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on Regulation |
| By: | Hardman, Scott; Garas, Dahlia; Allen, Jeff; Axsen, Jonn; Beard, George; Dütschke, Elisabeth; Daina, Nicolò; Figenbaum, Erik; Jochem, Patrick; Nicholas, Michael; Plötz, Patrick; Refa, Nazir; Sovacool, Benjamin; Sperling, Daniel; Sprei, Frances; Tal, Gil |
| Abstract: | Key Takeaways 1. The electrification of passenger vehicles should be one part of a city’s transportation plan. Shifting from internal combustion engine vehicles to plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) can improve urban air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce energy consumption. 2. Recent studies show that electric vehicle awareness is low even in mature markets; cities should promote electric vehicles to residents by leveraging existing promotional campaigns. 3. Various financial and non-financial incentives can effectively encourage electric vehicle uptake, including: free, discounted, or preferential-location parking; free or reduced road and bridge tolls; and allowing electric vehicles to drive in bus or carpool lanes. 4. Several cities are restricting or planning to restrict the access that internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) have to certain areas. If these restrictions apply to most (or all) passenger ICEVs, they can promote PEV purchase and use in cities. 5. Infrastructure development in cities should follow the same fundamental approach as that used outside of cities. The priority should be ensuring that PEV owners and prospective PEV buyers have access to charging at or near home. Workplace and public charging should be developed for those who cannot access charging at or near home. 6. Cities should be strategic in their approach, first identifying the goals they want to achieve, and then exploring what steps they can take to meet these goals. The steps available will likely differ between cities due to the different ways in which roads, parking, and any other vehicle infrastructure is governed. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2020–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt8q2917sh&r=all |
| By: | Lanot, Gauthier (Department of Economics, Umeå University); Vesterberg, Mattias (Department of Economics, Umeå University) |
| Abstract: | Using unique data on Swedish households, we measure the price elas- ticity of electricity demand for households facing a mandatory non-linear distribution tariffs where households are charged based on their maximum consumption during a month, and where the marginal incentives are very large. We estimate the price elasticity using both 2SLS and bunching esti- mators, and we find that the price elasticity is smaller than what previous literature on electricity demand have found. Furthermore, we illustrate why charging households based on maxi- mum consumption during a month leads to weak incentives in the end of the month, and discuss alternative tariff designs. |
| Keywords: | Demand flexibility; Non-linear pricing; Peak demand |
| JEL: | D12 Q41 Q48 |
| Date: | 2020–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:0968&r=all |
| By: | Stephen Jarvis; Olivier Deschenes; Akshaya Jha |
| Abstract: | Many countries have phased out nuclear electricity production in response to concerns about nuclear waste and the risk of nuclear accidents. This paper examines the impact of the shutdown of roughly half of the nuclear production capacity in Germany after the Fukushima accident in 2011. We use hourly data on power plant operations and a novel machine learning framework to estimate how plants would have operated differently if the phase-out had not occurred. We find that the lost nuclear electricity production due to the phase-out was replaced primarily by coal-fired production and net electricity imports. The social cost of this shift from nuclear to coal is approximately 12 billion dollars per year. Over 70% of this cost comes from the increased mortality risk associated with exposure to the local air pollution emitted when burning fossil fuels. Even the largest estimates of the reduction in the costs associated with nuclear accident risk and waste disposal due to the phase-out are far smaller than 12 billion dollars. |
| JEL: | C4 Q4 Q5 |
| Date: | 2019–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26598&r=all |
| By: | Brendan J. Casey; Wayne B. Gray; Joshua Linn; Richard Morgenstern |
| Abstract: | Pricing carbon emissions from a jurisdiction could harm the competitiveness of local firms, causing the leakage of emissions and economic activity to other regions. Past research concentrated on national carbon prices, but the impacts of subnational carbon prices could be more severe due to the openness of regional economies. Focusing on subnational carbon pricing in the United States, we specify a flexible model to capture competition between a plant in a state with carbon pricing and plants in other states or countries. We estimate model parameters using confidential plant-level data from 1982–2011 and simulate the effects of regional carbon prices covering the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (regions that currently cap carbon emissions from the electric sector) on manufacturing output, employment, and profits. Importantly, we model industry mix within a state or region, not simply energy price differences. A carbon price of $10 per metric ton reduces employment in the regulated region by 2.7 percent, and raises employment in nearby states by 0.8 percent; the effects on output and profits are broadly similar. National employment falls just 0.1 percent, suggesting that domestic plants in other states as opposed to foreign facilities are the principal winners from state or regional carbon pricing. |
