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on Environmental Economics |
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Issue of 2019‒03‒25
sixty-one papers chosen by Francisco S. Ramos Universidade Federal de Pernambuco |
| By: | Nekane Castillo-Eguskitza (Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU); David Hoyos (Faculty of Economics and Busines, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU; Research Group on Ecological Economics and Political Ecology); Miren Onaindia (Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU); Mikolaj Czajkowski (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw; Charles University, Environmental Center, Prague) |
| Abstract: | Economic valuation of ecosystem services has emerged as a valuable tool to promote conservation and sustainable land management. Our study adds to this literature, by reporting the results of a discrete choice experiment used to analyse local population preferences and willingness-to-pay for selected ecosystem services resulting from different management scenarios in the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve (Biscay, Spain). The ecosystem services considered include quality of water bodies, agricultural production, native forest protection, biodiversity, and recreation. The results indicate that the local population is willing to financially support a new management plan focused on the improvement of ecosystem health and landscape multifunctionality and sustainability, with recreation being the least valued ecosystem service. These findings may be used to inform conservation and management policies to maximize social well-being. They can also help to prioritize investments and allocation of funding and hence minimise land use conflicts. |
| Keywords: | Ecosystem services, discrete choice experiment, social preferences, economic valuation, Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve |
| JEL: | Q51 Q15 Q24 Q25 Q26 Q28 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2019-05&r=all |
| By: | Daniel Coysh; Nick Johnstone (OECD); Tomasz Koźluk (OECD); Daniel Nachtigall (OECD); Miguel Cárdenas Rodríguez (OECD) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the effect of environmental regulations on plant survival and emissions using data on the extent of vintage differentiation of regulations (VDR5) regarding air pollution emission limit values for existing and new coal-fired power plants. Focussing on NOx and SOx emissions, the paper applies survival analysis techniques on a sample of generating units across 31 OECD and non-member countries between 1962 and 2012. |
| Keywords: | air pollution, coal powered plants, emission limit values, environmental policies, exit, Vintage differentiated regulation |
| JEL: | Q50 Q53 Q58 Q48 |
| Date: | 2019–03–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:144-en&r=all |
| By: | Sachs, Jeffrey D. (Asian Development Bank Institute); Woo, Wing Thye (Asian Development Bank Institute); Yoshino, Naoyuki (Asian Development Bank Institute); Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | In 2017, global investment in renewables and energy efficiency declined by 3% and there is a risk that it will slow further; clearly fossil fuels still dominate energy investment. This could threaten the expansion of green energy needed to provide energy security and meet climate and clean air goals. Several developed and developing economies are still following pro-coal energy policies and the extra CO2 generated by new coal-fired power plants could more than wipe out any reductions in emissions made by other nations. Finance is the engine of development of infrastructure projects, including energy projects. Generally financial institutions show more interest in fossil fuel projects than green projects, mainly because there are still several risks associated with these new technologies and they offer a lower rate of return. If we want to achieve sustainable development goals, we need to open a new file for green projects and scale up the financing of investments that provide environmental benefits, through new financial instruments and new policies, such as green bonds, green banks, carbon market instruments, fiscal policy, green central banking, financial technologies, community-based green funds, etc., which are collectively known as “green finance”. |
| Keywords: | green finance; renewable energy; CO2 emissions; Paris Agreement; sustainable development goals; SDGs |
| JEL: | O44 Q56 Q59 |
| Date: | 2019–01–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0917&r=all |
| By: | Lapatinas, Athanasios; Garas, Antonios; Boleti, Eirini; Kyriakou, Alexandra |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the relationship between economic complexity and environmental performance using annual data on 88 developed and developing countries for the period of 2002-2012. We use the Economic Complexity Index, highlighting that a country’s productive structure is associated with the amount of knowledge and know-how embodied in the goods it produces. Measuring environmental performance through the Environmental Performance Index, we show that moving to higher levels of economic complexity leads to better environmental performance and therefore, that product sophistication does not induce environmental degradation. Nevertheless, the effect of economic complexity on air quality is negative, i.e., exposure to PM2.5 and CO2 emissions increases. These findings remain robust across alternative econometric specifications. Furthermore, we highlight the link between the complexity of products and environmental performance at the micro-level. We build two product-level indexes that link a product to the average level of (a) environmental performance and (b) air pollution (CO2 emissions) in the countries that export it. With these indexes, we illustrate how the development of more sophisticated products is associated with changes in environmental quality and show that the complexity of an economy captures information about the country’s level of pollution. |
| Keywords: | economic complexity; environmental performance; pollution; CO2 emissions |
| JEL: | C0 F1 F14 O1 Q5 |
| Date: | 2019–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:92833&r=all |
| By: | Evens Salies (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques) |
| Abstract: | The gilets jaunes (“yellow vests”)[1] movement offers a striking opportunity to ask whether the Sustainable Development Goals for achieving an energy transition and reducing income inequalities are fundamentally incompatible. Our answer is no! Both objectives must and can be met simultaneously: the political acceptability of environmental policies, such as carbon pricing and subsidies for green technologies, crucially hinges upon their distributional effects. While the concept of the ‘just (fair) transition to low-carbon energy’ for workers has figured in the climate debate at the annual COP meetings[2], the issue of how to spread the cost burden of this transition among end-consumers remains somewhat out of the frame. Clear guidelines on the design of energy transition policies that have adverse effects on low-income households are still needed in France.[3] To give some context, the yellow vests movement began in November 2018 in response to a programmed rise in carbon taxes, which coincided with a 25% increase in car fuel prices (see the figure below) and followed previous hikes in oil prices and fuel taxes. The government ended up cancelling this measure in December in response to street pressure. |
| Keywords: | Carbon taxes; Energy transition; Fuel prices; Yellow vests; Industrialisation |
| Date: | 2019–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/3pfm3qa49f936bq9ecnfhqlj0h&r=all |
| By: | Jian-Xin Wu (College of Economics, Jinan University); Ling-Yun He (College of Economics, Jinan University and Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology); ZhongXiang Zhang (Tianjin University and China Academy of Energy, Environmental and Industrial Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the long-run relationship between income and urban air pollution using a joint distribution dynamics approach. This approach enables to estimate the transition process and long-run distribution and to examine the mechanisms behind the evolution process. The approach is applied to a unique panel data of CO2, SO2 and PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5µm) for 286 Chinese cities over the period 2002-2014. Strong persistence in the transition dynamics suggests that this convergence process may require a long time. The distribution dynamics analyses indicate that multiple equilibria are the major characteristics in the long-run relationship between income and urban air pollution in China, which implies that inter-regional technology spillover may be an important way to accelerate convergence. Our results further support the existence of poverty-environmental trap in PM2.5 concentrations. Thus, new environmental models are expected to be developed to explain this new stylized fact. The findings provide strong support for taking more aggressive measures that consider income and urban environment simultaneously to reduce poverty and air pollutions together in the Chinese cities. |
