: | Charles Kenny (Center for Global Development); Mallika Snyder (Center for Global Development) |
| Abstract: | The Sustainable Development Goals are an ambitious set of targets for global development progress by 2030 that were agreed by the United Nations in 2015. Amongst the 169 targets are a number that call for universal access, universal coverage, or universal eradication. These include ending extreme poverty and malnutrition alongside preventable under-5 deaths, ending a number of epidemics, providing universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, primary and secondary education, a range of infrastructure services, and legal identification. These have often been labeled “zero targets.” A review of the literature on meeting these zero targets suggests very high costs compared to available resources, but also that in many cases there remains a considerable gap between financing known technical solutions and achieving the outcomes called for in the SDGs. In some cases, we (even) lack the technical solutions required to achieve the zero targets, suggesting the need for research and development of new approaches. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable Development Goals, global health, infrastructure, education |
| Date: | 2017–12–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:472&r=env |
| By: | Newbery, D. |
| Abstract: | Renewable electricity, particularly solar PV, creates external benefits of learning-by-doing that drives down costs. If eventually economic, these technologies will thereafter create social value by reducing carbon emissions with value greater than the cost of abatement. This paper sets out a method for assessing whether a trajectory of investment that involves initial subsidies is justified by the subsequent learning-by-doing spillovers and whether it is worth accelerating current investment rates. Given current costs and learning rates, accelerating the current rate of investment appears globally socially beneficial, particularly if that investment is deployed in high insolation locations. |
| Keywords: | Solar PV, learning-by-doing, subsidies, carbon emissions |
| JEL: | C6 H23 H43 Q42 Q54 Q55 |
| Date: | 2017–03–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1715&r=env |
| By: | Bruce A. Babcock; Gabriel E. Lade (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Sebastien Pouliot (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)) |
| Abstract: | The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to deny a request to move the point of obligation under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) from oil refiners to fuel blenders. Supporters of the request argue that those refiners who do not have the fuel blending capabilities of large, integrated oil companies are in danger of going out of business due to their need to buy RINs (Renewable Identification Numbers) to show compliance with the RFS. We demonstrate that this claim is false and that moving the point of obligation would have no impact on refiner profits. The key point that is neglected in the arguments of those who want to move the point of obligation is that added refiner costs from complying with the RFS are passed on to blenders through higher gasoline prices. We show that high RIN prices, holding constant gasoline consumption levels, have no impact on profits of refiners, blenders, or integrated oil companies. Moving the point of obligation from refiners to blenders similarly will have no impact on profit levels other than moving administrative costs of showing compliance from refiners to blenders. High RIN prices that result from substitution of ethanol for gasoline impact refiner profits from a loss of market share to biofuel producers. This loss of profits from lost market share is consistent with the objective of the RFS to substitute biofuels for gasoline. Moving the point of obligation from refiners to blenders would have no impact on this loss. |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:16-pb20&r=env |
| By: | Helena García; Nicolás Martínez Patiño; Juan Camilo Farfán Romero |
| Abstract: | Este estudio presenta una evaluación del potencial de crecimiento verde (EPCV) en Colombia a partir de la metodología desarrollada por el Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). Se llevó a cabo con el apoyo del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente y el GGGI. La EPCV identifica y prioriza las oportunidades en diferentes áreas para lograr un Crecimiento Verde y proporciona posibles recomendaciones que pueden ser implementadas para lograr este objetivo. Este documento se presenta como un insumo a la Misión de Crecimiento Verde 2016-2018 liderada por el Departamento Nacional de Planeación (DNP) con el fin de diseñar una política de Crecimiento Verde. El objetivo de este documento es definir posibles políticas de desarrollo en frente a la protección, preservación y conservación del capital natural. Una EPCV es un diagnóstico rápido para informar sobre la planeación de una estrategia o política de crecimiento verde. La EPCV se basa en la identificación de áreas en las que existen brechas respecto a países pares, ya que estas significan oportunidades de mejora y espacio para implementar acciones correctivas. Consiste en tres etapas: 1. Diagnóstico: investigación preliminar a partir de un tablero de indicadores (información secundaria) para evaluar el desempeño del país en comparación con países pares. 2. Validación: consulta con actores clave para determinar los factores prioritarios que afectan ese desempeño y sus causas subyacentes. 3. Recomendaciones: análisis y caracterización de las principales problemáticas identificadas y recomendaciones de expertos para su atención. |
| Keywords: | Crecimiento Verde, Políticas de Crecimiento Verde, Crecimiento Económico, Medio Ambiente, Crecimiento eficiente en el uso de recursos, Desarrollo Económico, Desarrollo Sostenible, Colombia |
| JEL: | O13 O44 Q01 |
| Date: | 2016–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000516:015481&r=env |