| JEL: | Q4 Q52 Q58 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26629&r=all |
| By: | Asseyer, Andreas |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the welfare effects of wholesale price discrimination between downstream firms operating under different regulatory systems. I model a monopolistic intermediate good market in which production cost differences between downstream firms may be due to regulatory or technological asymmetries. Price discrimination reduces regulatory distortions but may lower productive efficiency. Therefore, price discrimination increases welfare if regulation is the dominant source of cost differences. This provides a novel welfare rationale for exempting wholesale markets from the recent ban on geo-blocking in the EU. |
| Keywords: | Price discrimination,Intermediate good markets,International price discrimination,Geo-blocking |
| JEL: | D43 L11 L42 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fubsbe:20201&r=all |
| By: | Raul Jimenez Mori |
| Abstract: | In developing countries, poor quality infrastructure that is highly subsidized is typically associated with populist political interference. In such a context, implementing cost-recovery tariffs, necessary to improve infrastructure services, is a political challenge. This paper examines how levels of enduser satisfaction and price fairness perception respond to different price-quality mixes of electricity services in the urban Dominican Republic. The analysis exploits a rich dataset that includes informal and formal users, as well as heterogeneity in a set of service characteristics (i.e., reliability and commercial quality). I further exploit temporal variation in exposure to service improvements and electricity subsidies to evaluate if consumer attitudes change over time. The results suggest that the marginal positive effect of improvements in service quality on satisfaction is greater than the marginal negative effects of increasing prices and eliminating subsidies combined. In this case study, I find no evidence of attitude adaptation, suggesting that favorable views of service improvements have lasting effects. Overall, the results seem to suggest that price adjustments related to electricity service improvements permanently increase customer satisfaction. |
| Keywords: | Consumer Satisfaction, Price Fairness, Electricity Services, Electricity Prices, Quality ofElectricity Services, Subsidies. |
| JEL: | D60 L94 L98 |
| Date: | 2020–01–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000518:017786&r=all |
| By: | Kaitila, Ville |
| Abstract: | Abstract In order to fight the climate change, the European Union and Finland as its member country are seeking carbon neutrality by 2050, Finland already by 2035. In this brief, we assess the development of Finnish greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) in 2019–2023 based on ETLA’s most recent macroeconomic and industry sector forecasts. Technological change that will cut greenhouse gas emissions is paramount for the efforts to reach carbon neutrality. We use three technological assumptions that describe how the emission intensity of value added may develop. Our baseline scenario, based on how value added will change in each industry combined with their average development in emission intensity over the past few years, shows that the aggregate emissions will decrease on average by less than two per cent annually up until 2023. This will not be enough to reach the carbon neutrality target with current carbon sinks with which the average required annual rate of decrease would be over seven per cent. Consequently, technological change needs to accelerate considerably. The public sector can support the efforts to reach carbon neutrality by, among other things, R&D funding, removing harmful subsidies, introducing environmental taxes, and being active in the development of the EU’s emissions trading system. Carbon neutrality can also be taken into account in public procurement and infrastructure investments. |
| Keywords: | Economic forecast, CO2, Carbon neutrality, Emissions trading |
| JEL: | E17 O11 O30 O44 O47 |
| Date: | 2020–01–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:briefs:84&r=all |
| By: | Erik Heilmann (University of Kassel); Nikolai Klempp (University of Stuttgart); Heike Wetzel (University of Kassel) |