| Keywords: | Income, Urban Air Pollution, Poverty-environment Trap, Distribution Dynamics Approach, China |
| JEL: | O13 O44 Q43 Q53 Q56 Q58 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2019.05&r=all |
| By: | Mengfei Jiang (Centre for Business and Climate Change, University of Edinburgh Business School, Edinburgh,); Xi Liang (Centre for Business and Climate Change, University of Edinburgh Business School, Edinburgh); David Reiner (Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge); Boqiang Lin (China Center for Energy Economics Research, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China); Maosheng Duan (Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China) |
| Keywords: | Emissions trading, China, Carbon pricing; Guangdong ETS pilot; Stakeholder survey; Climate change policy; Low-carbon policy interactions |
| JEL: | H23 Q58 N45 Q48 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1805&r=all |
| By: | Grégoire Garsous (OECD) |
| Abstract: | Addressing the relationship between domestic environmental regulations and international trade policies is essential to better understand the need for consistency and complementarity between these areas. The set of trade and environment indicators developed by the OECD aims to provide insights on this relationship by shedding light on topical debates regarding the interactions between trade and environmental policies. Issues covered include: carbon emissions embodied in trade; embodied raw materials in trade; the volume of trade in environmentally-related goods; tariffs on environmentally-related goods; support measures for fossil fuels; enabling policy and regulatory environment for renewable energy; the volume of trade in waste and scrap; and nutrient balances of exported grains. Although initial insights are provided for these indicators, no detailed analyses is developed at this stage. Rather, these indicators are building blocks to analyse, for instance, the determinants of identified trends or to allow for a better understanding of the issues at hand. Possible avenues for further policy-relevant investigations using the indicators are identified and discussed for each topic covered. |
| Keywords: | environmental regulations, Trade policies |
| JEL: | F14 F18 Q17 Q56 Q58 |
| Date: | 2019–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:traaaa:2019/01-en&r=all |
| By: | Ivana Capozza (OECD); Rachel Samson (Carist Consulting) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a cross-country review of progress towards green growth in selected emerging market economies that are members or partners of the OECD. It draws on the country studies conducted within the OECD Environmental Performance Review Programme for Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, South Africa and Turkey between 2013 and 2019. It presents the main achievements in the countries reviewed, along with common trends and policy challenges. It provides insights into the effectiveness and efficiency of green growth policy frameworks and measures, which may provide useful lessons for other OECD and partner countries. |
| Keywords: | clean technology, environment and development, environmental policy, environmental taxes and subsidies, green growth, infrastructure, natural resources |
| JEL: | O13 O44 Q55 Q56 Q58 |
| Date: | 2019–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envddd:2019/1-en&r=all |
| By: | Juliano Assuncao; Robert McMillan; Joshua Murphy; Eduardo Souza-Rodrigues |
| Abstract: | This paper sets out an empirically-driven approach for targeting environmental policies optimally in order to combat deforestation. We focus on the Amazon, the world’s most extensive rainforest, where Brazil’s federal government issued a ‘Priority List’ of municipalities in 2008, to be targeted with more intense environmental monitoring and enforcement. In this setting, we first estimate the causal impact of the Priority List on deforestation using ‘changes-in-changes’ (Athey and Imbens, 2006), a flexible treatment effects estimation method, finding that it reduced deforestation by 40 percent and cut emissions by 39.5 million tons of carbon. Second, we develop a novel framework for computing targeted ex-post optimal blacklists. This involves a procedure for assigning municipalities to a counterfactual list that minimizes total deforestation subject to realistic resource constraints, drawing on the ex-post treatment effect estimates from the first part of the analysis. Accounting for spillovers, we show that the ex-post optimal list resulted in carbon emissions over 7.4 percent lower than the actual list, amounting to savings of more than $900 million, and emissions over 25 percent lower (on average) than a randomly selected list. The approach we propose is relevant for assessing both targeted counterfactual policies to reduce deforestation and quantifying the impacts of policy targeting more generally. |
| Keywords: | Policy Targeting, Optimal Regulation, Monitoring, Deforestation, Amazon, Carbon Emissions, Changes-in-Changes, Difference-in-Differences, Spillovers, Resource Constraints, Partial Identification, Minimax Ambiguity |
| JEL: | H11 H23 L73 L78 Q23 Q57 |
| Date: | 2019–03–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-631&r=all |
| By: | Natalia Vechiu (CRET-LOG - Centre de Recherche sur le Transport et la Logistique - AMU - Aix Marseille Université) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we focus on the relationship between foreign direct investment, environmental norms and consumers' ecological preferences. This empirical study is based on previous theoretical models showing that weak unilateral environmental regulations create pollution havens attracting FDIs, which leads to even more pollution. However, our first non parametrical estimations on data coming from both developed and developing countries show that outward FDIs decrease with local consumers' "greenness". This is further confirmed by a deeper analysis, showing that home and host consumers' "greenness" has a very strong negative impact on outward FDIs. The results also show that consumers' "greenness" may act as a counterweight to the pollution haven effect. |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02059992&r=all |
| By: | J. Scott Holladay (Department of Economics, University of Tennessee); Mohammed Mohsin (Department of Economics, University of Tennessee); Shreekar Pradhan (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies And Research Center) |
| Abstract: | We develop a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model to understand how environmental policy instrument choice affects trade. We extend the existing literature by employing an open economy model to evaluate three environmental policy instruments: cap-and-trade, pollution taxes, and an emissions intensity standard in the face of two types of exogenous shocks. We calibrate the model to Canadian data and simulate productivity and import price shocks. We evaluate the evolution of key macroeconomic variables, including the trade balance in response to the shocks under each policy instrument. Our findings for the evolution of output and emissions under a productivity shock are consistent with previous closed economy models. Our open economy framework allows us to find that a cap-and-trade policy dampens the international trade effects of the business cycle relative to an emissions tax or intensity standard. Under an import shock, pollution taxes and intensity targets are as effective as cap-and-trade policies in reducing variance in consumption and employment. The cap-and-trade policy limits the intensity of the import competition shock suggesting that particular policy instrument might serve as a barrier to trade. |
| Keywords: | Environmental policy, Import competition, Business cycles, Macroeconomic dynamics, Open economy |
| JEL: | Q54 E32 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ten:wpaper:2019-01&r=all |
