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on Environmental Economics |
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Issue of 2020‒05‒11
forty-four papers chosen by Francisco S. Ramos Universidade Federal de Pernambuco |
| By: | Hambulo Ngoma; Arild Angelsen; Thomas S. Jayne; Antony Chapoto |
| Abstract: | Conservation Agriculture (CA) aims to concurrently promote agricultural productivity, climate resilience and other environmental objectives related to sustainability. The evidence base for CA and other practices of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in Sub-Saharan Africa is becoming better established. We review this evidence to address whether CA meets CSA objectives and why adoption rates by smallholders remain generally very low. As part of the review, we develop hypotheses for expected CA adoption under different socioeconomic and agro-ecological conditions, and consider promising options for enabling CA to better contribute to the CSA objectives. Our results are largely in agreement with the nascent literature where CA is found to contribute positively to CSA productivity and adaptation/resilience objectives, although the degree of success varies considerably by regional, farm and household characteristics. The evidence is equivocal on the potential for CA to enhance soil carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, we find that capital-intensive (mechanized) CA is more likely to be adopted in areas of economic dynamism where capital is cheap relative to labor. Labor-intensive CA practices are more likely to be adopted in regions of economic stagnation where capital is expensive and labor is abundant and cheap. The climate-smartness of CA can be enhanced in a number of ways: reframing and adapting CA to location-specific economic and biophysical conditions, integrating CA with other CSA practices such as agroforestry, and by increasing the use of complementary productivityenhancing inputs such as inorganic fertilizers and organic manure. Other options to make CA climate-smart include conditional subsidies, market and value chain development to improve farmers’ access to CSA-promoting inputs, linking CA to payments for environmental service schemes (e.g., carbon credits), greater and more effective public spending on research and development to build evidence on the adaptation and mitigation potential of CA, and an improved enabling policy environment for private investment in input and farm commodity markets. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2019–05–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffrp:303025&r=all |
| By: | Hambulo Ngoma; Amare Teklay Hailu; Stephen Kabwe; Arild Angelsen |
| Abstract: | Forests are important havens for biodiversity. If left standing, they sequester and store carbon, and thereby help mitigate climate change. Forests supplement household incomes for a large share of rural people, perform a myriad of other ecosystem functions and contribute to national incomes. Yet forests are overexploited and degrading, threatening the products and services they supply. Sustainable use and conservation of forests is, therefore, high on national policy agendas, but it is less clear how to do so effectively and efficiently. We conducted framed field experiments (FFEs) to test, ex-ante, the impact of three possible policies for forest conservation in Zambia: community forest management (CFM), command and control (CAC), and payments for environmental services (PES). The experiments were designed to mimic how local dwellers use forests in real life. A random sample of 191 forest users drawn from four villages in Mpika and Serenje districts, the actual localities where they make forest use decisions participated in the experiments, using actual tree branches as the commodity in the task of harvesting trees. A total of 24 groups, each with eight participants played the experiments and made harvest decisions for 10 rounds. Relative to open access, PES to individuals reduced harvest by 18 percentage points while each of CAC and CFM reduced harvest rates by 6 percentage points. Communication in the CFM treatment improved cooperation and to some extent ignited non-pecuniary, prosocial and other – regarding choices among our participants. The large effects of individual pay underscores the merit in paying forest users through incentive-based schemes, provided the transaction costs of such individual payments can be kept at a reasonably low level. Free and easy-riding and uncertainty on how others will respond dampens the positive effects of group pay for forest conservation, as do externally imposed sanctions in CAC. We conclude that individual pay performs better than group pay for forest conservation. Optimal forest conservation outcomes might, however, be achieved by some combinations of CFM and individual PES. Clarifying benefit sharing mechanisms in Zambia’s community forest management and taking into account individuals’ non-pecuniary motives will be important to achieve win-win outcomes for conservation and livelihoods. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2019–08–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffrp:303049&r=all |
| By: | Manon Authelet (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech [Gembloux] - Université de Liège); Julie Subervie (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010 - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Patrick Meyfroidt (ELI - Earth and Life Institute [Louvain-La-Neuve] - UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain); Niguel Asquith (John F. Kennedy School of Government - Harvard University [Cambridge]); Driss Ezzine-de Blas (Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement) |
| Abstract: | The effectiveness of incentive-based conservation programs depends on how they influence and interact with multiple motivations of the participants. Here, we studied an incentive-based program for forest conservation in Bolivia – called "Reciprocal Water Agreements" – that mixes material compensations with pro-social and pro-environmental motivations as a way to reduce crowding-out of intrinsic motivations and to increase participation. Based on a sample of 424 households who were offered the program, we analysed econometrically the households' characteristics that influenced (i) the probability of participation in the program, (ii) the intensity of the participation, measured as the area allocated in the agreement, and (iii) the modality of participation, measured as the probability of participation in the different types of agreements. We found that economic factors favoured participation of better-off households owning property titles, more forested land with lower conservation opportunity cost, more agricultural tools and access to off-farm income. In addition, both pro-social factors – a deeper or older integration into social networks, and greater compliance to social norms of reciprocity, but also weaker institutional trust – as well as pro-environmental factors – including awareness of environmental problems, greater knowledge about solutions to environmental problems and a perceived positive balance of gains and losses in ecosystem services – also influenced positively the probability of participation and the area involved in the program. Finally, we found that participation into more restrictive agreements was enabled by a stronger sense of individual responsibility towards environmental problems and a weaker perceived control over environmental behaviours. Our results highlight the factors that could increase uptake and factors on which the program might focus in order to have a greater impact on pro-environmental behaviours. They also suggest that incentive-based program can be designed to take advantage of pro-social and pro-environmental motivations as strongly as of economic ones. |
| Keywords: | Motivations,participation,incentive-based conservation program,forest conservation,South America,Bolivia. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpceem:hal-02513101&r=all |