| Abstract: | With a growing number of distributed energy resources, the electricity network is challenged with a higher quantity of technical problems such as capacity congestions and over- or under-voltages. One often-discussed approach to solve these problems, especially in the European zonal electricity system, is regional fl exibility markets. We provide a novel metric for the design of flexibility products by combining technical requirements with a background in auction theory. This is a valuable contribution to the discussion of regional flexibility markets, which currently occurs on a largely technical or conceptual level. The metric structures 23 product parameters in four stages of different abstraction levels. By applying this metric to five fl exibility market approaches used in current German research projects, we demonstrate its usability for consistent description and comparison of flexibility products. Therefore, the metric we have developed, is a powerful instrument for structured analysis and assessment of the vast diversity of approaches to fl exibility markets and products at a high level of detail. This metric can empower national and international policy makers and practitioners in developing and assessing flexibility markets holistically and can help to simplify the implementation of best-practice solutions. |
| Keywords: | smart markets, market design, electricity product design, fl exibility market |
| JEL: | D47 L94 Q41 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:202002&r=all |
| By: | Shaheen, Susan; Cohen, Adam |
| Abstract: | Technology is changing the way we move and reshaping cities and society. Shared and on-demand mobility represent notable transportation shifts in the 21st century. In recent years, mobility on demand (MOD)—where consumers access mobility, goods, and services on-demand by dispatching shared modes, courier services, public transport, and other innovative strategies—has grown rapidly due to technological advancements; changing consumer preferences; and a range of economic, environmental, and social factors. New attitudes toward sharing, MOD, and mobility as a service (MaaS) are changing traveler behavior and creating new opportunities and challenges for public transportation. This chapter discusses similarities and differences between the evolving concepts of MaaS and MOD. Next, it characterizes the range of existing public transit and MOD service models and enabling partnerships. The chapter also explores emerging trends impacting public transportation. While vehicle automation could result in greater public transit competition in the future, it could also foster new opportunities for transit enhancements (e.g., microtransit services, first- and last-mile connections, reduced operating costs). The chapter concludes with a discussion of how MOD/MaaS partnerships and automation could enable the public transit industry to reinvent itself, making it more attractive and competitive with private vehicle ownership and use. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Benchmarking, Impacts, Mobility as a service, Mobility on demand, Public policy, Public transit, Public–private partnerships, Shared mobility, Travel behavior, Vehicle automation |
| Date: | 2020–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt5030f0cd&r=all |
| By: | Hao, Peng; Wei, Zhensong; Bai, Zhengwei; Barth, Matthew J. |
| Abstract: | The Eco-Approach and Departure (EAD) application has been proved to be environmentally efficient for a Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) system. In the real-world traffic, traffic conditions and signal timings are usually dynamic and uncertain due to mixed vehicle types, various driving behaviors and limited sensing range, which is challenging in EAD development. This research proposes an adaptive strategy for connected eco-driving towards a signalized intersection under real world conditions. Stochastic graph models are built to link the vehicle and external (e.g., traffic, signal) data and dynamic programing is applied to identify the optimal speed for each vehicle-state efficiently. From energy perspective, adaptive strategy using traffic data could double the effective sensor range in eco-driving. A hybrid reinforcement learning framework is also developed for EAD in mixed traffic condition using both short-term benefit and long-term benefit as the action reward. Micro-simulation is conducted in Unity to validate the method, showing over 20% energy saving. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Eco-Approach and Departure, Connected Vehicles, reinforcement learning, energy, mixed traffic |
| Date: | 2020–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt2fv5063b&r=all |
| By: | S. Nageeb Ali; Gregory Lewis; Shoshana Vasserman |
| Abstract: | A concern central to the economics of privacy is that firms may use consumer data to price discriminate. A common response is that consumers should have control over their data and the ability to choose how firms access it. Since firms draw inferences based on both the data seen as well as the consumer’s disclosure choices, the strategic implications of this proposal are unclear. We investigate whether such measures improve consumer welfare in monopolistic and competitive environments. We find that consumer control can guarantee gains for every consumer type relative to both perfect price discrimination and no personalized pricing. This result is driven by two ideas. First, consumers can use disclosure to amplify competition between firms. Second, consumers can share information that induces a seller—even a monopolist—to make price concessions. Furthermore, whether consumer control improves consumer surplus depends on both the technology of disclosure and the competitiveness of the marketplace. In a competitive market, simple disclosure technologies such as “track / do-not-track” suffice for guaranteeing gains in consumer welfare. However, in a monopolistic market, welfare gains require richer forms of disclosure technology whereby consumers can decide how much information they would like to convey. |