| By: | Duro Moreno, Juan Antonio; Giménez Gómez, José M. (José Manuel); Vilella, Cori |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes to use claims models as a reasonable and operative alternative in order to allocate CO2 emissions by countries (or groups), in the framework of multilateral negotiations and the fight against climate change. This framework has two characteristics which fits this type of claims models: a restrictive global endowment (the maximum world emissions permitted) and the excess of emissions (and demand) by countries. The proposed methodology consists on establishing some requirements that any admissible distribution solution should satisfy, examining a broad group of theoretical distribution solutions emerged from the specific literature and analyzing their application according to reasonable ordering criteria linked to equity and stability properties. The proposed theoretical framework is applied empirically to an analysis by groups of countries in the period 2010- 2050, using various world endowments from Meinshausen et al. (2009), together with claims forecasts associated with the RCP scenarios. The results obtained point out that for intermediate claims scenarios the solutions associated with the constrained equal awards (CEA) and α-minimal (α-min) solutions are typically selected. In particular, these two solutions are clearly equity-sensitive, where the efforts to be made by Asia and OECD are very important, as a whole, and especially in the case of the CEA. Given these circumstances, and the better balance between equity and proportionality associated to the α-min allocation methodology maybe that one would be more operative and acceptable. Keywords: Carbon emissions, claims problem, climate change policy JEL classification: D7, H4, H8, Q58, Q54 |
| Keywords: | Emissions atmosfèriques, Canvis climàtics -- Política governamental, 32 - Política, 504 - Ciències del medi ambient, |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/351585&r=all |
| By: | Raphaël Jachnik (OECD); Mariana Mirabile (OECD); Alexander Dobrinevski (OECD) |
| Abstract: | Achieving a low-greenhouse gas (GHG) development requires making finance flows consistent with this objective. In order to measure progress to date as well as inform future public action in this area, this paper calls for further efforts to track gross primary investments flows in new infrastructure and equipment and the refurbishment of such assets, as well underlying sources of finance. The proposed scope focuses on tangible fixed assets with a direct and significant impact on GHG emissions. |
| Keywords: | climate change, data, finance flows, investment, low-greenhouse gas development, measurement, tracking |
| JEL: | E01 E22 G21 G23 H54 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2019–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:146-en&r=all |
| By: | Uygar Ozesmi |
| Abstract: | Planetary life support systems are collapsing due to climate change and the biodiversity crisis. The root cause is the existing consumer economy, coupled with profit maximisation based on ecological and social externalities. Trends can be reversed, civilisation may be saved by transforming the profit maximising consumer economy into an ecologically and socially just economy, which we call the prosumer economy. Prosumer economy is a macro scale circular economy with minimum negative or positive ecological and social impact, an ecosystem of producers and prosumers, who have synergistic and circular relationships with deepened circular supply chains, networks, where leakage of wealth out of the system is minimised. In a prosumer economy there is no waste, no lasting negative impacts on the ecology and no social exploitation. The prosumer economy is like a lake or a forest, an economic ecosystem that is productive and supportive of the planet. We are already planting this forest through Good4Trust.org, started in Turkey. Good4Trust is a community platform bringing together ecologically and socially just producers and prosumers. Prosumers come together around a basic ethical tenet the golden rule and share on the platform their good deeds. The relationship are already deepening and circularity is forming to create a prosumer economy. The platforms software to structure the economy is open source, and is available to be licenced to start Good4Trust anywhere on the planet. Complexity theory tells us that if enough agents in a given system adopt simple rules which they all follow, the system may shift. The shift from a consumer economy to a prosumer economy has already started, the future is either ecologically and socially just or bust. |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1903.07615&r=all |
| By: | Francesco Vona (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques) |
| Abstract: | Political acceptability is an essential issue in choosing appropriate climate policies. Sociologists and behavioural scientists recognize the importance of selecting environmental policies that have broad political support, while economists tend to compare different instruments first on the basis of their efficiency, and then by assessing their distributional impacts and thus their political acceptability. This paper examines case-study and empirical evidence that the job losses ascribed (correctly or incorrectly) to climate policies have substantial impacts on the willingness of affected workers to support these policies. In aggregate, the costs of these losses are significantly smaller than the benefits, both in terms of health and, probably, of labour market outcomes, but the losses are concentrated in specific areas, sectors and social groups that have been hit hard by the great recession and international competition. Localized contextual effects, such as peer group pressure, and politico-economic factors, such as weakened unions and tightened government budgets, amplify the strength and the persistence of the ‘job-killing’ argument. Compensating for the effects of climate policies on ‘left-behind’ workers appears to be the key priority to increase the political acceptability of such policies, but the design of compensatory policies poses serious challenges. |
| Keywords: | Climate policies; Employment impacts; Distributional impacts; Collective action problems; Amplification mechanisms; Political acceptability |
| Date: | 2019–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6d7es28iae9pjoil7092hs41h3&r=all |
| By: | David Newbery (Energy Policy Research Group University of Cambridge) |
| Keywords: | Air pollution, particulates, fossil generation, transport, emissions trading |
| JEL: | H2 H23 H41 I18 Q51 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1708&r=all |
| By: | Hiroaki Ino (School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University); Toshihiro Matsumura (Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | This study shows the equivalence of the emission intensity regulation with tradable emission permits and the combination of emission tax and refunding of the tax revenue to consumers. If firms are symmetric, the equivalence result holds even without tradable permits. |
| Keywords: | carbon pricing, electrification, the second best |
| JEL: | Q58 Q48 L51 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kgu:wpaper:188&r=all |
| By: | Eloi Laurent (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques) |
| Abstract: | La transition écologique française ne manque pas d’ambition, elle manque de leviers. Ce n’est pas l’insuffisance de ses objectifs qui l’empêche de progresser, c’est l’absence d’instruments – efficaces et justes – à la hauteur des enjeux, en phase avec les réalités sociales du pays et intégrés aux politiques publiques nationales et territoriales. À 90 % inefficace aujourd’hui, la stratégie écologique française doit être profondément revue et corrigée. Ce Policy brief propose dans cette perspective deux réformes générales et quatre réformes spécifiques. Il est d’abord proposé de reconnaître que la transition écologique est en réalité une transition sociale-écologique où les questions sociales et les défis écologiques s’entremêlent, ce qui implique de les traiter de concert. Il est ensuite recommandé de substituer au triptyque actuel « axes directeurs–indicateurs principaux–indicateurs secondaires » le triptyque « objectifs-problèmes-instruments ». Quatre chantiers social-écologiques sont étudiés à l’aune de cette méthode et autant de recommandations de politique publique sont formulées : Atténuer le changement climatique en combattant la précarité énergétique (Recommandation : instaurer une contribution climat anti-précarité énergétique) ; Réduire la pollution urbaine pour préserver la santé humaine (Recommandation : créer des zones urbaines de sécurité sanitaire) ; Promouvoir la qualité et la justice alimentaires (Recommandation : démocratiser la qualité alimentaire) et enfin Opérationnaliser la mesure du bien-être et de la soutenabilité (Recommandation : créer et institutionnaliser des indicateurs alternatifs d’orientation budgétaire). |
| Keywords: | Transition écologique; Fiscalité carbone; Pollution urbaine; Question alimentaire; Indicateurs alternatifs de richesse |
| Date: | 2019–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7ef6agd70m8atodv0dabehlnif&r=all |
