|
on Investment |
| By: | Arindrajit Dube; Attila Lindner (UCL) |
| Abstract: | This chapter surveys the literature on the impact of minimum wages on low-wage labor markets. We describe and critically review the empirical methods in the new minimum wage literature, particularly those leveraging quasi-experimental variation. We provide a quantitative overview of the most recent evidence on the employment and wage effects of the policy, while also exploring emerging research on its impact on other margins, including amenities, other inputs (such as capital and high-skilled workers), firm entry and exit, output prices and demand, profits, and productivity. This approach allows us to present a comprehensive picture of how minimum wage policies affect firms, workers, and labor markets. We also review the evidence on the policy’s impact on wage inequality and income distribution. Finally, we discuss how these effects can vary depending on the economic context and the level of a country’s development. |
| Keywords: | minimum wages, labor demand, employment and wage effects, margins of adjustment, inequality |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2524 |
| By: | David A. Grigorian (Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School; Center for Global Development); Aditya Bhayana (Public Service Fellow and MPA candidate, Harvard Kennedy School) |
| Abstract: | Having its public debt written off as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative in 2005, Zambia welcomed significant investment in the late 2000s, particularly from Chinese state-owned banks, to propel economic development and diversify its economy beyond natural resources. While these investments have contributed to economic development, they have also raised debt levels and interest payments that eventually triggered a sovereign default in December 2020. What followed—Zambia’s 2020-24 sovereign debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework—was an epic story of protracted and back-and-forth negotiations among various stakeholders that kept the Zambian economy in standstill for over 3.5 years. It also highlighted the weaknesses of the Common Framework, which are by now largely acknowledged by the development community. This paper details Zambia’s experience with restructuring its sovereign debt and highlights areas where reform of the Common Framework could be pursued to benefit low-income countries in debt distress in the future. |
| Date: | 2024–10–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:707 |
| By: | Ajayi, Victor (Energy Policy Research Centre, University of Cambridge); Andrew Burlinson, Andrew (University of Sheffield); Giulietti, Monica (Nottingham University Business School); Waterson, Michael (University of Warwick & CAGE research centre) |
| Abstract: | In April 2022, consumers in Great Britain (GB) witnessed a 54% increase in the energy price cap, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, which sent wholesale gas prices spiralling across Europe. We leverage high-frequency data collected by the Smart Energy Research Lab, a representative panel containing daily gas and electricity data for around 13, 000 households in Great Britain between January 2021 and December 2023 to investigate the implications. We exploit several datasets linked to the panel data which include time-varying and cross-sectional information. We rely on two price shocks : 1) in October 2021 a wave of energy retail suppliers leaving the industry. At this time over two million consumers on fixed contracts were forced to join a new supplier and pay a variable tariff, and 2) these consumers were exposed to a second price shock caused by the Ukraine-Russia conflict which fed through April 2022’s energy price cap. Exploiting this pseudo-natural experiment, we use a difference-in-difference framework to estimate average treatment effects on this group of consumers and find that they would have consumed an additional 10 percentage points more electricity and 16 percentage points more gas had their prices remained fixed. These estimates are robust to a battery of robustness checks and point towards a significant loss in welfare for consumers on variable tariffs in the early stages of the energy price crisis |
| Keywords: | Difference-in-differences ; energy consumption ; energy crisis JEL Codes: L94 ; E31 ; D12 ; I19 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1523 |
| By: | Silvia Albrizio; Hippolyte W. Balima; Bertrand Gruss; Eric Huang; Colombe Ladreit |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates public attitudes toward product market regulation (PMR) reforms aimed at fostering private participation and competition in two network sectors—electricity and telecommunications. Despite the benefits of such reforms, including enhanced productivity and lower prices, they often face significant public resistance. We conduct large-scale surveys of 6, 300 individuals in three emerging market and developing economies (Mexico, Morocco, and South Africa) to analyze the role of socioeconomic characteristics, beliefs, and perceptions in shaping support for PMR reforms. Our findings reveal that individual beliefs and perceptions, particularly those related to how policies work and market economy views, are major predictors of reform support. Randomized information treatments show that raising awareness about the costs of the status quo and the benefits of PMR reforms significantly increases public support. Among initially skeptical individuals, societal concerns play a larger role in respondents’ reasons for nonsupport, consistent with models of social preferences. However, offering tailored complementary and compensatory measures can further enhance support among those skeptical individuals. |