| By: | Bruno Chiarini; Antonella D'Agostino; Elisabetta Marzano; Andrea Regoli |
| Abstract: | The main aim of this paper is to assess whether there is a statistically significant environmental impact of cities within European countries. Second, starting from the estimated environmental impact of cities within European countries, the paper investigates whether cross-country variation can be explained by macro-economic factors and government policies which can play a role in mitigating such an impact. We start from individual evidence (EU-SILC data) to obtain a measure of the environmental impact of cities within countries, and then correlate the latter with macro variables to explain European heterogeneity. These estimates confirm that the environmental risk for households is particularly perceived in more densely populated urban agglomerations, although the marginal effects are quite heterogeneous between countries. Macroeconomic factors such as inequality, wealth, taxation and public spending on the environment, and macroeconomic constraints such as the public finance disequilibrium produce a strong heterogeneity between countries in determining the marginal effects of urban metropolises on household environmental risk. |
| Keywords: | household environmental risk, sustainable cities, bivariate probit model, cross-country heterogeneity |
| JEL: | Q51 Q53 R21 I31 C35 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6822&r=env |
| By: | Renda, Andrea |
| Abstract: | The European Commission recently announced its intention to mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals in its policy process, as part of its approach to implement the 2030 Agenda. This explicitly involves the EU's better regulation agenda, but the current tools and methods used in both ex ante impact assessment and ex post policy evaluation would need to be adapted to link better regulation with SDGs more effectively. More generally, this would also mean that the better regulation agenda becomes an instrument for policy coherence in EU public policy, and not only an instrument for efficiency. In this paper, the author reflects on the changes that would be needed in governance and better regulation methods, and in the European Semester and Cohesion policy. He proposes a five-phase transition towards a policy process that is fully geared to sustainable development. |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eps:cepswp:12334&r=env |
| By: | Wendong Zhang (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Brent Sohngen |
| Abstract: | Despite the growing awareness of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the US and abroad, estimates of welfare losses due to their presence are missing from the literature. Using a mail survey of 767 Ohio Lake Erie recreational angler respondents and a choice experiment, this study provides the first empirical quantification of the economic impacts of HABs on US recreational anglers. Our results demonstrate a significant and substantial willingness to pay by anglers for reduction in HABs, beyond the benefits associated with conventional water quality measures such as catch rates and water clarity. For instance, we find that anglers are willing to pay $8–$10 more per trip for one less mile of boating through HABs enroute to a fishing site. This finding suggests that explicit measures of HABs need to be collected and considered when valuing water quality in nutrient-rich waterbodies. We evaluate the welfare improvements resulting from several nutrient reduction policies, and find that anglers are willing to pay on average $40-60 per trip for a policy that cuts upstream phosphorus loadings by 40%.The majority of welfare gains for anglers result from improving the non-catchable component of the fishing experience, notably water clarity and HAB reduction, as opposed to better chances of angler success. Keywords: Choice experiment, discrete choice, generalized multinomial logit model, harmful algal bloom, Lake Erie, non-market valuation, recreational angler, recreation demand, survey, water quality JEL Codes: Q51, Q53, Q57, Q15 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:17-wp573&r=env |
| By: | Jonathan Lenglet (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Etude des Ressources Forêts-Bois, 54042 Nancy Cedex); Jean-Yves Courtonne (STEEP team, INRIA Grenoble - Rhône-Alpes, Montbonnot, France; Université Grenoble Alpes, France; Artelia Eau et Environnement, Echirolles, France); Sylvain Caurla (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Économie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France) |
| Abstract: | In the context of national policies for climate mitigation and energy transition, the forestwood sector is drawing increasing attention, not only for energy wood but also for longer-life timber products. At the same time, part of the French timber transformation industry suffers from difficulties to adapt to recent changes on global markets, which translates into net exports of raw wood and imports of transformed products, detrimental to both the trade balance and the local creation of wealth. This article first aims at objectifying this situation by undertaking the first material flow analysis of the French forest-wood supply chain. We then evaluate the potential consequences of various scenarios of raw wood exports reduction policies, namely subsidies for consumption or transformation and taxation of exports, on both economic outcomes for the different actors and material flows. We thus provide an example of coupling material flow analysis with economic modeling in an attempt to move from the diagnostic phase to the assessment of possible actions within a decision-making perspective. |
| Keywords: | Wood-flow analysis, Wood sector, Log exports, Forest sector models. |
| JEL: | C80 C63 Q23 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2016-04&r=env |
| By: | Gabriel E. Lade (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); James Bushnell |