| By: | David Martimort (PSE - Paris School of Economics, EHESS - L'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - School of Economics - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Jérôme Pouyet (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - UCP - Université de Cergy Pontoise - Université Paris-Seine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ESSEC Business School - Essec Business School); Francesco Ricci (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010 - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier, UM - Université de Montpellier, UMR ART-Dev - Acteurs, Ressources et Territoires dans le Développement - CIRAD - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - UM3 - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | We characterize the optimal contract for resource extraction in a context where the concessionaire has private information on the initial stock of resource. The dynamics of extraction is characterized by a virtual Hotelling rule in which costs of extraction are replaced with virtual costs of extraction. We analyze how structural breaks in the price of resource impact the dynamics of extraction. |
| Keywords: | Non-Renewable Resource Management,Delegated Management,Optimal Contract,Asymmetric Information |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02057380&r=all |
| By: | Chin-Hwa Jenny Sun (National Taiwan Ocean University); Fu-Sung Chiang (National Taiwan Ocean University); Dale Squires (Dept of Economics, University of California San Diego); Anthony Rogers (California Ocean Science Trust, Oakland, CA, USA); Man-Ser Jan (National Taiwan Ocean University) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the price changes in bluefin tuna markets in response to shifts in regional and global landings to evaluate the conservation incentives from changes in the Total Allowable Catch (TAC). Overall supply management that impacts regional and global industry revenues through the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations creates a potential economic incentive. A fisherman¡¦s income, and thus the financial incentive to accept management measures controlling catch levels, depends in part on how responsive price is to overall catch. When price falls proportionately more than landings increase, the total revenue of the industry falls. Fishermen, with their own best interest in mind, will continue increasing their own landings and create an incentive to increase the TAC within the industry, without realizing the possibility of revenue loss due to the resulting falling prices. To protect the value of all stakeholders¡¦ property rights, a consensus to avoid abruptly raising the TAC, without first considering the potential loss due to market response, is needed. Alternatively, if revenue increases with lower TAC, a positive economic incentive for conservation is created through price increasing proportionately more than the lower supply, with harvest profits boosted by lower costs of production. To capture the complexity of substituting across various sources of supply and product form, a general synthetic inverse demand system is estimated to identify the impact of overall landings on bluefin tuna (BFT) prices. This system estimates price flexibilities of both fresh and frozen longline-caught sashimi-grade tunas (Pacific and Atlantic bluefin, southern bluefin, and bigeye) at the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, the world¡¦s largest fish auction market that serves as the single global price leader for bluefin tunas. The resulting estimation shows that own-quantity price flexibilities of every type of fresh and frozen BFTs are less than unity and inflexible in their own consumption. This creates poor individual producer incentives for fishermen to voluntarily reduce wild or farmed BFT supply, as there is (in theory) still a chance to increase their own revenue, under the unlikely condition that there is a fixed total supply with no substitution effect across other tuna products. However, the study shows that these sashimi-grade tunas are highly substitutable to each other and the estimated fresh and frozen BFTs scale flexibilities are all close to one in absolute value. If the scale flexibility is greater than one, suppliers will not be better off by increasing total supply, as price will drop proportionally faster and total revenue will thus be lower. We utilize the rapid increases in the TAC of Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna (EABFT) in recent years to explore these results. Based on the estimated scale flexibility of frozen BFT (0.911), which is slightly less than unity, the frozen subsector of EABFT suppliers is the only winner in light of the supply increases. Suppliers of frozen BFT in other regions, suppliers of fresh BFT (in the Atlantic and elsewhere), and suppliers of southern BFT and bigeye tuna will all be harmed through lower revenue by the supply increases. However, even individual suppliers of frozen EABFT may not necessarily see revenue increases, because of the absence of any sort of property right system in the region that would otherwise guarantee a proportion of the increased catch. Additionally, while total revenue might stay the same for frozen BFT suppliers, fishermen will potentially receive lower profits due to higher operating costs associated with increased landings when the supply of EABFT increases. Given the number of sectors that ultimately lose financially in the short term, and given the ecological (and production) risks accompanying an abrupt increase in fishing pressure in the long term, the global economic losses resulting from an increase in the allowable catch of Atlantic bluefin tuna will outweigh any potential increases to revenue. |
| Keywords: | conservation incentives; general synthetic inverse demand systems; own-quantity flexibility; scale flexibility; sashimi-grade tuna market |
| JEL: | C22 Q21 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nto:wpaper:1901&r=all |
| By: | Noussan, Michel |
| Abstract: | The transport sector has rarely seen disruptive evolutions after the diffusion of the internal combustion engine, and today the European mobility is still heavily relying on oil derivates and on private cars. However, there is a significant push in cities towards more sustainable mobility paradigms, and digital technologies are playing a major role in unleashing possible alternatives to a car- and fossil-based mobility. Three major digital trends can be highlighted, with different levels of maturity and some potential synergies among them: Mobility as a Service, Shared Mobility and Autonomous Vehicles. The effects of these trends are also related to the strong push towards electric mobility, which currently appears as the most supported solution by companies and regulators to decarbonize the transport sector. This working paper discusses an investigation of the potential effects of digital transition, by means of a data-driven model for the calculation of the impacts of mobility demand in Europe in terms of primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The results show that digitalization may have a positive effect on energy consumption and CO2 emissions for passenger transport, given the strong efficiency improvements expected by technological development in the vehicles powertrains. The benefits are maximized if digital technologies are used towards a collective optimization, by increasing the share of available mobility options. Conversely, if digital technologies are limited to increase the quality of private mobility, the environmental benefits will likely remain very limited. Thus, there is a need of tailored policies supporting the right mobility models to fully exploit the potential benefits of digitalization. |
| Keywords: | Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2019–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemfe:285023&r=all |
| By: | Mike Brock (University of East Anglia) |
| Abstract: | Using tools from behavioural economics and psychology to establish non-financial ways to incentivise people to reduce domestic energy usage has become a popular and ever-expanding area of research. This study builds upon the existing literature by providing subjects with energy performance information at group-level in a controlled field experiment setting. Results suggest that the provision of relative information does stimulate energy-conserving behaviour, with this being most pronounced among those who held pre-trial preferences for sustainable living. These variations in usage and responsiveness indicate that the attitudes and structure of social groups are key drivers in determining the extent to which behavioural change is achievable. This in turn has relevance for energy policy, and implies that whilst both regulators and firms could improve consumer welfare and competition within the industry by issuing relative information on performance, the role of group cohesion and affiliation could heavily determine the magnitude of these benefits. |