| JEL: | D4 D8 |
| Date: | 2019–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26592&r=all |
| By: | Claudia Herresthal |
| Abstract: | An agent can sequentially run informative tests about an unknown state and disclose (some or all) outcomes to a decision maker who then faces an approval choice. Players agree on the optimal choice under certainty, but the decision maker has a higher approval threshold than the agent. I compare the case where testing is hidden and the agent chooses which test outcomes to verifiably disclose to the case where testing is observable. When testing is observable, I show that the agent may strategically stop testing even if further tests could yield a mutual benefit. I find conditions under which the decision maker is strictly better off under hidden testing and in some equilibria both players are strictly better off under hidden testing than in the unique equilibrium under observable testing. |
| Keywords: | endogenous information acquisition, verifiable disclosure, transparency, questionable research practices |
| JEL: | D83 D82 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2020_145&r=all |
| By: | Adachi, Misato |
| Abstract: | The development of renewable energy sources is central to the goal of gaining independence from conventional fossil fuels and achieving a sustainable energy supply. As these technologies are not yetfully developed and due to multi-dimensional selection environments cannotalwayscompete with conventional energy sources in the market, renewable energy sources initially require temporary protective space. Although some research has identified important factors with regard to the development of renewable technologies, there have not been any clear empirical studies, especially focusing on the new Member Statesof the European Union. Bulgaria and Poland in particular showed divergent results with regard to the deployment of the renewables. One, Bulgaria, achieved an outstanding increase in the share of energycoming from renewablessince its target was set in 2009, while another, Poland, has seen a sluggish result with regard to its policies. The aim of this paper is to identifythe factors leading to the successful promotion of renewable energy in the new Member States by using a comparative study of the cases of Bulgaria and Poland. The comparative study is conducted based on the three protective spaces advocated by Smith & Raven (2012). As a result, two main factors can be seen as the determinants of the success of renewable energy policies; "mprovement of connection to grid networks in shielding process" and "schemes for a transition from a niche space to a socio-technical regime in an energy industry structure in empowering process." Additionally, the delay of effective renewable energy policy implementation, which in the case of Poland, led to a failure of policy. |
| Keywords: | Bulgaria,Empowering,EU,Evolutionary theory,New Member States,Nurturing,Protective space,Poland,Renewable energy policy,Shielding |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ipewps:1312019&r=all |
| By: | Cooper, Zack; Gibbons, Stephen; Skellern, Matthew |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of a government programme which facilitated the entry of for-profit surgical centres to compete against incumbent National Health Service hospitals in England. We examine the impact of competition from these surgical centres on the efficiency – measured by pre-surgery length of stay for hip and knee replacement patients – and case mix of incumbent public hospitals. We exploit the fact that the government chose the broad locations where these surgical centres (Independent Sector Treatment Centres or ISTCs) would be built based on local patient waiting times – not length of stay or clinical quality – to construct treatment and control groups that are comparable with respect to key outcome variables of interest. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, we find that the entry of surgical centres led to shorter pre-surgery length of stay at nearby public hospitals. However, these new entrants took on healthier patients and left incumbent hospitals treating patients who were sicker. This paper highlights a potential trade-off that policymakers face when they promote competition from private, for-profit firms in markets for the provision of public services. |
| Keywords: | hospital competition; public-private competition; market entry; market structure; outsourcing; hospital efficiency; risk selection; cream skimming; public services; ES/M010341/1 |
| JEL: | C23 H57 I11 L1 L32 L33 R12 |
| Date: | 2018–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:90094&r=all |