| By: | Donatella Baiardi (University of Parma, Italy; Center for European Studies); Claudio Morana (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy; Center for European Studies; Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies; Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we assess public attitudes on climate change in Europe over the last decade. Using aggregate figures from the Special Eurobarometer surveys on Climate Change, we find that climate change attitudes have evolved according to the “S-shaped” information dissemination model, conditional to various socioeconomic and climatological factors. In particular, we find that environmental awareness is directly related to per capita income, social trust, secondary education, the physical distress associated with hot weather and loss caused by extreme weather episodes. It is also inversely related to greenhouse gas emissions and tertiary education. Moreover, consistent with our epidemics-like narrative, we find a negative impact for Donald Trump's denial campaigns and a larger positive effect for Greta Thunberg's environmental activism. In terms of policy implications, this paper calls on the EU to take up leadership in the fight against climate change and declare a climate emergency. It also calls on teachers to introduce their students to climate change, science journals to allow wide access to any climate change article they publish and public institutions to protect climate change evidence from politicization. This paper finally calls for the close coordination of monetary and fiscal policies, to allow the green bonds market to reach rapidly the size required for the implementation of effective climate change mitigation policies. |
| Keywords: | climate change, environmental attitude, green bonds, mitigation policy, EU |
| JEL: | Q50 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimwps:20-15&r=all |
| By: | Santeramo, Fabio Gaetano; Lamonaca, Emilia; Tappi, Marco; Di Gioia, Leonardo |
| Abstract: | The livestock sector has a large influence on direct and indirect (via land use change) greenhouse gas emissions, with potential negative impacts on climate change. We quantify the environmental impacts related to the introduction of a voluntary animal-based policy supported by the European Union (EU), the Measure 14 of Rural Development Programmes 2014-2020 on animal welfare. We focus on methane and nitrous oxide emissions (direct impacts), and on carbon-based and nitrous oxide emissions from land use change (indirect impacts). Our case study is the dairy sector of the EU Member States. We found that the animal-based measures have (on average) limited environmental impacts, although marked differences exist across Member States. |
| Keywords: | Animal welfare; Emission; EU policy; Livestock; Rural development. |
| JEL: | Q18 Q51 Q53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:99932&r=all |
| By: | Shapiro, Joseph S. |
| Abstract: | This paper documents a new fact, then analyzes its causes and consequences: in most countries, import tariffs and non-tariff barriers are substantially lower on dirty than on clean industries, where an industry’s “dirtiness” is defined as its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per dollar of output. This difference in trade policy creates a global implicit subsidy to CO2 emissions in internationally traded goods and so contributes to climate change. This global implicit subsidy to CO2 emissions totals several hundred billion dollars annually. The greater protection of downstream industries, which are relatively clean, substantially accounts for this pattern. The downstream pattern can be explained by theories where industries lobby for low tariffs on their inputs but final consumers are poorly organized. A quantitative general equilibrium model suggests that if countries applied similar trade policies to clean and dirty goods, global CO2 emissions would decrease and global real income would change little |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, climate change, trade policy, trade and the environment |
| Date: | 2020–05–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:qt7jh2s7d6&r=all |
| By: | Azim, Syeda Saadia; roy, arindam; Aich, Amitava; Dey, Dipayan |
| Abstract: | The increasing trend of environmental disaster due to changing climate has escalated the occurrence of Tsunami, Forest fire, Flood, Epidemics and other extreme health and environmental and hazardous events across the globe. Establishment of effective and transparent communication during the crisis phase is extremely important to reduce the after-effects of the events. In recent times, fake news or news with fabricated content have emerged as major threats of communications during and and post -disaster phase. The present study critically evaluates the nature and consequences of fake news spread during the four major environmental disasters in recent era (Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, Keralan Flood, Amazon Forest Fire and African Ebola Epidemic) and prepared a framework for present COVID-19 Pandemic. The criticality and potential threat created by the fake news have been quantified and analyzed through the timeline of news spreading. It has been observed that the adverse impact related to the African Ebola Epidemic was highest due to its multiple fake news origin sites, both online and offline propagation methods, well fabricated content and relatively low effort on containment. However the COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing disaster expected to have a long- drawn impact covering most countries in the world with combined consequences hence it tends to overtake all other events. Policy recommendations have been prepared to combat the spreading of fake news during the present and future environmental disasters. The importance of the study relies on the fact that the number of environmental disasters will increase in future and strategy for risk communication during the time is still not explored adequately. In addition the study will contribute significantly for understanding the present status of information paradigm for COVID-19 and helps in preparing region-specific real-time contingency measures for effective risk communication. |
| Date: | 2020–04–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:wdr5v&r=all |
| By: | Byman H. Hamududu; Hambulo Ngoma |
| Abstract: | Water resources are important for current and future socioeconomic development of any country. To manage water resources sustainably requires a good understanding of the current and future availability of these resources at local level: how much water is available, where is it available and when? This paper assesses the spatial and temporal distribution of water resources and the impacts of projected climate change on water resource availability, and draws implications for irrigation development in Zambia. Unlike past studies done at national level, this study is at river basin level. Using a water balance model in a hydrological modeling framework and statistical downscaling of future climate scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the paper simulates the impacts of climate change on water availability in Zambia’s main river basins from current periods until the end of the century in 2100. The main results indicate that temperature increases in Zambia are projected to reach 1.9o C and 2.3o C by 2050 and 2100, respectively. Rainfall is projected to decrease by about 3% by mid-century and only marginally by about 0.6% towards the end of the century across the country. However, there are large differences across the different regions, with the southern, western and eastern regions projected to be much more affected compared to the northern region. These changes in rainfall and temperature will reduce water availability by about 13% from current (observed) levels of about 97 km3 to about 84 km3 by the end of the century at national level. At the river basin level, the northern basins are likely to stay the same or experience slight increases in water resources compared to those in the southern and western parts of Zambia. In particular, Zambezi, Kafue, and Luangwa River Basins are projected to have less water resources available due to reduced rainfall and higher temperatures . These findings have implications for smallholder irrigation development in Zambia. First, this implies that contingent on costs, current and future irrigation schemes will need to adopt more water efficient technologies such as overhead irrigation systems (e.g., center pivots and drip irrigation) as opposed to the prevalent surface irrigation methods. Second, reduced water availability will increase access and irrigation costs, which in turn may reduce its profitability among smallholder farmers as they tend to have limited capital and capacity to adapt to higher cost structures. Third, competition for the reduced available water resources will disadvantage the smallholder farmers. Policies to protect them against the large scale users are required. Options for bulky water transfer from low-demand, high-water areas in the north to the high-demand, low-water areas in the south should be explored. Fourth, water resources management and regulation need to be strengthened, for example by ensuring that water user rights and fees become mandatory, even among smallholder farmers. There is also need to improve rain water harvesting and storage by investing in more efficient reservoirs. How these reservoirs should be managed to ensure equitable access to water resources and to reduce water loss due evapotranspiration requires further thought. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2019–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffrp:303050&r=all |