| Keywords: | Energy Monitoring, Behavioural Nudges, Energy Economics, Group Co-ordination, Sustainability, Environmental Economics |
| JEL: | Q4 Q56 H31 L94 |
| Date: | 2018–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uea:ueaeco:2018_04&r=all |
| By: | Mike Brock (University of East Anglia); Joel Russell (University of East Anglia) |
| Abstract: | This report outlines and reviews the findings of a collaborative project between researchers at The University of East Anglia (UEA) and Brandon Country Park. The former were commissioned to undertake two surveys to elicit the opinions of current users and stakeholders regarding their perceptions of the park, with particular emphasis on how this improves their mental, physical and social well-being. Information was then used to identify how the facility might be improved. 200 surveys were conducted through July 2016, asking questions which referred to park usage, attitudes and socio-demographic status. These responses were combined with a qualitative focus group, and using these mixed-methods field experiment techniques provided an in-depth examination of user perspectives on how to best manage this woodland amenity. The overall results pinpoint some key interactions between the key mental and physical benefits of such a facility, and yet the trade-offs that these human sources of welfare may create for wider biodiversity conservation. |
| Keywords: | Collective Decision-Making; Local Public Goods; Forest Management; Environmental Sustainability, Biodiversity Conservation; |
| JEL: | D71 H4 Q23 Q26 Q28 Q57 |
| Date: | 2018–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uea:ueaeco:2018_03&r=all |
| By: | Carolina Perpina Castillo (European Commission – JRC); Boyan Kavalov (European Commission – JRC); Chris Jacobs-Crisioni (European Commission – JRC); Claudia Baranzelli (European Commission – JRC); Filipe Batista e Silva (European Commission – JRC); Carlo Lavalle (European Commission – JRC) |
| Abstract: | Changes in land use patterns do not occur homogeneously throughout Europe. Many environmental, economic and social phenomena take place at local scale. In this study a land use indicator is being proposed to illustrate the likely land evolution in the EU within 2015-2030 based on the projections in the JRC-LUISA Territorial Modelling Platform and its Reference Scenario 2017. The indicator is further disaggregated for built-up and forest & natural vegetated areas. |
| Keywords: | Land-use, built-up, forests, natural vegetated areas, LUISA territorial modelling platform |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc115895&r=all |
| By: | Ilkka Hannula (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland LtdVTT, Finland); David M Reiner (EPRG, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge) |
| Keywords: | Carbon-neutral synthetic fuels, electrofuels, advanced biofuels, battery electric vehicles, low-carbon transportation alternatives |
| JEL: | Q41 Q42 Q55 R41 R48 O33 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1721&r=all |
| By: | Chi Kong Chyong (EPRG, University of Cambridge); Bowei Guo (Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.); David Newbery (EPRG, University of Cambridge.) |
| Keywords: | Carbon pricing, fuel mix, wind, marginal displacement factors, unit commitment model, econometrics |
| JEL: | H23 L94 Q48 Q54 |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1904&r=all |
| By: | Claire Delpeuch (OECD); Barbara Hutniczak (OECD) |
| Abstract: | How can policy makers successfully implement the policy changes needed to achieve greater economic, social, and environmental sustainability and resilience? This report combines lessons from the available literature, discussions with experts and stakeholders, as well as information on past policy change processes. Results suggest that, over the last decade, changes to fisheries policy have largely been triggered by the performance of the sector itself and how it is perceived, particularly with respect to resource management and to socio-economic outcomes. Other important factors stand out, in particular initiatives by people in charge of fisheries management and legal commitments to adopt changes. Macroeconomic and macro-political factors, however, appear to have had less impact on fisheries policy than on other policy domains. Key recommendations are proposed to facilitate policy change in the future through better use of data, commitment mechanisms, non-sectoral policies, and consultation processes. |
| Keywords: | Fisheries reforms, IUU |
| JEL: | Q22 Q28 D72 H83 |
| Date: | 2019–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:127-en&r=all |
| By: | Nikulin, Alexander (Никулин, Александр) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Vinogradskiy, Valeriy (Виноградский, Валерий) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Vinogradskaya, Olga (Виноградская, Ольга) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Gusakov, Timur (Гусаков, Тимур) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Trotsuk, Irina (Троцук, Ирина) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | Today environmental issues are in the focus not only of scientific and managerial but also of everyday interest of townspeople and villagers, and such concerns are increasingly about the countryside for it lost its previous “status” of ecological “enclave” due to the growing number and severity of environmental crisis situations in rural areas. However, we do not consider these crisis situations as such but rather the consequences of the deformation of the previous ecological balance between peasant households and their environment, and we study the daily efforts of rural residents within their informal economy to restore the traditional ecological state of the village or, at least, to prevent it deterioration. Based on statistical, historical and empirical data, we consider the types of practices that determine the formats of sustainable local and regional agronomic and social-economic interaction of social agents in rural areas. |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:031923&r=all |
| By: | Valeria Bernardo; Xavier Fageda; Ricardo Flores-Fillol |
| Abstract: | The great weight that the car has as a means of mobility in large cities generates significant negative externalities both in terms of congestion and pollution. The goal of this paper is to examine, using a panel of large European urban areas over the period 2008-2016, the effectiveness of urban tolls and low emission zones in mitigating urban congestion. We conclude that urban tolls are successful in mitigating congestion. Instead, low emission zones are not effective. This is a very relevant result, given that such policy is being implemented extensively in Europe. |
| Date: | 2018–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2018-14&r=all |
| By: | Elham Erfanian (Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University); Alan R. Collins (Division of Resource Economics and Management, West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | According to the World Health Organization, 235 million people around the world currently suffer from asthma, which includes approximately 25 million in the United States. There is substantial epidemiological evidence indicating linkages between outdoor air pollution and asthma symptoms, more specifically between concentrations of particulate matter and asthma. Using county level data for 2001-2014, a spatial panel framework is imposed based upon prevailing wind patterns to investigate the direct and indirect impacts of PM2.5 concentration levels on asthma hospitalization in Pennsylvania. This model controls for population density, precipitation, smoking rate, and population demographic variables. Results show that PM2.5 concentrations as measured at the county level have positive direct and indirect effects on asthma hospitalization. A one-unit increase in PM2.5 in one Pennsylvania county will add, on average $1.29M ($754,656 direct and $539,040 indirect) to total annual asthma hospitalization costs with the state of Pennsylvania. This study highlights the need for realistic and accurate impact analyses of ambient air pollution on asthma that reflects the impacts on neighboring regions as well. In order to capture the spillover effects of health-related impacts from PM2.5 pollution, a wind direction algorithm to identify appropriate neighbors is important. |
| Keywords: | PM2.5 concentrations, Asthma, Spatial econometrics, Wind pattern weight matrix, Spillover effects |
| JEL: | Q53 I18 Q40 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rri:wpaper:2019wp01&r=all |
