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on Resource Economics |
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Issue of 2014‒05‒04
five papers chosen by |
| By: | Ghosal, Vivek (Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta), European Business School Wiesbaden, and CESifo, Munich.); Stephan, Andreas (The Ratio Institute); Weiss, Jan (Jönköping International Business School) |
| Abstract: | Using a unique plant-level dataset we examine green productivity growth in Sweden’s heavily regulated pulp and paper industry, which has historically been a significant contributor to air and water pollution. Our exercise is interesting as Sweden has a unique regulatory structure where plants have to comply with national environmental regulatory standards and enforcement, along with decentralised plant-specific regulations. In our analysis, we use the sequential Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index which accounts for air and water pollutants as undesirable outputs. Some of our key findings are: (1) regulation has stimulated technical change related to pollution control, and has induced plants to catch up with the best-practice technology frontier with regard to effluent abatement; (2) large plants are more heavily regulated than small plants; (3) plants in environmentally less sensitive areas or those with local importance as employer face relatively lenient regulatory constraints; (4) environmental regulations trigger localized knowledge spillovers between nearby plants, boosting their green TFP growth. |
| Keywords: | TFP; DEA; Sequential Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index; pulp and paper industry; pollution; environmental regulations; enforcement; plant-specific regulation; productivity; Porter hypothesis. |
| JEL: | D24 L51 L60 Q52 Q53 Q58 |
| Date: | 2014–04–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0229&r=res |
| By: | Abolhosseini, Shahrouz (Seoul National University); Heshmati, Almas (Jönköping University, Sogang University); Altmann, Jörn (Seoul National University) |
| Abstract: | Electricity consumption will comprise an increasing share of global energy demand during the next two decades. In recent years, the increasing prices of fossil fuels and concerns about the environmental consequences of greenhouse gas emissions have renewed the interest in the development of alternative energy resources. In particular, the Fukushima Daiichi accident was a turning point in the call for alternative energy sources. Renewable energy is now considered a more desirable source of fuel than nuclear power due to the absence of risk and disasters. Considering that the major component of greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide, there is a global concern about reducing carbon emissions. In this regard, different policies could be applied to reducing carbon emissions, such as enhancing renewable energy deployment and encouraging technological innovations. Two main solutions may be implemented to reduce CO2 emissions and overcome the problem of climate change: replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources as much as possible and enhancing energy efficiency. In this paper, we discuss alternative technologies for enhancing renewable energy deployment and energy use efficiency. |
| Keywords: | energy resources, renewable energy, energy use efficiency, generation technology, carbon emission, green employment |
| JEL: | D61 D62 H23 N50 O13 Q52 Q55 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8145&r=res |
| By: | Bhattacharyya, Chandril; Gupta, Manash Ranjan |
| Abstract: | In this paper, a model of endogenous economic growth is developed with special focus on the interaction between unionized labour market and environmental pollution. We introduce a trade union; and use both ‘Efficient Bargaining’ model and ‘Right to Manage’ model to solve the negotiation problem. Environmental pollution is the result of production; and the labour union bargains not only for wage and employment but also for the protection of environment. We derive properties of optimum income tax policy while financing abatement expenditure; and also analyse the effects of unionization on the level of employment and on growth rate. It appears that the optimum rate of income tax varies inversely with the relative bargaining power of the labour union. An increase in the relative bargaining power of the labour union may enhance employment in ‘Efficient Bargaining’ model if the labour union is highly employment oriented. However, the union always forces the firm to raise the spending rate for environment protection. So, unionisation may raise the growth rate, even if the first effect is negative, but the second effect dominates the first effect. |
| Keywords: | Labour union; Environment; Income tax; Abatement expenditure; Endogenous growth |
| JEL: | J51 O44 Q5 Q58 |
| Date: | 2014–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55416&r=res |
| By: | López, Ramón E.; Yoon, Sang W. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines environmentally sustainable growth with reference to climate change assuming two final outputs and two factors of production, accounting for both pollution flow and stock effects. If the elasticity of marginal utility of consumption is greater than one, an optimal pollution tax ensures sustainable growth without any further government intervention. Otherwise, either a high temporal elasticity of substitution in production or consumption is required for sustainability. Even a suboptimal pollution tax may allow sustainable development provided the tax time profile meets certain conditions that are developed and described in this paper. |
| Keywords: | sustainable growth, consumption flexibility, technological change, optimal pollution tax, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, O44, Q01, Q56, |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umdrwp:166244&r=res |
| By: | López, Ramón E.; Yoon, Sang W. |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that the dynamic properties of the pollution-income relationship under an optimal pollution tax depends on three key factors, namely the degree of temporal and inter-temporal flexibility in consumption and the elasticity of substitution among production inputs. This paper derives general conditions for eluding the limits to growth showing that they require rather stringent assumptions which the existing literature has failed to identify. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Kuznets curve, Elasticity of marginal utility, Elasticity of substitution, Environmental Economics and Policy, O1, Q2, |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umdrwp:166072&r=res |