| By: | Herman R. J. Vollebergh; Corjan Brink |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses lessons that other regions could learn from European Union’s effort to implement carbon pricing through EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS). Our lessons are, first of all, that a cap-and-trade system like EU ETS is very helpful in guaranteeing a credible and binding reduction of emissions through its cap within the sectors subject to this regulation. Second, providing enough flexibility for trade, in particular intertemporal trade, is essential but should also be guided with care. The current quantity rules for the Market Stability Reserve to steer the abundancy of allowances seems a promising new feature for cap-and-trade policies, although price collars for newly designed systems create more transparency. Third, it is far from obvious why EU ETS should cover the entire carbon emissions base if other instruments, like (implicit) carbon taxes are already available. Finally, EU ETS seems at least partially responsible for the observed steady reduction of carbon emission within the EU ETS sectors. However, the gradual tendency to outsource emissions to other regions justifies carbon border adjustment mechanisms for selected sectors if other regions do not impose carbon pricing rules. |
| Keywords: | climate policy, carbon pricing, European Union Emission Trading System, Market Stability Reserve |
| JEL: | D47 D62 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8236&r=all |
| By: | Olga Chiappinelli; Karsten Neuhoff |
| Abstract: | Carbon pricing decisions by governments are prone to time-inconsistency, which causes the private sector to underinvest in emission-reducing technologies. We show that incentives for decarbonization can be improved if complementing carbon pricing with carbon contracts for differences, where the government commits to pay a fixed carbon price level to the investors. We derive conditions under which the government is willing to “tie its hands” with the contracts. |
| Keywords: | Carbon pricing, time-inconsistency, green technology, climate policy, carbon contracts |
| JEL: | C73 L51 O31 Q58 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1859&r=all |
| By: | McGaughey, Ewan (King's College, London) |
| Abstract: | This is a draft Green New Deal Act 2020, designed to decarbonise the economy, and make society wealthier and healthier, at next to zero cost to taxpayers. It includes provisions on: (1) establishing a Green New Deal commission to report on progress and recommend future changes to Parliament, (2) decarbonisation of transport, namely all buses, taxis, delivery vehicles, cars, and rail, limitation of plane flights, and golden shares in auto-manufacturers to switch production, (3) decarbonisation of energy generation, (4) a duty on the Coal, and Oil and Gas Authorities to eliminate the coal, oil and gas industries, and the creation of civil and criminal liability for climate damage, (5) a just transition with full employment, an income guarantee, and training for all affected workers, (6) changing agricultural subsidies to ensure carbon neutral practices, carbon traffic light labelling in all supermarkets, and recycling, (7) duties of the Bank of England, financial regulators, and all company directors to divest from fossil fuels and invest in clean energy, (8) empowerment of local government in transport, energy, building and agriculture, and (9) duties on the Secretary of State to negotiate for decarbonisation in all international agreements and military affairs. These statutory measures will ensure an end to climate damage by 2025. |
| Date: | 2020–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:lawarx:j6qwv&r=all |
| By: | De Gobbi, Maria Sabrina. |
| Abstract: | Zimbabwe has a wealth of natural resources and is rich in biodiversity. The national Government is trying to achieve private sector led economic growth and the challenge to pursue both economic de- velopment and sound environmental management at the same time appears clear. The objective of this paper is to explore the views of different groups of the business community, including workers, managers and owners of the formal as well as of the informal economy, on how environmental in- tegrity is being pursued in Zimbabwe. Both quantitative and qualitative/interpretative methods have been applied. The results of a perception survey have been explained through qualitative interviews with Zimbabwean experts. The paper concludes suggesting actions that the private sector can adopt to improve the existing situation and further strengthen its engagement towards environmental in- tegrity in the country. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:995070093502676&r=all |
| By: | Lim, Aik Hoe; Mathur, Sajal; Suk, Gowoon |
| Abstract: | In order to ensure transparency and to keep abreast of trade policies in support of sustainability, the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) mandated the WTO Secretariat to compile and collate all environment-related measures notified to WTO. The database also includes environment-related entries found in Trade Policy Reviews (TPRs). This information, which is updated annually, is contained in the WTO Environmental Database (www.wto.org/edb). It has nearly 11,500 measures drawn from WTO notifications and over 7,800 trade policy review entries. By analysing the trade policy review entries over time, we can better understand how the relationship between trade and environment is evolving in Members' trade policies, the relevant sectors involved, and the types of instruments which are most frequently used to pursue environmental objectives. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture,Circular Economy,Climate,Energy,Environment,Environment and Trade,Fisheries,Forestry,International Trade,Policy Making,Trade,Trade Policy,Services,Waste,Wildlife,WTO |
| JEL: | F13 F18 F42 F64 F68 Q56 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wtowps:ersd202006&r=all |
| By: | Klaus Desmet; Robert E. Kopp; Scott A. Kulp; David Krisztián Nagy; Michael Oppenheimer; Esteban Rossi-Hansberg; Benjamin H. Strauss |
| Abstract: | Sea-level rise and ensuing permanent coastal inundation will cause spatial shifts in population and economic activity over the next 200 years. Using a highly spatially disaggregated, dynamic model of the world economy that accounts for the dynamics of migration, trade, and innovation, this paper estimates the consequences of probabilistic projections of local sea-level changes under different emissions scenarios. Under an intermediate greenhouse gas concentration trajectory, permanent flooding is projected to reduce global real GDP by an average of 0.19% in present value terms, with welfare declining by 0.24% as people move to places with less attractive amenities. By the year 2200 a projected 1.46% of world population will be displaced. Losses in many coastal localities are more than an order of magnitude larger, with some low-lying urban areas particularly hard hit. When ignoring the dynamic economic adaptation of investment and migration to flooding, the loss in real GDP in 2200 increases from 0.11% to 4.5%. This shows the importance of including dynamic adaptation in future loss models. |
| Keywords: | quantitative economic geography, economic growth and development, climate change |
| JEL: | Q54 R11 R12 R13 |
| Date: | 2019–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1709&r=all |
| By: | Williams, Andy E |