| By: | Sai Amulya Nyathikala (Durham University Business School, Durham University - Environmental Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, MANIT-Bhopal, India Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, MANITBhop); Tooraj Jamasb (Durham University Business School, Durham University.); Manuel Llorca (Durham University Business School, Durham University.); Mukul Kulshrestha (Environmental Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, MANIT-Bhopal, India.) |
| Keywords: | Governance and regulation; socioeconomic and environmental performance; stochastic frontier analysis; sustainability; urban water supply in India. |
| JEL: | L97 L95 L51 L43 R52 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1832&r=all |
| By: | Clay, Karen (Carnegie Mellon University); Portnykh, Margarita (Carnegie Mellon University); Severnini, Edson R. (Carnegie Mellon University) |
| Abstract: | Surface soil contamination has been long recognized as an important pathway of human lead exposure, and is now a worldwide health concern. This study estimates the causal effects of exposure to lead in topsoil on cognitive ability among 5-year-old children. We draw on individual level data from the 2000 U.S. Census, and USGS data on lead in topsoil covering a broad set of counties across the United States. Using an instrumental variable approach relying on the 1944 Interstate Highway System Plan, we find that higher lead in topsoil increases considerably the probability of 5-year-old boys experiencing cognitive difficulties such as learning, remembering, concentrating, or making decisions. Living in counties with topsoil lead concentration above the national median roughly doubles the probability of 5-year-old boys having cognitive difficulties. Nevertheless, it does not seem to affect 5-year-old girls, consistent with previous studies. Importantly, the adverse effects of lead exposure on boys are found even in counties with levels of topsoil lead concentration considered low by the guidelines from the U.S. EPA and state agencies. These findings are concerning because they suggest that legacy lead may continue to impair cognition today, both in the United States and in other countries that have considerable lead deposition in topsoil. |
| Keywords: | legacy lead in soil, cognition, pre-school children |
| JEL: | N52 Q53 Q56 R11 I15 I18 I25 I28 |
| Date: | 2019–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12178&r=all |
| By: | Geoffroy Dolphin (Cambridge Judge Business School and Energy Policy Research Group, University of Cambridge); Michael G. Pollitt (Cambridge Judge Business School and Energy Policy Research Group, University of Cambridge) |
| Keywords: | international spillovers, trade, carbon pricing |
| JEL: | F18 Q56 Q58 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1802&r=all |
| By: | Stephie Fried; Kevin Novan; William B. Peterman |
| Abstract: | By raising the price of carbon-emitting energy sources, a carbon tax would flexibly incentivize households and businesses to reduce fossil fuel consumption and substitute towards cleaner energy sources. A carbon tax would also generate a substantial stream of government revenue. This raises an important question – how should this revenue be used? In this note, we summarize findings from our recent research (Fried et al. (2018)) that examine this question. |
| Date: | 2019–03–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfn:2019-03-08&r=all |
| By: | Pleshcheva, Vlada (Institut für Marketing Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) |
| Abstract: | Xyz |
| Keywords: | choice architecture; environmental impact; framing effects; vehicle choice; |
| JEL: | D12 D90 M31 Q51 |
| Date: | 2019–03–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:147&r=all |
| By: | Michael Grubb (Energy and Climate Change, University College London); Jean-Francois Mercure (Environmental Science department, Radboud University, Nijmegen); Pablo Salas (University of Cambridge, CEENRG/Department of Land Economy); Rutger-Jan Lange (Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam); Ida Sognnaes (University of Cambridge, CEENRG/Department of Land Economy) |
| Keywords: | Innovation, path dependence, inertia, learning by doing, climate change abatement, endogenous technological change, energy systems |
| JEL: | B52 L50 O33 O38 Q40 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1808&r=all |
| By: | Emmanuel Hache (IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles - IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles, EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Gondia Sokhna Seck (IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles - IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles); Marine Simoen (IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles - IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles); Clement Bonnet (IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles - IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles); Samuel Carcanague (IRIS - Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur les enjeux Sociaux - sciences sociales, politique, santé - UP13 - Université Paris 13 - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - USPC - Université Sorbonne Paris Cité - INSERM - Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - PSL - PSL Research University) |
| Abstract: | Integrated assessment models are generally not constrained by raw materials supply. In this article, the interactions between a wide diffusion of electric vehicles in the world transportation sector and the lithium supply are analysed in the Times Integrated Assessment Model (TIAM-IFPEN version). The lithium sector and a detailed representation of the transportation sector have been then implemented into the TIAM-IFPEN processes constituting the global energy system. Hence, the availability of this strategic material to supply the growing demand for low-carbon technologies in the context of the energy transition can be questioned. Incorporating an endogenous representation of the lithium supply chain allows investigating its dynamic criticality depending on several optimal technology paths that represent different climate and/or mobility scenarios between 2005 and 2050. It is the first detailed global bottom-up energy model with an endogenous disaggregated raw materials supply chain. Based on our simulations, the geological, geopolitical and economic dimensions of criticality are discussed. Four scenarios have been run: two climate scenarios (4°C and 2°C) with two shapes of mobility each: a high mobility where we consider the impact of urban dispersal with a huge car dependence/usage, and a low mobility in which the demand for individual road transport is lower due to a more sustainable urban planning and more public transport. The electric vehicles fleet should reach up to 1/3 of global fleet by 2050 in the 4°C scenarios, while it could be up to 3/4 in the 2°C scenarios both with high mobility, mostly located in Asian countries (China, India and other developing countries in Asia) due to the large presence of 2 and 3-wheelers. The penetration of electric vehicles has a major impact on lithium market. The cumulated demand over the period 2005-2050 reaches up to 53% of the current resources in the 2°C scenario with a high mobility. These results tend to show an absence of geological criticality. Nevertheless, they have clearly highlighted other different forms of vulnerabilities, whether economic, industrial, geopolitical or environmental. A discussion about the future risk factors on the lithium market is done at a regional scale aiming at analysing more in-depth the impact of the electric vehicle on lithium market. Our study of this particular strategic material shows that the model could be a useful decision-making tool for assessing future raw material market in the context of the energy transition and could be extended to other critical raw materials for more efficient regional and sectorial screening. |
| Keywords: | World transportation,Electrification,Critical raw materials,Lithium,Bottom-up modelling |
| Date: | 2019–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02061459&r=all |
| By: | Katharina Momsen; Markus Ohndorf |
| Abstract: | We investigate if decision makers exploit moral wiggle room in green market set- tings. We therefore implement a laboratory experiment in which subjects purchase products associated with externalities. In six between-subjects treatments, we alter the availability of information on the externalities, the price of revealing information as well as the nature of the externality, which could either affect another subject or change the amount spent by the experimenters on carbon offsets. We find that subjects do not exploit moral wiggle room when revealing information is costless. When a very small cost of revealing information is introduced, their behavior de- pends on the relation between prices and externalities. In situations in which it is relatively cheap to have a large impact on the recipient’s payoff, subjects exploit moral wiggle room in order to choose selfishly. For other parametrizations, subjects behave either honestly egoistically or altruistically. |