| Keywords: | Product market reforms; political economy; perceptions; survey; experiment; PMR reform; reform support; market economy view; policy support; market economy; Electricity; Competition; Commodity markets; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Africa |
| Date: | 2024–10–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2024/216 |
| By: | Nikolas Schiozer; Gilberto Tadeu Lima; Michel Alexandre |
| Abstract: | There is considerable evidence that pricing behavior is persistently heterogeneous across firms. We explore hybrid DSGE-ABM macrodynamics in which imperfectly competitive firms have limited information about market conditions and periodically revise (and possibly switch) their pricing strategies. Firms choose a pricing heuristic out of a set of alternatives including a cost-based heuristic with a standard markup, a cost-based heuristic with a quality-adjusted markup, and a heuristic of following the pricing behavior of competitors. For merely illustrative purposes, we employ the method of simulated moments to calibrate the model with quarterly data for the U.S. economy. The model qualitatively reproduces several stylized facts concerning the strategic pricing behavior of firms, such as the persistence of heterogeneity in pricing heuristics and price stickiness. Thus, embedding some tenets of the agent-based modeling (ABM) approach, such as that interacting heterogeneous firms evolutionarily learn and adapt to the environment, into a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model allows it to qualitatively reproduce to a considerable extent the persistent heterogeneity in pricing behavior across firms without compromising its ability to also reproduce several stylized macroeconomic facts. |
| Keywords: | Pricing behavior; heterogeneous behavior; agent-based model; dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model |
| JEL: | C63 D21 D90 E70 |
| Date: | 2024–11–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2024wpecon26 |
| By: | Inna S. Lola (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Dmitry Asoskov (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the utility of business uncertainty indicators as predictive tools for forecasting economic activity in the context of Russia. In an era characterized by global economic volatility and geopolitical shifts, understanding the dynamics of economic uncertainty and its impact on overall economic performance is of paramount importance. The study utilizes a comprehensive dataset based on the results of business tendency surveys in Russia, spanning the period from 2009 to the first half of 2024. Given the importance of uncertainty in shaping economic outcomes, the central research question of this study is: “Can uncertainty indicators predict business activity in Russia or not?”. To address this question, we compared two alternative approaches to calculating business uncertainty: the ex-ante approach, which uses the business community's assessments of future business trends to measure uncertainty as a measure of the dispersion of opinions expressed, and the ex-post approach, which uses entrepreneurial assessments of both future and current trends to determine business uncertainty as the degree of deviation of entrepreneurial expectations from the real picture. National indicators and sectoral indicators were calculated for the mining and quarrying industry, manufacturing industry, construction, retail trade, wholesale trade and services. For most of the industries under consideration (except for the construction and service sector) and at the national level, the specifications of vector autoregression models that were effective for forecasting real indicators of economic activity, characterized by lower forecast errors compared to standard autoregressive models, were built. According to the results obtained, at the national level, when forecasting GDP, clear preference should be given to the ex-post indicator. |
| Keywords: | uncertainty, business tendency survey, Russia, forecasting. |
| JEL: | C82 D81 E32 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:128sti2024 |
| By: | Giulio Centamore (UNIBO - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna); Catharina Lopes Scodro (DRES - Droit, religion, entreprise et société - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - L'europe en mutation : histoire, droit, économie et identités culturelles - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Cet article donne un aperçu des études publiées au cours des années 2020 à 2022 par des revues affiliées à l'Association internationale des revues de droit du travail (International Association of Labour Law Journals - IALLJ)1. Elle vise à identifier les tendances, mouvements et développements dans le débat scientifique, qui méritent d'être soulignés et diffusés auprès de la plus large communauté possible de spécialistes du droit du travail. À cet égard, le premier élément constaté par les auteurs est que, ces dernières années, les revues de droit du travail manifestent un intérêt croissant pour les articles et travaux de recherche dans lesquels l'élément spatial joue un rôle majeur |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04727022 |