| Abstract: | The lockdown of economic activity in many countries as a measure to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to high levels of unemployment and other indicators of a potentially upcoming economic crisis. As a gauge of the seriousness of these concerns some have suggested that current levels of some of these indicators have not been seen in the US since the time of the great depression. This paper explores how General Collective Intelligence, a recent innovation in group decision-making systems, might reliably generate the economic growth needed to avert such a crisis where not reliably achievable otherwise. Current group decision-making systems, whether choosing a human decision-maker, consensus voting on decisions, or automated decision-systems such as conventional collective intelligence, have been suggested to lack the capacity to maximize more than a very few group outcomes simultaneously due to specific limitations. Since impact on collective well-being is determined by impact on an open (unbounded) set of outcomes, this implies lack of the capacity to maximize the necessary range of impacts on well-being for groups if that range is too broad. If so, the breadth of impact required to achieve sustainable “green” economic development while simultaneously solving hunger, solving the environmental degradation that consensus has linked to climate change, as well as providing maximal access to healthcare, education, and other resources, may not be reliably possible with current decision systems. General Collective Intelligence or GCI replicates the adaptive problem solving mechanisms by which nature has demonstrated the ability to optimally respond to an unlimited set of problems, and by which nature has demonstrated the ability to potentially increase sustainability per unit of resources by orders of magnitude so that life is reliably self-sustaining. This paper explores why GCI can potentially be used to reliably drive self-sustaining economic growth to revive economies in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and why GCI has the potential to reliably drive a transformation to sustainable green economies while doing so. |
| Date: | 2020–04–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:arw7c&r=all |
| By: | Harrison Hong; Neng Wang; Jinqiang Yang |
| Abstract: | We provide the planner's solution to a model where households learn from exogenous natural disaster arrivals about arrival rates and spend to mitigate future damages. Mitigation cannot be decentralized due to positive externalities from curtailing aggregate risks. First-best can be implemented by capital taxes and mitigation subsidies. Willingness-to-pay, toward public health for pandemics or environmental protection for climate disasters, depends on mitigation efficacy. Efficacy can be inferred from damage functions that depend on prior arrivals which determine preparedness. Regulatory risks arise since disaster leads to pessimistic arrival-rate beliefs and taxes or mandates to fund mitigation, which reduce consumption, investment and stock-market value. |
| JEL: | E21 E22 E23 G12 G28 H23 H41 |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27066&r=all |
| By: | Mishra, Mukesh Kumar |
| Abstract: | Our current economic models needs to allow us to achieve the multiple goals the international community has set, Nearly twenty seven years after Rio, we have come to realize that a more sophisticated development model who linking economy and environment and a more evolved economic model are needed if we are collectively to enjoy the fruits of globalization effects. Environment and development, global trends in relation to environment and socio-economic development, the challenges society faces today and provides signposts towards sustainable development... Major causes of environmental problems are population growth, wasteful and unsustainable resource use, poverty, exclusion of environmental costs of resource use from the market prices of goods and services, and attempts to manage nature with insufficient knowledge. The beginning, the phenomenon of globalization has captured world attention in various ways in development. The tremendous change in the countries caused erosion of environmental quality to a large extent. Hence the concept of sustainable development has gained importance since Rio Declaration. The ultimate goal is an environmentally sustainable society—one that meets the current and future basic resource needs of its people in a just and equitable manner without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their basic needs. This paper focuses on how Sustainable Development linking economy and environment in the era of Globalization, and the need for sustainable environment with the economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable Development,Economic Development |
| JEL: | O11 O44 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:215793&r=all |
| By: | Luca Di Corato (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari); Tsegaye Ginbo (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden) |
| Abstract: | Climate change and emerging pest and diseases may negatively affect coffee yields and revenues in some Ethiopian regions. Hence, the relocation of coffee farms to other areas has been suggested. In this paper, we study how sunk establishment costs, uncertain net returns, and policy induced incentives may affect the timing and value of a coffee farm relocation. This is done by developing a real-options model taking into account the relevant drivers of the farmer's decision to relocate. We then present an empirical analysis examining a hypothetical relocation. We show that relocation is a rather attractive opportunity even though the presence of volatile net returns and relatively high establishment costs may induce its postponement. Thus, we identify under which circumstances subsidies may foster the relocation process and determine their amount. |
| Keywords: | Real-options, Coffee farms, Climate Adaptation, Relocation |
| JEL: | C61 Q54 Q58 R11 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2020:02&r=all |
| By: | Ademmer, Martin; Jannsen, Nils; Mösle, Saskia |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we exploit exogenous variation in navigability of the Rhine river to analyze the impact of weather-related supply shocks on economic activity in Germany. Our analysis shows that low water levels lead to transportation disruptions that cause a significant and economically meaningful decrease of economic activity. In a month with 30 days of low water, industrial production in Germany declines by about 1 percent, ceteris paribus. Our analysis highlights the importance of extreme weather events for business cycle analysis and contributes to gauging the costs of extreme weather events in advanced economies. Furthermore, we provide a specific example for an idiosyncratic supply shock to a small sector that amplifies to an economically meaningful effect at the macroeconomic level. |
| Keywords: | Climate,extreme weather events,low water,supply shocks,business cycle effects |
| JEL: | E32 Q54 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:2155&r=all |
| By: | Vuong, Quan-Hoang; La, Viet-Phuong; Nguyen, Hong-Kong T.; Ho, Tung Manh; Vuong, Thu-Trang; Ho, Toan Manh (Thanh Tay University Hanoi) |
| Abstract: | This research was conducted in Vietnam in 2019 to support the establishment in 2018 of the Vietnam Business for Environment (VB4E) Platform by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Vietnam. The case of Vietnam is then used to bring attention to how businesses in a developing country are dealing with environmental problems and engaging in both ecological conservation and social responsibilities. A structured dataset on selected keywords and news sources was built to systematically track all major environment-related events in Vietnam. The findings, which were extracted from 344 news reports and 75 environmental events, highlight the lack of engagement on Vietnamese businesses in sustainability initiatives, with existing corporate activities still driven by practical concerns, i.e., profitability. Notably, a minimum of one governmental agency was involved in 86% of the events categorized as environmentally damaging. This result hints at a systemic problem of government-business collusion in bypassing environmental guidelines. |
| Date: | 2020–04–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:mcdq4&r=all |
| By: | Renda, Andrea; Laurer, Moritz |