| Keywords: | Information avoidance, experiment, carbon offsets, moral wiggle room, ethical consumption |
| JEL: | C91 D12 D64 D89 Q50 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2019-03&r=all |
| By: | Felix Grey (Faculty of Economics & Energy Policy Research Group Cambridge University); Robert A. Ritz (Faculty of Economics & Energy Policy Research Group Cambridge University) |
| Keywords: | Cost pass-through, regulation, carbon pricing, airlines, political economy |
| JEL: | D43 H23 L51 L92 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1831&r=all |
| By: | Eloi Laurent (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques) |
| Abstract: | Il y a quelque chose de profondément rassurant à voir l’ampleur grandissante des marches pour le climat dans plusieurs pays du globe. Une partie de la jeunesse prend conscience de l’injustice qu’elle subira de plein fouet du fait de choix sur lesquels elle n’a pas (encore) de prise. Mais la reconnaissance de cette inégalité intergénérationnelle se heurte au mur de l’inégalité intra-générationnelle : la mise en œuvre d’une véritable transition écologique ne pourra pas faire l’économie de la question sociale ici et maintenant et notamment de l’impératif de réduction des inégalités. Autrement dit, la transition écologique sera sociale-écologique ou ne sera pas. C’est le cas en France, où la stratégie écologique nationale, à 90% inefficace aujourd’hui, doit être revue de fond en comble, comme proposé dans le nouveau Policy Brief de l’OFCE (n° 52, 21 février 2019). [Premier paragraphe] |
| Keywords: | Fiscalité carbone; Indicateurs alternatifs de richesse; Justice alimentaire; Pollution urbaine; Transition écologique |
| Date: | 2019–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/93e055ebb8ada11aa55s0cdjo&r=all |
| By: | Felix Grey (Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge) |
| Keywords: | lobbying, environmental policy, political economics |
| JEL: | D72 H23 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1714&r=all |
| By: | Guillaume Gruère (OECD); Hélène Le Boëdec (Sciences Po, Paris) |
| Abstract: | This report offers a guide on potential reform pathways towards sustainable agriculture water use, based on a thorough review of selected past water and agriculture reforms and extensive consultation with policy experts. A theory of change is developed that emphasises the importance of flexibility in the timing and design of reform processes to achieve practical and effective policy changes. Governments should prepare future reforms, via continued research, education, and governance efforts, to help take advantage of reform opportunities when the timing is right. Five necessary conditions are identified for a successful reform process: (i) support evidence-based problem definition, objective setting and evaluations; (ii) ensure that governance and institutions are aligned with the policy change; (iii) engage stakeholders strategically and build trust; (iv) rebalance economic incentives to mitigate short run economic losses; and (v) define an adjustable smart reform sequencing that provides flexibility in the long run. These conditions are found to be necessary to implement four challenging policy changes: charging water use in agriculture; removing subsidies that negatively impact water resources, regulating groundwater use and addressing nonpoint source pollution. But the relative effort that governments need to devote to fulfilling each of the five conditions will vary depending on the policy change. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture policy, groundwater, irrigation, nonpoint source pollution, reform process, water governance, water policy, water prices, water subsidies |
| JEL: | P48 Q18 Q25 Q28 Q52 Q58 |
| Date: | 2019–03–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:128-en&r=all |
| By: | Benzarour, Choukri; Mekhnache, Aissam |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to evaluate the appropriateness of the traditional and crafts sector to achieve economic and environmental performance in light of the socio-economic and moral model through its respect for the concept of corporate social responsibility. This study sheds light on the sector of handicrafts and crafts as one of the emerging alternatives to diversify the Algerian economy. It deals with the most important dimensions of the social responsibility of the institution under the socio-economic and moral model. |
| Keywords: | social responsibility of the institution , handicraft sector in Algeria, assess the suitability of craft activities in Algeria for economic and environmental performance. |
| JEL: | L6 M14 Q5 |
| Date: | 2019–03–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:92871&r=all |
| By: | Komarov, Vladimir (Комаров, Владимир) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Kotsyubinskiy, Vladimir (Коцюбинский, Владимир) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Akimova, Varvara (Акимова, Варвара) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Voloshinskaya, Anna (Волошинская, Анна) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | It is shown that the ideology and strategy of transport-territorial development can be based on the paradigm of sustainable development, where the emphasis is put on improving the quality of life, maintaining the viability of urban systems and creating an environment for realising human potential, and not on increasing production of goods and services. The paper proposes recommendations for Russia’s transition to the paradigm of “sustainable transport”. |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:031919&r=all |
| By: | Matthias A. Schnellmann (Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge); Chi-Kong Chyong (Energy Policy Research Group, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge); David M. Reiner (Energy Policy Research Group, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge); Stuart A. Scott (Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge.) |
| Keywords: | Carbon capture and storage; Flexibility; Combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT); Power plants; Electricity system; Amine solvents |
| JEL: | L94 Q4 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1836&r=all |
| By: | Arbel, Yuval (School of Business, Carmel Academic Center); Bar-El, Ronen (Open University of Israel); Schwarz, Mordechai E. (Open University of Israel); Tobol, Yossi (Jerusalem College of Technology (JTC)) |
| Abstract: | We study how the objective of the contributions affects the willingness to contribute to real-life public goods. We conducted three treatments of a fundraising experiment among religious Jewish students in which the contributions were assigned to finance sustainable supplies and the ongoing operations of their campus synagogue. In each treatment, we informed the subject of the different allocation of their contributions between funding sustainable supplies and ongoing operations. The results show that contributions increase significantly with the share of contributions assigned to the procurement of sustainable supplies. We use the results to derive practical implications for the design of fundraising for public goods. |
| Keywords: | experiment, Nash equilibrium, public goods, voluntary provision |
| JEL: | C73 C91 C92 H41 |
| Date: | 2019–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12180&r=all |
| By: | Antonio Russo (ETH Zurich); Jos van Ommeren (VU University Amsterdam); Alexandros Dimitropoulos (OECD) |
| Abstract: | Parking policies have significant environmental and economic implications, which have often been left unconsidered. This paper reviews the relevant literature to provide a deeper understanding of the main environmental and economic consequences of common parking policies, and suggest policy options to protect the environment and increase social welfare. |
| Keywords: | employer-provided parking, environmental impact, Parking pricing, parking requirement, welfare effect |
| JEL: | Q58 R48 R52 |
| Date: | 2019–03–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:145-en&r=all |
| By: | Victor Ajayi (EPRG, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge); David Reiner (EPRG, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge) |
| Keywords: | Industrial energy intensity, innovation, energy price, carbon tax |
| JEL: | O13 C33 Q41 Q55 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1818&r=all |
| By: | Xiao-Yan Liu (College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China); Li-Qiu Liu (College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China); Bai-Chen Xie (College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China - Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG), Judge Business School, University of Cambridge); Michael G. Pollitt (Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG), Judge Business School, University of Cambridge) |