| Abstract: | The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is among the largest renewable energy mandates in the world. The policy is enforced using tradeable credits that implicitly subsidize biofuels and tax fossil fuels. The RFS relies on these taxes and subsidies to be passed through to consumers to stimulate demand for biofuels and decrease demand for gasoline and diesel. Using station-level prices for E85 (a high-ethanol blend fuel) from over 450 retail fuel stations, we show that pass-through of the ethanol subsidy is, on average, complete. However, we find that full pass-through takes four to six weeks and that local market structure of gasoline stations influences both the speed and overall level of pass-through. JEL Codes: Q42, Q58, H23 |
| Keywords: | retail fuel markets, E85, renewable fuel standard, subsidy pass-through |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:16-wp570&r=env |
| By: | Federico Ciliberto; GianCarlo Moschini (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Edward D. Perry |
| Abstract: | We develop and estimate a discrete-choice model of differentiated products for the corn and soybean seed industry in the United States to assess the welfare impact of genetically engineered (GE) crop varieties. We use a unique dataset, spanning the period 1996-2011, that contains rich information on the adoption of GE traits. Using a two-level nested logit model, we estimate that U.S. farmers are willing to pay a significant premium for GE traits, and this value has increased over time. Over the last five years of the sample, our results imply that farmers' average willingness to pay for glyphosate tolerance in soybeans was $24/acre/year. During the same period, farmers' willingness to pay for a common triple-stack in corn that includes two insect resistance traits and glyphosate tolerance was $35/acre/year. To compute overall welfare estimates, we evaluate counterfactual scenarios in which GE varieties are not available, with counterfactual non-GE seed prices predicted by a hedonic price equation. Counterfactual scenarios are adjusted to account for the fact that GE crop varieties crowded out non-GE varieties by the end of our sample. We estimate that GE innovations increased farmers' welfare by more than $14 billion over the period of study. We also find that the development and diffusion of GE traits increased U.S. corn and soybean seed industry revenues by nearly $23 billion over this period. Thus, seed firms have been able to appropriate the larger share of the ex post value of innovation created by GE technologies. Key Words: Discrete choice, Innovation, Nested logit, Product characteristics, Seed demand, Transgenic crops, Welfare JEL Codes |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:17-wp576&r=env |
| By: | Laura Recuero Virto (MNHN and MAEDI); Denis Couvet (MNHN); Frédéric Ducarme (Centre Universitaire (CURF) de Mayotte) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we explore the economic growth determinants in 74 countries with high marine biodiversity for the period 1960-2009 through methodologies that take into account theory and specification uncertainty and the presence of multiple growth regimes. We find, firstly, that neoclassical (income), demography, macroeconomic policy, natural capital, fractionalisation and institutions theories are robust determinants of economic growth in these coastal countries. These results suggest that a country’s capacity to deal with marine biodiversity is associated with factors that impact economic growth. Secondly, in contrast with worldwide data sets, macroeconomic policies and natural capital are additional robust determinants of economic growth. There is strong historical evidence on the role of macroeconomic policies and non-renewable natural resources in trade flows and economic growth in coastal countries. Both factors, together with demography, highlight the pressures that coastal areas can be subject to such as construction and public works, population growth and urbanisation which, in turn, may degrade marine biodiversity. In fact, compared to other countries, coastal countries with high marine biodiversity have higher fertility rates, higher international trade exchanges, greater government consumption and lower institutional endowments. Thirdly, we find that education plays an important role in these countries. The rate of economic convergence increases with the level of education. Moreover, education and investment in physical capital have a significant and positive impact on economic growth in countries with very high levels of marine biodiversity. All together, our results suggest that diversifying away from natural capital wealth by investing in education and, more generally, in intangible capital can enhance economic growth, particularly in countries with very high levels of marine biodiversity. In turn, this structural change can contribute to remove pressure from marine biodiversity hotspots, mainly through lower fertility rates as education increases and lower dependence on natural capital exports via coastal areas. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, marine biodiversity |
| JEL: | O10 O13 Q20 Q22 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2018.03&r=env |
| By: | Tim Laing (University of Brighton) |
| Abstract: | This report examines the impact of the REDD+ agreement between Guyana and Norway on indigenous communities in the country. Through literature review, analysis of secondary data, and interviews with indigenous chiefs and other informed stakeholders, it aims to understand the concerns, hopes, and fears of indigenous communities at the start of the agreement, and the effects, if any, that communities have faced from REDD+. Concerns at the inception of the agreement focused on long-standing issues with land rights, and a sense of lack of consultation. There were hopes, however, in the potential economic benefits that could accompany REDD+. Implementation of REDD+ in Guyana has proved slow, and the cash (or other benefits) received by communities has been small. Deforestation has risen—due to increased mining activity—and costs incurred by REDD+ have been minimal. This has created an overall air of scepticism regarding the future of the initiative. Future developments of REDD+ could be stronger through its indirect effect on changing donor actions, and broader policy thinking in Guyana; but major challenges exist in creating an opt-in mechanism that is fair for all indigenous communities, integrating REDD+ with the extractives industries such as mining, and keeping a focus on low-carbon development in the light of major new oil finds. |