| Abstract: | Digital technologies can drive growth, connect people and help us protect the environment. At the same time, they can lead to market concentration, fuel precarious working conditions and consume vast amounts of energy. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a perfect example of this tension, and embodies both the promise and the peril of digitalisation. Its emergence offers unique opportunities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the European Green Deal, but policymakers need to be aware of the need for tailored policies and investments, if they want to maximise the benefits of the IoT revolution while mitigating the risks. This report illustrates the key features and evolutions of the IoT, and provides an overview of how the IoT is mostly used today in sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, energy and smart cities. We conclude that the IoT can massively contribute to several SDGs, especially through its capacity to increase efficiency and save costs. As the IoT is still a relatively young and complex technology, its use is mostly driven by wealthy cities and businesses. Its potential for more vulnerable populations in the global south and the environment remains underdeveloped. This points to an important dilemma for the IoT today from a sustainability perspective: while the main driver for IoT adoption is cost reduction and increased efficiency, sustainability goals such as poverty reduction and environmental protection often remain a secondary thought in its development. The role of public policy and investment will be essential to ensure that IoT solutions contribute to other SDGs in the near future and we outline different approaches for measuring this contribution. This report discusses in particular the policy measures that could be adopted in the European Union to boost the potential of the IoT for sustainability, in light of the European Green Deal and the upcoming 2021-2027 financial framework. This report was created in cooperation with Hitachi, Ltd. |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eps:cepswp:26658&r=all |
| By: | Philippe Goulet Coulombe; Maximilian G\"obel |
| Abstract: | Arctic sea ice extent (SIE) in September 2019 ranked second-to-lowest in history and is trending downward. The understanding of how internal variability amplifies the effects of external $\text{CO}_2$ forcing is still limited. We propose the VARCTIC, which is a Vector Autoregression (VAR) designed to capture and extrapolate Arctic feedback loops. VARs are dynamic simultaneous systems of equations, routinely estimated to predict and understand the interactions of multiple macroeconomic time series. Hence, the VARCTIC is a parsimonious compromise between fullblown climate models and purely statistical approaches that usually offer little explanation of the underlying mechanism. Our "business as usual" completely unconditional forecast has SIE hitting 0 in September by the 2060s. Impulse response functions reveal that anthropogenic $\text{CO}_2$ emission shocks have a permanent effect on SIE - a property shared by no other shock. Further, we find Albedo- and Thickness-based feedbacks to be the main amplification channels through which $\text{CO}_2$ anomalies impact SIE in the short/medium run. Conditional forecast analyses reveal that the future path of SIE crucially depends on the evolution of $\text{CO}_2$ emissions, with outcomes ranging from recovering SIE to it reaching 0 in the 2050s. Finally, Albedo and Thickness feedbacks are shown to play an important role in accelerating the speed at which predicted SIE is heading towards 0. |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2005.02535&r=all |
| By: | Golub, Alexander (Голуб, Александр) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | Reliance of the Russian economy on carbon dependent sectors may induce a long-term stagnation and convergence of the economy into the development trap. A theoretical model of economic growth model presents the Russian economy as a combination of two sectors: dominating carbon-dependent industries and emerging knowledge-based sectors. Exposure of carbon-dependent industries to the emerging global and regional climate policies and to climate change itself determine elevated investment risks and high risk-adjusted cost of capital. The reliance of Russia on resource and energy-intensive sectors will increase investment risks and the cost of capital for the Russian economy. For the theoretical analysis, we apply the Ramsey economic growth model with a convex-concave production function. For the analysis of investment risks, we use the real options analysis. |
| Keywords: | development trap; investment risks; climate policy: concave-convex production function |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:032002&r=all |
| By: | Kocornik-Mina, Adriana; McDermott, Thomas K.J.; Michaels, Guy; Rauch, Ferdinand |
| Abstract: | Does economic activity relocate away from areas that are at high risk of recurring shocks? We examine this question in the context of floods, which are among the costliest and most common natural disasters. Over the past thirty years, floods worldwide killed more than 500,000 people and displaced over 650,000,000 people. This paper analyzes the effect of large scale floods, which displaced at least 100,000 people each, in over 1,800 cities in 40 countries, from 2003-2008. We conduct our analysis using spatially detailed inundation maps and night lights data spanning the globe’s urban areas, which we use to measure local economic activity. We find that low elevation areas are about 3-4 times more likely to be hit by large floods than other areas, and yet they concentrate more economic activity per square kilometer. When cities are hit by large floods, these low elevation areas also sustain damage, but like the rest of the flooded cities they recover rapidly, and economic activity does not move to safer areas. Only in more recently populated urban areas, flooded areas show a larger and more persistent decline in economic activity. Our findings have important policy implications for aid, development and urban planning in a world with rapid urbanization and rising sea levels. |
| Keywords: | Urbanization; Flooding; Climate change; Urban recovery |
| JEL: | O18 Q54 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2020–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:100031&r=all |
| By: | Haenel, Hans-Dieter; Rösemann, Claus; Dämmgen, Ulrich; Döring, Ulrike; Wulf, Sebastian; Eurich-Menden, Brigitte; Freibauer, Annette; Döhler, Helmut; Schreiner, Carsten; Osterburg, Bernhard; Fuß, Roland |
| Abstract: | Der vorliegende Berichtsband einschließlich des umfangreichen Datenanhangs dient als Begleitdokument zum National Inventory Report (NIR) über die deutschen Treibhausgas-Emissionen sowie zum Informative Inventory Report (IIR) über die deutschen Schadstoffemissionen (insbesondere Ammoniak). Der Bericht dokumentiert die im deutschen landwirtschaftlichem Inventarmodell GAS-EM integrierten Berechnungsverfahren sowie die Eingangsdaten, Emissionsergebnisse und Unsicherheiten der Berichterstattung 2018 für die Jahre 1990 bis 2017. Der Bereich Landwirtschaft umfasst dabei die Emissionen aus der Tierhaltung und der Nutzung landwirtschaftlicher Böden sowie aus der Vergärung von Energiepflanzen. Emissionen aus dem Vorleistungsbereich, aus der Nutzung von Energie sowie Landnutzungsänderungen werden den Regelwerken entsprechend an anderer Stelle in den nationalen Inventaren berichtet. Die Berechnungsverfahren beruhen in erster Linie auf den internationalen Regelwerken zur Emissionsberichterstattung und wurden durch die Arbeitsgruppe 'Landwirtschaftliche Emissionsinventare' des Thünen-Instituts in den vergangenen Jahren beständig weiterentwickelt, teilweise in Zusammenarbeit mit dem KTBL. Dies betrifft im Wesentlichen die Berechnung des Energiebedarfs, der Fütterung und der tierischen N-Bilanz bei den wichtigen Tierkategorien. Zusätzlich wurden technische Maßnahmen wie Abluftreinigung (Minderung von Ammoniakemissionen) und die Vergärung von Wirtschaftsdünger (Minderung von Methan- und Lachgasemissionen) berücksichtigt. Für die Berechnung von Emissionen aus der Vergärung von Wirtschaftsdünger und Energiepflanzen (einschließlich Gärrestausbringung) entwickelte die vorgenannte Arbeitsgruppe in Zusammenarbeit mit dem KTBL eine deutsche Methodik ... |