| Keywords: | Grid industry; Efficiency estimation; Stochastic frontier analysis; Environmental heterogeneity; China |
| JEL: | L94 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1820&r=all |
| By: | Levashenko, Antonina (Левашенко, Антонина) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Ermokhin, Ivan (Ермохин, Иван) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | As part of this work, the provisions of the OECD Declaration on International Investments and Multinational Enterprises of 1976, as well as the standards of responsible business of the OECD, were analyzed. More than 75% of institutional investors in the world today are guided by the principles of sustainable development, impose responsible behavior requirements on investment recipients. An analysis of the OECD sectoral guidelines shows that these standards already today have an impact on the Russian economy and enterprises. The non-participation of Russia in the formation of standards of the OVB puts Russian enterprises in a less advantageous position than companies from the countries participating in the Declaration, as our companies are forced to comply with the standards that they did not take part in the formation of. |
| Keywords: | OECD, responsible business, investment, trade, EAEU |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:031935&r=all |
| By: | Hao Yu (State Grid Energy Research Institute Co, LTD, Beijing, China); David M. Reiner (Judge Business School, University of Cambridge); Hao Chen (Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China); Zhifu Mi (Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich) |
| Keywords: | Public preferences; Low carbon; Energy technologies; CCS; Wind; Nuclear |
| JEL: | C54 Q42 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1810&r=all |
| By: | Chakravorty, Ujjayant; Dar, Manzoor H.; Emerick, Kyle |
| Abstract: | We use two randomized controlled trials in Bangladesh to study a simple water conservation technology for rice production called "Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD)." Despite proven results in agronomic trials, our first experiment shows that AWD only saves water and increases profits in villages where farmers pay a marginal price for water, but not when they pay fixed seasonal charges. The second RCT randomly distributed debit cards that can be used to pay volumetric prices for irrigation water. This low-cost, scalable intervention causes farmers to place more value on the water-saving technology. Demand for the technology becomes less price-sensitive. |
| Date: | 2019–03–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:122864&r=all |
| By: | William J. Nuttall (Energy at The Open University, Milton Keynes); Constantine Samaras (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh,USA); Morgan Bazilian (Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines.) |
| Keywords: | Energy Technology; Defense Policy; Innovation |
| JEL: | F50 H56 Q20 N42 N44 Q40 |
| Date: | 2017–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1717&r=all |
| By: | World Bank Group |
| Keywords: | Environment - Environmental Economics & Policies Water Supply and Sanitation - Urban Solid Waste Management Water Supply and Sanitation - Waste Disposal & Utilization |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:30434&r=all |
| By: | Barth, Thomas (Institute for Sociology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany); Jochum, Georg (School of Governance, Technical University of Munich, Germany); Littig, Beate (Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, Austria) |
| Abstract: | The critical strand of the current sustainability discourse often refers to Karl Polanyi's work "The Great Transformation" (e.g. “World in Transition – A Social Contract for Sustainability”, German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), 2011). However, this reference is usually shortened, since in particular Polanyi's remarks about the commodification of labor are disregarded. Overall, work still plays a marginal role in the entire sustainability discourse. Consequently analytical as well as transformative potential remains unused. In our paper we want to put work into the center of the reflections on transformation and outline ways of a socio-ecological transformation towards a sustainable work society. For Polanyi the marketization of work and nature was in the center of his analysis of industrial society. He argues that market societies are constituted by two opposing movements - the laissez-faire movement to expand the scope of the market, and the protective countermovement that emerges to resist the disembedding of the economy. Thus transformation concepts which refer to Polanyi have to focus on the socio-ecological transformation of the working society. Accordingly, it is not just an energy turnaround as often argued, but a “work turnaround” that needs to be at the center of the (sustainability-oriented) transformation debate, which finally involves the re-embedding of the markets into society and the ecosystems. Summing up our arguments, we come to the conclusion that dominant sustainability-oriented transformation concepts fail (e.g. decarbonization, green economy), since they primarily aim at the ecological reorientation of market mechanisms. We argue that the initial point of the fundamental transformation of social relations and of social relations with nature is the (re-)organization of work. A transition to sustainability means in other words, reconceptualizing the global world of work by redefining the concept of work itself and its structural (e.g. the gendered and global division of work, paid/unpaid work, technological innovations) and institutional foundations (e.g. the role of the state). Exploring sustainable work provides a concrete basis for talking about both the direction of this transformation and the way to get there. |
| Keywords: | Societal-nature relationships, labor, Polanyi, sustainability, transformation research, commodification, work turnaround |
| Date: | 2019–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ihs:ihswps:1&r=all |
| By: | Kathryn Chelminski (University of Cambridge Energy Policy Research Group and the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center) |
| Keywords: | clean energy development, development finance, energy policy, geothermal energy |
| JEL: | O13 Q42 N55 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1803&r=all |
| By: | Mike Brock (University of East Anglia); Grischa Perino (University of Hamburg) |
| Abstract: | This paper models the effort exerted by neighbouring individuals as they compete for an environmental commodity which exhibits the properties of a mixed public good. Our motivating example is the levels of seed that neighbours dispense when trying to attract birds to their individual gardens for private enjoyment. |
| Date: | 2018–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uea:ueaeco:2018_05&r=all |
| By: | Paul Simshauser (Griffith Business School, Griffith University Energy Policy Research Group, University of Cambridge) |
| Keywords: | Resource Adequacy, Climate Change Policy, Electricity Prices |
| JEL: | D61 L94 L11 Q40 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1821&r=all |
| By: | David M. Newbery (Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG) Judge Business School & Faculty of Economics Cambridge University); David M. Reiner (Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG) Judge Business School & Faculty of Economics Cambridge University); Robert A. Ritz (Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG) Judge Business School & Faculty of Economics Cambridge University) |
| Keywords: | Carbon pricing, electricity markets, market failure, policy failure, political economy, price floor, price corridor |
| JEL: | H23 L94 Q48 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1816&r=all |
| By: | David Newbery (Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG) Judge Business School & Faculty of Economics Cambridge University); Michael Pollitt (Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG) Judge Business School & Faculty of Economics Cambridge University); Robert Ritz (Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG) Judge Business School & Faculty of Economics Cambridge University); Wadim Strielkowski (Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG) Judge Business School & Faculty of Economics Cambridge University) |
| Keywords: | Electricity markets, wholesale market design, renewable energy, interconnection, electricity storage, long-term contracts, capacity markets |
| JEL: | H23 L94 Q28 Q48 |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1711&r=all |