| Keywords: | REDD+, Deforestation, Climate Change, Economic Development, Indigenous Peoples, Human Rights, Public Policy, Political Economy |
| JEL: | O19 Q01 Q23 Q28 P48 |
| Date: | 2018–02–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:476&r=env |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | Over recent years, Tonga has enjoyed robust growth and macroeconomic stability, with the construction sector being the main driver of growth. Tonga’s reliance on private and official transfers poses sustainability risks, particularly given the economy’s vulnerability to external shocks and the potentially high costs of natural disasters. |
| Keywords: | Tonga;Asia and Pacific; |
| Date: | 2018–01–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:18/12&r=env |
| By: | Jonas Ngouhouo Poufoun (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Économie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France); Philippe Delacote (UMR INRA – AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d’Économie Forestière, 54042 Nancy Cedex, France) |
| Abstract: | Very few scientific studies have focused on the determinants of households’ livelihoods’ strategies in the Congo Basin. The aim of this paper is to understand which factors drive the choice of portfolio activities in rural regions. More precisely, the role of human, financial, natural and location assets in the portfolio choice is investigated. A unique dataset is used from our recent survey with 1035 random and stratified households in 108 villages of the Tridom landscape to investigate household preferences between (1) specialization and diversification strategies, (2) land-conversion and non-land-conversion activities, and (3) between strategies relying on forest vs other strategies. Our results show significant similarities on the likelihood of households living in the same neighborhood to prefer a given livelihoods strategy. Beside socioeconomic characteristics, the existence of human-wildlife conflict, as well as the indigenousness, directly leads household’s heads to make the choice of diversified strategies, or to choose activities related to land-conversion. These choices lead to some significant spillover effects on the likelihood of neighboring household’s heads to adopt the same strategies. |
| Keywords: | Forest-based livelihoods, Agriculture and cash crop, Diversification strategies, Deforestation, Spatial Spillover Effects, Spatial Autoregressive Probit. |
| JEL: | C11 C21 C25 D12 Q12 Q23 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2016-05&r=env |
| By: | Alem, Yonas (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Hassen, Sied (Environment and Climate Research Center of the Ethiopian Development Research Institute); Köhlin, Gunnar (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | We use a field experiment to identify how differences in preferences and autonomy in decision-making result in sub-optimal adoption of technologies that can maximize the welfare of all members of the household. We create income-earning opportunities and elicit willingness- to-pay (WTP) for energy-efficient cookstoves through a real stove purchase experiment with randomly chosen wives, husbands and couples. Experimental results suggest that women, who often are responsible for cooking and for collecting fuelwood, reveal a higher preference than men for the improved stoves. Using an instrumental variables tobit estimator, we show that women who have higher decision-making autonomy reveal higher WTP than those who have lower decision-making autonomy. A follow-up survey conducted 15 months after the stove purchase show that autonomy does not affect stove use. Our findings highlight the importance of considering division of labor, different preferences, and bargaining power differences within the household when promoting adoption of new household technologies. |
| Keywords: | Preference Difference; Decision-making; Autonomy; Willingness-to-pay |
| JEL: | C93 D13 O12 Q56 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0724&r=env |
| By: | GianCarlo Moschini (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Harvey E. Lapan; Hyunseok Kim |
| Abstract: | We construct a tractable multi-market equilibrium model designed to evaluate alternative biofuel policies. The model integrates the US agricultural sector with the energy sector and it explicitly considers both US ethanol and biodiesel production. The model provides a structural representation of the renewable fuel standard (RFS) policies, and it uses the arbitrage conditions defining the core value of renewable identification number (RIN) prices to identify the relevant competitive equilibrium conditions. The model is parameterized, based on elasticities and technical coefficients from the literature, to represent observed 2015 data. The model is simulated to analyze alternative scenarios, including: repeal of the RFS; projected 2022 RFS mandates; and, optimal (second best) mandates. The results confirm that the current RFS program considerably benefits the agriculture sector, but also leads to overall welfare gains for the United States (mostly via beneficial terms of trade effects). Implementation of projected 2022 mandates, which would require further expansion of biodiesel production, would lead to a considerable welfare loss (relative to 2015 mandate levels). Constrained (second-best) optimal mandates would entail more corn-based ethanol and less biodiesel than currently mandated. |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:17-wp575&r=env |