| Keywords: | Emission inventory,agriculture,livestock husbandry,agricultural soils,anaerobic digestion,energy crops,renewable primary products,greenhouse gases,air pollutants,methane,laughing gas,ammonia,particulate matter,Emissionsinventar,Landwirtschaft,Tierhaltung,landwirtschaftliche Böden,anaerobe Vergärung,Energiepflanzen,nachwachsende Rohstoffe,Treibhausgase,Luftschadstoffe,Methan,Lachgas,Ammoniak,luftgetragene Partikel,Staub |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:jhtire:77&r=all |
| By: | Pies, Ingo |
| Abstract: | Die umweltpolitische Debatte leidet unter einem verbreiteten Diskursversagen. Zugrunde liegt eine Moralkonfusion. Sie verstellt der demokratischen Öffentlichkeit den Blick auf die ordnungspolitische Option, das moralische Anliegen einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung - inklusive Klimaschutz - durch die kluge Indienstnahme marktwirtschaftlicher Prinzipien zu verwirklichen. Ohne Produktionseffizienz und Innovationsdynamik - und insbesondere ohne intensives Wachstum - wird es keine ökologisch nachhaltige Entwicklung geben (können). |
| Keywords: | Umweltpolitik,Klimapolitik,Emissionen,Marktwirtschaft,intensives Wachstum,Innovation,Wettbewerb,Gewinnorientierung,environmental policy,climate policy,emissions,market economy,intensive growth,competition,profit orientation |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:mlucee:202003&r=all |
| By: | Matthew McCartney; S. Foudi; Lal Muthuwatta; Aditya Sood; G. Simons; J. Hunink; K. Vercruysse; C. Omuombo (International Water Management Institute) |
| Keywords: | climate change / natural environment / manmade structures / infrastructure / upstream / downstream / dam construction / floodplains / flood control / flow discharge / economic analysis / economic impact / hydroelectric power / hydrological factors / soils / reservoirs / marine fisheries / estuarine fisheries / inland fisheries / flood irrigation / coastal area / sediment / river basins / cost benefit analysis / ecosystem services / smallholders / grazing / decision making / land management / Kenya |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:rerpts:h049163&r=all |
| By: | Hacardiaux, Thomas; Defryn, Christof (RS: GSBE Theme Data-Driven Decision-Making, QE / Operations research, RS: FSE DKE Mathematics Centre Maastricht); Tancrez, Jean-Sébastien; Verdonck, Lotte |
| Abstract: | Horizontal cooperation in logistics has gathered momentum in the last decade as a way to reach economic as well as environmental benefits. In the literature, these benefits are most often assessed through aggregation of demand and supply chain optimization of the partnership as a whole. However, such an approach ignores the individual preferences of the participating companies and forces them to agree on a unique coalition objective. Companies with different (potentially conflicting) preferences could improve their individual outcome by diverging from this joint solution. To account for companies preferences, we propose an optimization framework that integrates the individual partners’ interests directly in a cooperative model. The partners specify their preferences regarding the decrease of logistical costs versus reduced CO2 emissions. Doing so, all stakeholders are more likely to accept the solution, and the long-term viability of the collaboration is improved. First, we formulate a multi-objective, multi-partner location-inventory model. Second, we distinguish two approaches for solving it, each focusing primarily on one of these two dimensions. The result is a set of Pareto-optimal solutions that support the decision and negotiation process. Third, we propose and compare three different approaches to construct a unique solution which is fair and efficient for the coalition. Extensive numerical results not only confirm the potential of collaboration but, more importantly, also reveal valuable managerial insights on the effect of dissimilarities between partners with respect to size, geographical overlap and operational preferences. |
| JEL: | C44 |
| Date: | 2020–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umagsb:2020002&r=all |
| By: | Fontes, Francisco; Gorst, Ashley; Palmer, Charles |
| Abstract: | Drought events have critical impacts on agricultural production yet there is little consensus on how these should be measured and defined, with implications for drought research and policy. We develop a flexible rainfall-temperature drought index that captures all dry events and we classify these as Type 1 (above-average cooling degree days) and Type 2 droughts (below-average cooling degree days). Applied to a panel dataset of Indian districts over 1966-2009, Type 2 droughts are found to have negative marginal impacts comparable to those of Type 1 droughts. Irrigation more effectively reduces Type 2 drought-induced yield losses than Type 1 yield losses. Over time, Type 1 drought losses have declined while Type 2 losses have risen. Estimates of average yield losses due to Type 1 droughts are reduced by up to 27 per cent when Type 2 droughts are omitted. The associated ex-post economic costs in terms of rice production are underestimated by up to 124 per cent. |
| Keywords: | agriculture; rice; climate; drought; India; rainfall; temperature; ES/K006576/1 |
| JEL: | Q10 Q19 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2020–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:103378&r=all |
| By: | Dechezleprêtre, Antoine; Koźluk, Tomasz; Kruse, Tobias; Nachtigall, Daniel; De Serres, Alain |
| Abstract: | This article reviews the empirical literature combining economic and environmental performance data at the micro-level, i.e. firm or facility level. The literature has generally found a positive and statistically significant correlation between economic performance, as measured by profitability indicators or stock market returns, and environmental performance, as measured by emissions of pollutants or adoption of international environmental standards. The main reason for this finding seems to be that firms that reduce their material and energy costs experience both better economic performance and lower emissions. Only a small and recent literature analyses the joint causal impact of environmental regulations on environmental and economic performance. Interestingly, this literature shows that environmental regulations tend to improve environmental performance while not weakening economic performance. However, the evidence so far is limited to a handful of environmental regulations that are not extremely stringent, so the result cannot be easily generalized. More research is needed to assess the joint effects of environmental regulations on environmental and economic performance, to explore the heterogeneity of these effects across sectors, countries and types of policies, and to understand which policy designs allow improving environmental quality while not coming at a cost in terms of economic performance of regulated businesses. |
| Keywords: | Environmental performance; Environmental regulation; Financial performance; Porter hypothesis; Research synthesis; ES/R009708/1 |
| JEL: | O32 Q52 Q55 Q58 |
| Date: | 2019–04–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:100900&r=all |
| By: | Lesly Cassin (EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Paolo Melindi-Ghidi (EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Fabien Prieur (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010 - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the optimal adaptation policy of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to cope with climate change. We build a dynamic optimization problem to incorporate the following ingredients: (i) local production uses labor and natural capital, which is degraded as a result of climate change; (ii) governments have two main policy options: control migration and/or conventional adaptation measures ; (iii) migration decisions drive changes in the population size; (iv) expatriates send remittances back home. We show that the optimal policy depends on the interplay between the two policy instruments that can be either complements or substitutes depending on the individual characteristics and initial conditions. Using a numerical analysis based on the calibration of the model for different SIDS, we identify that only large islands use the two tools from the beginning, while for the smaller countries, there is a substitution between migration and conventional adaption at the initial period |
| Keywords: | SIDS,climate change,adaptation,migration,natural capital. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpceem:hal-02515116&r=all |
