|
on Resource Economics |
|
Issue of 2020‒08‒31
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Regina Pleninger (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | During the last decades, the United States experienced an increase in the number of natural disasters as well as their destructive capability. Several studies suggest a damaging effect of natural disasters on income. In this paper, I estimate the effects of natural disasters on the entire income distribution using county-level data in the United States. In particular, I determine the income fractions that are affected by natural disasters. The results suggest that natural disasters primarily affect middle incomes, thereby leaving income inequality levels mostly unchanged. In addition, the paper examines potential channels that intensify or mitigate the effects, such as social security or the severity of natural disasters. The findings show that social security, assistance programs and migration are important adaptation tools that reduce the effects of natural disasters. In contrast, the occurrence of multiple and severe disasters aggravate the effects. |
| Keywords: | Disaster, Income Distribution, United States, Migration, Panel Data |
| JEL: | D63 O51 Q54 R23 |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:20-474&r=all |
| By: | Fusillo, Fabrizio (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | A large body of existing literature extensively studied the economic deter-minants and effects of environmental innovations. However, only a few studiesanalyzed the specific features of green technologies in the early phasesof theinvention process. The aim of this paper is to investigate knowledgerecombi-nation patterns in the green domain. The focus is on identifying whether andhow different bodies of technology are combined and integrated. Exploitinga large sample of European patent data, from 1980 to 2012, the paper inves-tigates the degree of diversity in the knowledge sources and the generationphase of green inventions. Using the Integration Score as an index of techno-logical diversity we compare the recombinant features of Green Technologieswith a control sample of “Traditional Technologies†, accurately drawn fromthe universe of all patent applications. Empirical results suggest that, aftercontrolling for a number of typical characteristics which may affect diversity,Green Technologies systematically show a higher degree of diversitywhencompared to non-green ones. |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:202015&r=all |
| By: | Damonte, Gerardo (Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE)); Godfried, Julieta; Ulloa, Astrid; Quiroga, Catalina; López, Ana Paula |
| Abstract: | La problemática hídrica es uno de los motores de los múltiples conflictos ambientales generados por la expansión de la minería a gran escala en territorios andinos. Como respuesta al acaparamiento del agua por parte de las empresas, las trabas para la población disponible de este recurso y la contaminación de las fuentes, se presentan reclamos referidos al control ambiental por parte del Estado. Este estudio —en el que se abordan los casos de tres minas ubicadas en la Argentina, el Perú y Colombia— muestra que, frente a la falta de acceso y canales de participación, así como la desconfianza respecto a la información oficial por los Estados y las empresas, emergen procesos de monitoreo comunitario del agua que buscan legitimarse y articularse con movimientos de defensa territorial de largo plazo. |
| Keywords: | Minería, Mining, Conflictos sociales, Social conflicts, Gestión ambiental, Environmental management, Recursos hídricos, Water resources, Argentina, Perú, Colombia, Peru |
| JEL: | L71 Q25 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gad:doctra:dt104&r=all |
| By: | Maxime Menuet; Alexandru Minea; Patrick Villieu; Anastasios Xepapadeas |
| Abstract: | The relationship between economic growth and the environment is at the core of the theoretical and empirical researches since at least thirty years. This paper shows that a small-dimension ecological growth model can lead to a great diversity of relationships between pollution and growth, including the popular environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and logistic curve (ELC). We exhibit multiple equilibria and complex local and global dynamics resulting in potential indeterminacy or long-lasting pollution cycles. Furthermore, our model reveals an ecological poverty trap associated with a possible irreversibility of the environmental degradation. Interestingly, our findings do not resort on some exogenous technological breaks but result from the endogenous interaction between households� saving behaviour and the natural resources' law of motion. |
| Keywords: | Growth, Environment, Bifurcation, Endogenous Cycles, Poverty Traps, Pollution |
| JEL: | E32 O44 Q50 |
| Date: | 2020–08–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:2031&r=all |