| By: | Heyna, Philipp |
| Abstract: | Can TikTok drive support for populist radical right parties? In light of apparent trends among younger cohorts in Germany toward radical right populism both in terms of party preferences and political ideology, this question has frequently been raised in the political debate. TikTok users are relatively young, and the populist radical right AfD’s stark dominance on the platform suggests that it is a driving force behind these trends. I seek to answer this question by employing coarsened exact matching and instrumental variable analysis on data from a GLES online survey. My results suggest that TikTok use raises support for the AfD and its candidates, but does not increase issue agreement for attitudes towards immigration and evaluations of government performance. This suggests that TikTok indeed promotes support for the AfD among younger cohorts, but implies that it can only account in part for these trends, as it does not seem to cause corresponding shifts in political ideology. |
| Date: | 2024–10–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:yju9n |
| By: | Truger, Achim |
| Abstract: | [Einleitung] Nach der erstmaligen Nutzung der Konjunkturkomponente im Nachtragshaushalt 2024 (NRWLandtag 2024a) plant die Landesregierung im vorliegenden Gesetzentwurf (NRW-Landtag 2024b) nun auch die Nutzung der Konjunkturkomponente für den Landeshaushalt 2025. In Ergänzung zu der im Wesentlichen zustimmenden Stellungnahme zum Nachtragshaushalt 2024 (Truger 2024) stehen in der vorliegenden Stellungnahme die aktualisierte Konjunkturprognose und die daraus soweit absehbar abzuleitenden Konsequenzen für die Konjunkturkomponente im Jahr 2025 im Mittelpunkt. In den Abschnitten 2 und 3 wird kurz dargelegt, dass die Inanspruchnahme der Konjunkturkomponente sinnvoll und gut begründbar ist. Die Abschnitte 4 bis 6 erweitern die Perspektive auf die vergebene Chance zur Verbesserung der kommunalen Finanzlage sowie weiterführende Fragen zur landesrechtlichen Umsetzung der Konjunkturbereinigung sowie zur Haltung der Landesregierung zur Finanzpolitik des Bundes und zur Notwendigkeit einer Reform der Schuldenbremse. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifsoex:305280 |
| By: | Kim, Dongjin |
| Abstract: | The population of Seoul had exploded from 1 million to 2.45 million in 7 years right after the end of the Korean War (from 1953 to 1960). Many parts of Seoul were converted into slum areas and aimless urbanisation lowered the quality of life in the Seoul metropolitan area. Pupils were excluded from education due to the lack of school infrastructure while citizens were exposed to crime and unemployment. In the middle of the population crisis, the metropolitan government of Seoul and the central government of South Korea paid attention to the potential of Gangnam as one of the candidate regions for the expansion of the Seoul metropolitan area. This review presents how Gangnam has transformed from an “empty land” to the “symbol of wealth” in the history of the Gangnam development and the expansion of the Seoul metropolitan area. The initial development plan tried to solve immediate housing problems derived from the lack of urban space and facility. After 20 years of the intensive development, Gangnam has transformed from a poor countryside region into the new economic centre and financial hub. Gangnam has become a symbol of wealth in South Korea where citizens and private companies would like to reside. On the other hand, many evictees lost their home and disappeared as nameless citizens behind the scenes of the development. The Gangnam-style development, the expertise of urban development acquired in Gangnam, can be thoroughly studied and transferred to other regions in South Korea and developing countries in the world, thus establishing Gangnam as a model case of metropolitan area expansion. Key words: construction, eviction, Gangnam, housing crisis, metropolitan area, Seoul, shantytowns, urban development |
| Date: | 2024–10–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:268zg |
| By: | Brotherhood, Luiz; Kircher, Philipp (Université catholique de Louvain, LIDAM/CORE, Belgium); Santos, Cezar; Tertilt, Michele |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the importance of the age composition for pandemic policy design. To do so, it introduces an economic framework with age heterogeneity, individual choice, and incomplete information, emphasizing the value of testing. Calibrating the model to the US Covid-19 pandemic reveals an 80% reduction in death toll due to voluntary actions and the lockdown implemented in the US. The optimal lockdown, however, is more stringent than what was implemented in the US. Moreover, the social planner follows an asymmetric approach by locking down the young relatively more than the old. We underscore the importance of testing, showing its impact on reduced deaths, lower economic costs and laxer lockdown. We use the framework to provide systematic insights into pandemics caused by different viruses (among others the Spanish flu), and underline the influence of economic conditions on optimal policies. |