| By: | Myriam Legay (SILVA - SILVA - AgroParisTech - UL - Université de Lorraine - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Brigitte Musch (ONF - Office National des Forêts); Noémie Pousse (ONF - Office National des Forêts); Anne Joly (ONF - Office National des Forêts); Jean Ladier (ONF - Office National des Forêts); Vincent Boulanger (ONF - Office National des Forêts); Christine Deleuze (ONF - Office National des Forêts); Patrice Mengin-Lecreuxl (ONF - Office National des Forêts); Alexandre Piboule (ONF - Office National des Forêts); Yves Rousselle (ONF - Office National des Forêts); Claudine Richter (ONF - Office National des Forêts) |
| Abstract: | En charge de la gestion de onze millions d'hectares de forêts publiques, dont 4,6 millions d'hectares en métropole, l'Office national des forêts (ONF) est un acteur majeur de la filière forêt-bois en France. Depuis 2005, le changement climatique s'est imposé à l'ONF comme une priorité de recherche et de développement. Pour adapter les forêts au climat de demain et préserver les stocks de carbone, son département « Recherche développement et innovation » s'est rapproché des acteurs de la recherche en France. Dans cet article, les auteurs font le point des travaux et actions menés au cours des quatorze dernières années et de leur appropriation par les services de gestion. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02544340&r=all |
| By: | Pies, Ingo |
| Abstract: | Dieser Artikel reflektiert die öffentliche Auseinandersetzung zwischen Joe Kaeser und Luisa Neubauer. Er nimmt die Perspektive des ordonomischen Forschungsprogramms ein und formuliert zehn Thesen zum Themenkomplex "Klimapolitik und Moral". |
| Keywords: | Ordonomik,Wachstum,De-Growth,Klimapolitik,Dekarbonisierung,Emissionshandel,Flugscham,ordonomics,growth,climate politics,de-carbonisation,emission trading,flight shame |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:mlucee:202002&r=all |
| By: | Michael, Bryane |
| Abstract: | FinTech offers a new way to mobilize resources for all kinds of uses – including for funding sustainable development. Roughly 3%-13% of funding required for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)– or around $50 billion to $125 billion -- could come from a ‘FinTech Dividend.’ Such a dividend derives from the use of FinTech platforms to increase savings and investment (overall), channel resources into publicly funded as well as privately-funded SDG-related activities and policies, and encourage the use of internet platforms, which deliver novel goods and services that relate to the seventeen SDGs. Less than half of UN members have FinTech laws and policies – making FinTech a ripe area for right-regulating. Unfortunately, in areas like institutional reform – no amount of money can guarantee achieving the SDGs, without wider legal and administrative reforms. And no clear data about the exact policies needed to help grow an economy (or pay for SDG spending) serve as any guide. With total investment in FinTech stuck at around $150 billion to $200 billion – the hoped for deluge of FinTech dollars on SDG activities may remain a trickle for years to come. |
| Keywords: | FinTech Dividend,SDG funding,FinTech Law,#FinTech4SDGs |
| JEL: | G23 O16 F63 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esrepo:216745&r=all |
| By: | Mignamissi, Dieudonné; Kuete, Flora Yselle |
| Abstract: | We revisit resource curse theory by providing empirical evidence for the effects of natural resource on the subjective wellbeing. Using cross-sectional model based on a global sample of 149 countries, we highlight that resources rents tend to reduce happiness but this effect differs according to (i) the political system and the level of development, (ii) the types and the measures of natural resources and (iii) the scale of happiness. Specifically, the negative effect of natural resources on happiness tends to be amplified in developing and weak democracy countries. Furthermore, the disaggregation of natural resource rents show that while oil rents and natural gas rent have a significant negative effect, forest, coal and mineral rents do not. However, after using the quantile regression approach, we find that these effects vary at different intervals throughout the happiness distribution. |
| Keywords: | Resource Rents, Happiness, Resource Curse |
| JEL: | C31 I31 Q34 |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:99928&r=all |
| By: | Hector G. Lopez-Ruiz; Nora Nezamuddin; Abdelrahman Muhsen (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center) |
| Abstract: | Logistics and infrastructure policy will play key roles in Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification and reform efforts. This study provides a quantitative assessment of specific measures related to freight transport, taking into consideration the heterogeneity of urban, regional and inter-regional localities in Saudi Arabia. This paper, mirroring the global approach developed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, analyzes the potential impact of logistics policy. It sheds light on how transport regulations can help rationalize fuel consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants in the Kingdom. |
| Keywords: | Freight Transport Activity, Freight Transport Energy Demand, Multimodal Freight transport, Saudi Freight Transport, Transport Policy Design |
| Date: | 2020–04–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:prc:dpaper:ks--2020-dp08&r=all |
| By: | McKenna, Russell; Weinand, Jann Michael; Mulalic, Ismir; Petrovic, Stefan; Mainzer, Kai; Preis, Tobias; Moat, Helen Susannah |
| Abstract: | A cost-efficient and sustainable energy transition requires reliable information about the distribution of renewable energy resources. Here we draw on over 1.5 million scenicness ratings of around 200,000 geotagged photographs from Scenic-Or-Not to quantify the aesthetic value of the landscapes in which onshore wind energy installations could be situated in Great Britain. An analysis of planning applications provides quantitative evidence that onshore wind projects are more likely to be rejected when proposed in more scenic areas. Exploiting further open data sources including OpenStreetMap, we build on these findings to generate new estimates of the feasible potential and costs for onshore wind in Great Britain, which we find to be around 1700 TWh and £280 billion respectively. We also uncover a strong spatial correlation between scenicness and the quality of the wind resource, implying inevitable trade-offs between cost-efficiency and public acceptance. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:kitiip:43&r=all |
| By: | Abroskin, Alexander (Аброскин, Александр) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Abroskina, Natalia (Аброскина, Наталья) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | The subject area of the research is the methodology and methods of estimation the scale of gross domestic product (GDP). The main problems of GDP construction methodology on the basis of alternative methodological approaches are revealed. Algorithms for matching the developed GDP estimates for convergence are presented. The perspective international experience of GDP adjustments taking into account environmental and social factors is considered and systematized. Recommendations for its use in Russian statistical practice are presented. The results of experimental estimates of Russian GDP with adjustments for production social and environmental components are presented |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:032006&r=all |
| By: | Hooijen, Inge (RS: GSBE Theme Learning and Work); Bijlsma, Ineke (RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research, ROA / Dynamics of the labour market); Cörvers, Frank (RS: GSBE Theme Learning and Work, RS: SBE - MACIMIDE, ROA / Human capital in the region, RS: FdR Institute ITEM); Poulissen, Davey (RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research, ROA / Training and employment) |
