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on Resource Economics |
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Issue of 2022‒01‒24
three papers chosen by |
| By: | Raouf Boucekkine (AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - AMU - Aix Marseille Université); Giorgio Fabbri (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Salvatore Federico (UNISI - Università degli Studi di Siena = University of Siena); Fausto Gozzi (LUISS - Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli [Roma]) |
| Abstract: | We study the joint determination of optimal investment and optimal depollution in a spatiotemporal framework where pollution is transboundary. Pollution is controlled at a global level. The regulator internalizes that: (i) production generates pollution, which is bad for the wellbeing of population, and that (ii) pollution flows across space driven by a diffusion process. We solve analytically for the optimal investment and depollution spatiotemporal paths and characterize the optimal long-term spatial distribution when relevant. We finally explore numerically the variety of optimal spatial distributions obtained using a core/periphery model where the core differs from the periphery either in terms of input productivity, depollution efficiency, environmental awareness or self-cleaning capacity of nature. We also compare the distributions with and without diffusion. Key aspects in the optimal policy of the regulator are the role of aversion to inequality, notably leading to smoothing consumption across locations, and the control of diffusive pollution adding another smoothing engine. |
| Keywords: | Infinite dimensional optimal control problems,Decision analysis,Transboundary pollution,Pollution control,Geography |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03467909&r= |
| By: | Mikula, Stepan (Masaryk University); Pytlikova, Mariola (CERGE-EI) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the causal effects of air pollution on migration by exploiting a natural experiment in which desulfurization technologies were rapidly implemented in coal-burning power plants in the Czech Republic in the 1990s. These technologies substantially decreased air pollution levels without per se affecting economic activity. The results based on a difference-in-differences estimator imply that improvements in air quality reduced emigration from previously heavily polluted municipalities by 24%. We find that the effect of air pollution on emigration tended to be larger in municipalities with weaker social capital and fewer man-made amenities. Thus, our results imply that strengthening social capital and investing in better facilities and public services could partially mitigate depopulation responses to air pollution. Finally, we look at heterogeneous migratory responses to air pollution by education and age and find some evidence that the more educated tend to be more sensitive to air pollution in their settlement behavior. |
| Keywords: | natural experiment, migration, air pollution |
| JEL: | Q53 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14863&r= |
| By: | Brown, David P. (University of Alberta, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | There is growing interest in the adoption of residential battery storage because of its ability to provide bill savings, capture excess solar energy, and provide resiliency value. The resiliency benefits have become increasingly salient in light of recent large-scale power outages. However, these benefits may not accrue to all communities. We explore the presence of disparities in residential battery adoption and the allocation of subsidies under California's Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) by measures of income, race and ethnicity, and a vulnerability index that captures environmental justice (EJ) concerns. We present evidence that battery adoption and subsidy allocations are concentrated in communities that have higher household income and lower EJ concerns. Regression analyses demonstrate that there are disparities in battery adoption rates by household income and race/ethnicity demographic variables, after controlling for important time-varying and regional factors. These findings persist despite the fact that the SGIP has specific funds targeting lower income households and communities, as well as funding targeting wildfi re- and outage-vulnerable households. We demonstrate that these findings are partially, but not fully, driven by SGIP funding eligibility criteria that correlate with communities that have higher income, lower EJ concerns, and a lower percentage of residents of color. |
| Keywords: | Battery Storage; Resiliency; Distributed Energy Resources; Environmental and Energy Justice |
| JEL: | H23 I30 L94 Q40 Q54 |
| Date: | 2021–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:2021_013&r= |