| Keywords: | Covid-19 ; testing ; social distancing ; age ; age-specific policies |
| JEL: | E17 C63 D62 I10 I18 |
| Date: | 2024–06–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cor:louvco:2024012 |
| By: | Rémi Beulque (ISC Paris - Institut Supérieur du Commerce de Paris, CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - Mines Paris - PSL (École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Helen Micheaux (SADAPT - Sciences pour l'Action et le Développement : Activités, Produits, Territoires - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - Mines Paris - PSL (École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Marcus Bergmann (ESCP Europe - Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris) |
| Abstract: | Traditional sustainability paradigms such as green growth, bioeconomy, efficiency, or the belief in purely technological solutions, are increasingly seen as inadequate to address pressing environmental concerns. Instead, voices advocate stronger sustainability paradigms, such as sufficiency and circular economy-based models. In this respect, repair business models constitute a key sufficiency-based business model (BM), which begin to be experimented and have the potential to slow down material flows in the economy. While repair BM and the challenges faced by actors who desire to implement and upscale them have been discussed, management control and financial approaches of repair BM remain largely neglected by academia. In particular, society still lacks understanding of the cost structure and the financial challenges repair BM face. This oversight is significant, as these aspects bear crucial implications for the desirability of repair services to customers, who weigh the option of repairing against purchasing a new product. In a similar vein, previous literature concerning repair policies fails to provide answers about the level of financial support that is likely to make customers change their consumption patterns towards preferring repair. In this context, this study will propose an in-depth analysis of the financial challenges related to electronic products repair business models and related policy instruments. Based on these insights, a methodology to assess the level of support that financial policy instruments should provide to effectively favor an upscale of repair business models will be begin to be investigated. |
| Keywords: | Strong Circular Economy, Circular Business Models, sufficiency-based Circular Business Models, cost structure, financial performance |
| Date: | 2024–07–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04642945 |
| By: | Minniti, Antonio; Prettner, Klaus; Venturini, Francesco |
| Abstract: | We study how the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) influences the distribution of income between capital and labor and how this, in turn, exacerbates geographic income inequality. To investigate this issue, we first build a theoretical framework and then analyze data from European regions dating back to 2000. We find that for every doubling of regional AI innovation, there is a 0.7% to 1.6% decline in the labor share, which may have decreased by between 0.20 and 0.46 percentage points from a mean of 52% due solely to AI. This new technology is particularly detrimental to high-skill and medium-skill labor. The impact on income distribution is driven by worsening wage and employment conditions for high-skill labor, and by wage compression for medium- and low-skill labor. The effect of AI is not driven by other factors affecting regional development in Europe, nor by the concentration process in the AI market. |
| Keywords: | Artificial Intelligence; patenting; labor share; European regions |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wus005:68239150 |
| By: | Jonas Jessen; Lavinia Kinne; Michele Battisti |
| Abstract: | Child penalties in labour market outcomes are well-documented: after childbirth, mothers' employment and earnings drop persistently compared to fathers. Beyond gender norms, a potential driver could be the loss in labour market skills due to mothers' longer employment interruptions. This paper estimates child penalties in adult cognitive skills by adapting the pseudo-panel approach to a single cross-section of 29 countries in the PIAAC dataset. We find a persistent drop in numeracy skills after childbirth for both parents between 0.13 (short-run) and 0.16 standard deviations (long-run), but no statistically significant difference between mothers and fathers. Estimates of child penalties in skills strongly depend on controlling for pre-determined characteristics, especially education. Additionally, there is no evidence for worse occupational skill matches for mothers after childbirth. Our findings suggest that changes in general labour market skills cannot explain child penalties in labour market outcomes, and that a cross-sectional estimation of child penalties can be sensitive to characteristics of the outcome variable. |