| Abstract: | There is ample evidence from different research disciplines that location factors such as employment opportunities or the availability of amenities and facilities are a powerful predictor of settlement behaviour. Recent research suggests that citizens’ mean personality traits could be an additional predictor of where young people settle. We therefore explore 1) the extent to which recent graduates in the Netherlands are geographically clustered with respect to five different personality traits, 2) whether the geographical clustering of graduates is intensified as they grow older, 3) how regional environmental characteristics are related to personality traits, and 4) the extent to which personality traits play a role in graduates’ location choices. Our results reveal a distinct geographical clustering of personality traits among the different regions in the Netherlands. We also show that this geographical clustering becomes more blurred as graduates age. The results furthermore show robust associations between personality traits and several environmental characteristics with respect to demographic, economic, health, political, sociocultural, crime, and religious outcomes. In addition, we show that personality traits play a role in graduates’ location choices. Economic factors seem to have a larger impact in determining location choices than personality traits. |
| JEL: | J61 R23 D91 |
| Date: | 2020–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umagsb:2020003&r=all |
| By: | Jeremy van Dijk; Mehdi Farsi; Sylvain Weber |
| Abstract: | This paper experimentally investigates the existence of behavioural deviations from the oft-assumed rationality in private transport decisions, avoiding the selection-biases in revealed data. Through a choice experiment answered by 995 Swiss respondents, we explore the linkages between long- and medium-term travel investment decisions, and the choice of transport mode. We test the existence of commitment device usage in car and public transport pass purchases, and the sunk cost fallacy, as well as the impact of electric vehicles on mode choice. We find little evidence to support the existence of commitment devices, and no sunk cost fallacy. We further show that electric vehicle owners are equally likely to commute in their car, however use a greater mix of transport modes for leisure and long-distance trips. Our results support the importance of marginal travel costs in transport policy, as well as demonstrate the wide impact of rising EV consumption. |
| Keywords: | Transport, Behaviour, Choice experiment, Commitment, Sunk cost, Electric vehicles, Energy technology adoption, Environmental policy. |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irn:wpaper:20-04&r=all |
| By: | Lara Ahmann (GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research); Martin Distelkamp (GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research); Dr. Christian Lutz (GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research); Dr. Markus Flaute (GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research) |
| Abstract: | In this documentation, the socio-economic dimension of the German bioeconomy (BE) is reported for the recent past. The presented findings were developed as part of the project SYMOBIO (https://symobio.de/), a research project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the concept of "Bioeconomy as Societal Change". The research consortium is working to create the scientific basis for monitoring the bioeconomy (BE) in Germany by a systemic understanding and modelling of the German BE with respect to sustainability aspects on a national and international level. Work packages of SYMOBIO deal with the footprints agricultural land use, forestry wood, water and GHG emissions. In addition to this, the project deals with the challenges in monitoring the social and economic sustainability dimensions of the BE. To assess the sustainability of the BE a set of indicators has to be defined and quantified that simultaneously look at the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the BE (see Egenolf, Bringezu 2019). Hence, one part of the project is to identify and assess key indicators that show the impacts of the BE on the (global) environment due to domestic use and/or production. The indicators for the socio-economic dimension are presented in this documentation. One of the key challenges to assess indicators for the BE is the lack of explicit data for BE in statistical classifications and some of the new parts just emerged over the last years. Different sectors such as agriculture or forestry can mainly or exclusively be attributed to the BE. For other sectors and activities such as fuel use or electricity production, part of the sector belongs to the BE, other parts not. Therefore, the socio-economic performance of the BE cannot be directly observed from official statistics, but for certain parts of the BE the relevance of BE activities (within the activity at hand) has to be assessed, using secondary statistics. As already discussed in D 2.6.1, the assessment of BEshares on the base of IO-Tables is one of the options to deal with this challenge (Distelkamp et al. 2017). Main emphasis of this paper is to assess past trends for selected indicators that deal with the economic and/or social sustainability of the BE in Germany. Socio-economic indicators have been identified that reflect the global value chains. |
| Keywords: | German bioeconomy, SYMOBIO, Sustainability |
| JEL: | Q5 Q2 O1 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gws:dpaper:19-2&r=all |
| By: | Jenna Swarthout; Pavani K. Ram; Charles D. Arnold; Holly N. Dentz; Benjamin F. Arnold; Stephen Kalungu; Audrie Lin; Sammy M. Njenga; Christine P. Stewart; John M. Colford Jr.; Clair Null; Amy J. Pickering |
| Abstract: | Poor nutrition and hand hygiene are risk factors for acute respiratory infections (ARIs). Safe drinking water and sanitation can reduce exposure to pathogens and encourage healthy immune responses, reducing the risk of ARIs. |
| Keywords: | water sanitation, handwashing, nutrition, child respiratory infections, rural Kenya, RCT |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:be283daf1ce943568bef04e57ff4ddc5&r=all |
| By: | Bontemps, Christophe; Bougherara, Douadia; Nauges, Céline |
| Abstract: | Even if there exists an extensive literature on the modeling of farmers’ behavior under risk, actual measurements of the quantitative impact of risk aversion on input use are rare. In this article we use simulated data to quantify the impact of risk aversion on the optimal quantity of input and farmers’ welfare when production risk depends on how much of the input is used. The assumptions made on the technology and form of farmers’ risk preferences were chosen such that they are fairly representative of crop farming conditions in the US and Western Europe. In our benchmark scenario featuring a traditional expected utility model we find that less than 4% of the optimal pesticide expenditure is driven by risk aversion and that risk induces a decrease in welfare that varies from ‐1.5% to ‐3.0% for individuals with moderate to normal risk aversion. We find a stronger impact of risk aversion on quantities of input used when farmers’ risk preferences are modeled under the cumulative prospect theory framework. When the reference point is set at the median or maximum profit, and for some levels of the parameters that describe behavior toward losses, the quantity of input used that is driven by risk preferences represents up to 19% of the pesticide expenditure. |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:124232&r=all |
| By: | Ruda Zhang; Patrick Wingo; Rodrigo Duran; Kelly Rose; Jennifer Bauer; Roger Ghanem |
| Abstract: | Economic assessment in environmental science concerns the measurement or valuation of environmental impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Integrated assessment modeling is a unifying framework of environmental economics, which attempts to combine key elements of physical, ecological, and socioeconomic systems. Uncertainty characterization in integrated assessment varies by component models: uncertainties associated with mechanistic physical models are often assessed with an ensemble of simulations or Monte Carlo sampling, while uncertainties associated with impact models are evaluated by conjecture or econometric analysis. Manifold sampling is a machine learning technique that constructs a joint probability model of all relevant variables which may be concentrated on a low-dimensional geometric structure. Compared with traditional density estimation methods, manifold sampling is more efficient especially when the data is generated by a few latent variables. The manifold-constrained joint probability model helps answer policy-making questions from prediction, to response, and prevention. Manifold sampling is applied to assess risk of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2004.11780&r=all |