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on Resource Economics |
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Issue of 2014‒12‒03
nine papers chosen by |
| By: | Chalak, Morteza; Pannell, David |
| Keywords: | Climate change, threshold, carbon tax, global warming, dynamics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169844&r=res |
| By: | Yang, Tsung Yu |
| Abstract: | Previous empirical studies of the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) have not reached a consistent conclusion. The existing literature is primarily based on anecdotes and scattered case studies. This study analyzes the trade flows and composition change of the most polluting industries in manufacturing sectors among countries in order to offer a more general conclusion. This study finds that stricter environmental regulation stringency decreases the net export and production share of the most polluting production, which provides the evidence for pollution haven effect (PHE). However, we find no evidence to support PHH. Contrary, we find stricter environmental regulation stringency corresponds to larger net export and polluting production as trade openness increases. We also find that the ability to innovate in environmental-related technology creates a comparative advantage in polluting production. This finding implies that governments do not have to constrain their policies on the tradeoff between pollution control and international competitiveness since the innovative ability may both obtain the goals of pollution control and strengthening international competitiveness. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:176181&r=res |
| By: | Stefan Borsky; Esther Blanco |
| Abstract: | This article addresses the mediating effect of corruption on the influence of stringency of environmental regulation on firms' voluntary environmental performance. Using panel data from adoption of the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) across European Union countries from 1995 to 2011, we unveil a direct and an interacting effect of countries' corruption and regulatory stringency on the rate of adoption. First, stricter environmental regulation reduces the rate of EMAS certificates, thus supporting a crowding-out effect of mandatory regulation on voluntary action. Second, increased corruption reduces the rate of EMAS certificates. Third, the negative effect of stringency of regulation on EMAS certification rates is reinforced by corruption. In sum, these results suggest that previous studies address- ing the implications from stricter regulations on firms' voluntary action that abstract from corruption might underestimate the potential negative effect of stringency of regulation on firms' voluntary action. |
| Keywords: | Voluntary environmental action, environmental taxes, corruption, negative binomial regression |
| JEL: | F53 Q23 Q27 F18 L15 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2014-29&r=res |
| By: | Cho, Sung Ju; McCarl, Bruce A.; Wu, Ximing |
| Abstract: | This study examines how the U.S. crop mix pattern has responded to climate and in turn the potential effects of projected climate change. We find that there are significant effects of temperature and precipitation on the crop choice decisions. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Land use, Crop mix, Fractional regression, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170015&r=res |
| By: | Seixas, Renato; Silveira, José Maria |
| Abstract: | We investigate the environmental effects due to pesticides for two different genetically modified (GM) seeds: insect resistant (IR) cotton and herbicide tolerant (HT) soybeans. Using an agricultural production model of a profit maximizing competitive farm, we derive predictions that IR trait decreases the amount of insecticides used and HT trait increases the amount of less toxic herbicides. While the environmental impact of pesticides for IR seeds is lower, for the HT seeds the testable predictions are ambiguous: scale as substitution effects can lead to higher environmental impacts. We use a dataset on commercial farms use of pesticides and biotechnology in Brazil to document environmental effects of GM traits. We explore within-farm variation for farmers planting conventional and GM seeds to identify the effect of adoption on the environmental impact of pesticides measured as quantity of active ingredients of chemicals and the Environmental Impact Quotient index. The findings show that the IR trait reduces the environmental impact of insecticides and the HT trait increases environmental impact due to weak substitution among herbicides of different toxicity levels. |
| Keywords: | Brazil, Agriculture, Environmental Impact, Genetically Modified Seeds, Herbicide Tolerant Soybeans, Insect Resistant Cotton, Pesticides, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q12, Q18, Q51, Q52, Q53, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170226&r=res |
| By: | Alberto Alesina; Caterina Gennaioli; Stefania Lovo |
| Abstract: | We show that the level of deforestation in Indonesia is positively correlated with the degree of ethnic fractionalization of the communities. We explore several channels that may link the two variables. They include the negative effect of ethnic fractionalization on the ability to coordinate and organize resistance against logging companies and a higher level of corruption of politicians less controlled in more fragmented communities. |
| JEL: | H0 O1 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20504&r=res |
| By: | Prashant Bharadwaj; Matthew Gibson; Joshua Graff Zivin; Christopher A. Neilson |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of fetal exposure to air pollution on 4th grade test scores in Santiago, Chile. We rely on comparisons across siblings which address concerns about locational sorting and all other time-invariant family characteristics that can lead to endogenous exposure to poor environmental quality. We also exploit data on air quality alerts to help address concerns related to short-run time-varying avoidance behavior, which has been shown to be important in a number of other contexts. We find a strong negative effect from fetal exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) on math and language skills measured in 4th grade. These effects are economically significant and our back of the envelope calculations suggest that the 50% reduction in CO in Santiago between 1990 and 2005 increased lifetime earnings by approximately 100 million USD per birth cohort. |
| JEL: | I10 Q53 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20662&r=res |
| By: | Foote, Kyleisha; Joy, Mike |
| Abstract: | Over the past two decades, major increases in production have occurred in the New Zealand dairy industry. This has required the use of externally sourced inputs, particularly fertiliser, feed supplements, and irrigation. Contemporary New Zealand dairy farming practice incurs environmental externalities: impacts that are not paid for by the dairy farmer. Hence, the public is left to deal with these externalities, both regarding the economic responsibility and environmental degradation. This study estimated that the economic cost of environmental externalities is higher than the 2012 dairy export revenue of $11.6 billion. |
| Keywords: | New Zealand dairy farming, intensification, externalities, environmental impacts, Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187496&r=res |
| By: | Gregg, Daniel; Rolfe, John |
| Abstract: | The valuation of environmental assets is a key current issue in the analysis of environmental assets from an economic viewpoint. Economic assessment often involves the assessment of community values for environmental protection (public benefits) and any complementary or offsetting changes to production (net private benefits). Whilst the majority of studies focus on final demand aspects of environmental values (e.g. recreational use, existence and amenity values from better environmental protection) there is a need to consider any associated impacts on production of economic commodities. The shadow prices and elasticity of production with respect to environmental inputs is of interest in determining efficient public procurement mechanisms for environmental improvements. In particular, distributional aspects of the use of environmental assets by agricultural enterprises may have implications for the efficiency of different approaches to environmental benefit procurement. We use production data from rangelands beef enterprises in Australia and nonparametric conditional quantiles to show that the efficiency of enterprises may be associated with the efficiency of utilisation of environmental inputs and thus may indicate that environmental procurement mechanisms may be benefiting relatively inefficient producers. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187499&r=res |