| Keywords: | Child penalty, cognitive skills, gender inequality, PIAAC |
| JEL: | I20 J13 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–11–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdp:dpaper:0052 |
| By: | Alicia García-Herrero; Théo Storella; Pauline Weil |
| Abstract: | Understanding China’s influence at the UN is essential for comprehending contemporary international relations |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bre:wpaper:node_10445 |
| By: | Hatsor, Limor; Bar-El, Ronen |
| Abstract: | An alternative to the dependence on traditional student loans may offer a viable relief from the tremendous burden that those loans usually incur. This article establishes that it is desirable for governmental intervention to grant students 'more choice' in their funding decisions by allowing them to have portfolios, mixtures of different types of loans. To emphasize this point, a model is presented of a situation where students invest in higher education while facing uncertainty about their individual earning potential. The model reveals that when students are allowed to have portfolios of loans, some of them indeed take the opportunity and diversify their loans, benefiting themselves, but also improving the loan terms of other students. Therefore, when governments organize student loans, they should consider providing students with more choice in their funding decisions. |
| Keywords: | Education policy, Education finance, Student loans, Human capital, Higher education |
| JEL: | I22 I23 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:305378 |
| By: | Matthieu Boussichas (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International); Patrick Guillaumont (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International); Sylviane Guillaumont Jeanneney (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International) |
| Abstract: | The debate on conditionality has been taking place for a long time but is now growing: what are the reasons for this and what are the prospects for reform? |
| Keywords: | Aid allocation, Conditionnality, Vulnerable countries |
| Date: | 2024–10–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04746992 |
| By: | Malancha Chakrabarty; Karim El Aynaoui; Youssef El Jai; Badr Mandri; Manish K Shrivastava |
| Abstract: | This paper was originally published on t20brasil.org In a global context marked by unprecedented economic and environmental challenges, Africa stands at a crossroads. The rapid rise in public debt, coupled with the climate emergency, imposes a dual constraint on the continent's countries, severely limiting their ability to pursue sustainable development and mitigate the effects of climate change. This critical situation calls for innovative and effective solutions capable of transforming obstacles into opportunities for a more resilient and prosperous future. In the face of this reality, it is imperative to rethink traditional financing mechanisms and explore innovative approaches that promote both debt relief and climate action. In this context, Debt-for-Green Swaps are emerging as a promising strategy, offering a viable path to reduce financial vulnerability while accelerating investments in environmental sustainability. |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:rpaeco:tf03_st_03 |
| By: | Стайков, Ивайло |
| Abstract: | Резюме: В студията е изследвано оправосъдяването на българското трудово право, т.е. съдебната защита на трудовите права, което е пряко следствие от приемането и действието на Конституцията на Република България от 1991 г. Представен е и исторически преглед на нормативната уредба на реда за разглеждане на трудови спорове преди 1993 г., предвид обстоятелството, че в продължение на десетилетия трудовите спорове са извадени от подведомствеността на съда, като по отношение на тях правораздаването се осъществява не от съда (правосъдие), а от особена юрисдикция. |
| Abstract: | The article examines the judicial protection of labour rights, i.e. their reference to the jurisdiction of the courts, which is a direct consequence of the adoption and operation of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria from 1991. A historical overview of the legal framework of the procedure for examining labour disputes before 1993 is also presented, given the fact that in continuation for decades, labour disputes have been removed from the jurisdiction of the court, and in relation to them, the administration of justice is carried out not by the court (justice), but by a special jurisdiction. |
| Keywords: | трудови права, съдебна защита, трудово право, Конституция (labour rights, judicial protection, labour law, Constitution) |
| JEL: | K30 K31 K41 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122519 |
| By: | Hafez Ghanem |
