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on Resource Economics |
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Issue of 2023‒09‒04
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Donatella Gatti (University Sorbonne Paris Nord, CEPN UMR-CNRS 7234); Gaye-Del Lo (University Sorbonne Paris Nord, CEPN UMR-CNRS 7234); Francisco Serranito (University Paris Nanterre, EconomiX UMR-CNRS 7235) |
| Abstract: | This paper identifies the determinants of OECD Environmental Policy Stringency (EPS) index using a panel of 21 European countries for the period 2009-2019. If there is a large literature on the macroeconomic, political, and social determinants of EPS, the people’s attitudes or preferences toward environmental policies is still burgeoning. Thus, the main goal of this paper is to estimate the effects of people’s awareness regarding environmental issues on the EPS indicator. Due to the endogeneity of preferences, we have applied an instrumental variable framework to estimate our empirical model. Our most important result is to show that individual environmental preferences have a positive and significant effect on the level of EPS indicator : on average, a rise in individual preferences of 10% in a country will increase its EPS indicator by 2.30%. Our results have important policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Environmental policy stringency, Environmental attitudes/concerns, Inequality, Environmental Kuznets curve, EU |
| JEL: | Q0 Q1 Q3 Q50 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2023.07&r=res |
| By: | Gellman, Jacob; Walls, Margaret A. (Resources for the Future); Wibbenmeyer, Matthew (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Wildfire smoke pollution is growing in the western United States. Estimates of its health impacts are numerous, but few revealed preference estimates of its damages exist. We study a setting where individuals are directly exposed to smoke, and avoidance behavior is measured with high frequency: outdoor recreation. We combine millions of administrative campground reservation records with satellite data on wildfire, smoke, and air pollution. These data are rich among most studies of recreation, with nearly 1, 000 campgrounds and detailed individual-level observations. The data allow us to model sequential recreation decisions under evolving information using a novel control function approach. We estimate that wildfire smoke reduces welfare by $107 per person per trip. Damages are larger when campgrounds are affected by consecutive days of smoke and attenuated when smoke events are sufficiently far from active fires. In total, 21.5 million outdoor recreation visits in the western United States are affected by wildfire smoke every year, with annual welfare losses of approximately $2.3 billion. These findings contribute to a growing body of evidence on the costs of wildfire smoke. |
| Date: | 2023–08–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-23-31&r=res |
| By: | Julien Wolfersberger (UMR PSAE - Paris-Saclay Applied Economics - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Gregory Amacher; Philippe Delacote; Arnaud Dragicevic |
| Abstract: | We develop a model of optimal land allocation in a developing economy that features three possible land uses: agriculture, primary and secondary forests. The distinction between those forest types reflects their different contribution in terms of public good. In our model, reforestation is costly because it undermines land title security. Using the forest transition concept, we study long-term land-use change and explain important features of cumulative deforestation across countries. Our results shed light on the speed at which net deforestation ends, on the effect of tenure costs in this process, and on composition in steady state. We also present a policy analysis that emphasizes the critical role of institutional reforms addressing the costs of both deforestation and tenure in order to promote a transition. We find that focusing only on net forest losses can be misleading since late transitions may yield, upon given conditions, a higher level of environmental benefits. |
| Keywords: | Deforestation, Economic Development, Forest transition, Tenure costs |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04157160&r=res |
| By: | Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés (Cañada Blanch Centre and Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics); Bartalucci, Federico (Cañada Blanch Centre and Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The impacts of climate change are unevenly distributed across territories. Less is known about the potential effects of climate policies aimed at mitigating the negative consequences of climate change, while transitioning economies towards low-carbon standards. This paper presents an analytical framework for identifying and assessing the regional impacts of the green transition. We develop a Regional Green Transition Vulnerability Index, a composite measure of the regional vulnerability of European regions to the socio- economic reconfigurations prompted by the green transition. The index brings to light strong regional variations in vulnerability, with less developed, peri-urban, and rural regions in Southern and Eastern Europe more exposed to the foreseeable changes brought about by the green transition. We also draw attention to the potential rise of pockets of growing ‘green’ discontent, especially if the green transition contributes, as is likely to be the case, to leaving already left-behind regions further behind. |
| Keywords: | Green transition, environment, left-behind regions, development trap, European Union |
| JEL: | O44 Q56 R11 |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bda:wpsmep:wp2023/16&r=res |