| Abstract: | Humanity is losing the climate battle, and existing international institutions are not delivering on climate change. Hence, there is a need for a new international institution that would be a repository for global knowledge on climate change, and would advise governments on climate policies, develop green projects across the Global South, mobilize financing for those projects, and support project implementation. The proposed Green Bank would be different from existing multilateral development banks: (1) it would include private shareholders as well as governments; (2) voting rights would be organized so that countries of the Global South would have the same voice as countries of the Global North and private shareholders; and (3) it would only finance green projects which could be national, regional, or global. The Green Bank would primarily support private green investments through equity contributions, loans, and guarantees. It could also support public investments by using grants to buy-down the interest on other multilateral development bank loans that finance projects that support adaptation to climate change. The Loss and Damage Fund agreed at COP27 could be the source of those grants. This proposal builds on the Bridgetown Initiative, with the aim of mobilizing private funding, in addition to the public trust fund that the initiative proposes. The Green Bank would partner with other institutions and complement the work of existing multilateral development banks, and of specialized funds. |
| Date: | 2023–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:pbcoen:pb_06-23 |
| By: | Molly Broome; Adam Corlett; Sophie Hale; Charlie McCurdy; Cara Pacitti |
| Abstract: | Five years ago, our Intergenerational Commission set out the numerous threats to the UK’s promise of intergenerational progress. More recently, the spotlight has once again fallen on this issue, but this time in the US, where the latest data has started to suggest that living standards for the millennials are catching up with, and on some measures even surpassing, the generations that came before them. This fifth Intergenerational Audit for the UK – part of the ESRC-funded Connecting Generations research programme – provides a comprehensive assessment of how living standards have changed for younger generations, in an attempt to shed some light on whether millennials in the UK have experienced a comparable improvement in their economic fortunes as their US counterparts. We show that, unlike in the US, welcome improvements to millennials’ living standards in recent years in the UK have not gone far enough to close the long-standing generational gaps. |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lis:liswps:872 |
| By: | Gregor Schwerhoff; Mouhamadou Sy |
| Abstract: | The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference reinforced already existing pressure to transition away from fossil fuels, in particular for the most polluting source, coal. We use a comprehensive dataset on bank loans for coal projects to shed light on which type of banks continue to finance coal and how coal phase-out commitments affect coal financing. We find that coal financing is becoming increasingly concentrated, partly in banks with a very high coal exposure. We also find that many coal loans have maturities much shorter than the remaining lifetime of coal assets, thus exposing equity holders of coal assets to the risk of a more difficult loan rollover. An econometric analysis shows that countries with a strong commitment to coal phase-out, fixed in national law for example, receive less coal financing. Using an instrumental variable, we identify this effect as causal. |
| Keywords: | Coal; climate change; stranded assets; coal; divestment; United Nations climate change conference; Coal financing; phase-out commitment; coal financing; financing to the coal sector; Non-renewable resources; Financial sector development; Climate policy; Foreign direct investment; Asia and Pacific; Global; Europe; Middle East; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2024–11–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2024/228 |
| By: | Ana Abeliansky (Austrian National Bank (OeNB)); Klaus Prettner (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business); Ernesto Rodríguez Crespo (Department of Economic Structure and Development Economics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | What are the environmental impacts of the increasing use of automation technologies? To answer this question, we propose a model of production in the age of automation that incorporates emission externalities. We derive a threshold condition subject to which the use of industrial robots affects emissions. This model leads to three testable predictions, i) the use of industrial robots causes higher emissions on average, ii) with increasing efficiency of industrial robots, the effect becomes weaker and could turn negative, and iii) in countries in which electricity is predominantly produced using (clean) renewable energy, industrial robot use has the potential of decreasing emissions. Empirically, we find support for the theoretical hypotheses implying that the effect of automation on emissions is non-linear or moderated by other variables. |
| Keywords: | Automation, Robots, Emissions, Climate Change |
| JEL: | O11 O33 O44 Q54 Q55 Q56 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp370 |