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on Resource Economics |
| By: | Lohawala, Nafisa (Resources for the Future); McCormack, Kristen (Resources for the Future); DeAngeli, Emma (Resources for the Future); Kota, Ambarish; Ziegler, Ethan (Resources for the Future); Krupnick, Alan (Resources for the Future); Spiller, Beia (Resources for the Future); Wear, David N. (Resources for the Future); Wibbenmeyer, Matthew (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Overlapping economic, energy security, and environmental rationales have contributed to relatively broad political support for biofuel policy in the United States over time. Biofuels can reduce reliance on imported petroleum, create new markets for agricultural and forestry products, and are often discussed as a potential near-term option for decarbonizing difficult-to-electrify sectors such as aviation, marine shipping, and heavy-duty transport. Expanding biofuel production, however, can impact land and water use, biodiversity, and competition with food crops, and there is ongoing debate about how biofuel production, and the policies that support it, affect greenhouse gas emissions. Drawing on a 2025 Resources for the Future webinar series and a follow-up expert discussion with participants from industry, policy, and academia, this report discusses the potential role of biofuels in the energy transition, provides an overview of key areas of debate in life-cycle assessment and indirect land use change modeling, and highlights lessons from experience with existing federal and state biofuel policies. The report concludes by identifying policy-relevant knowledge gaps and research needs. |
| Date: | 2026–05–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-26-09 |
| By: | Valsecchi, Michele (New Economic School (NES)); Olsson, Ola (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Kopylova, Aleksandra (New Economic School (NES)) |
| Abstract: | Cadasters are country-wide mapped land registries that increase transparency and strengthen private property rights but are often also associated with land redistribution and higher taxation. A large micro literature has studied how land reforms affect economic development within countries. We use recently developed cross-country data on cadastral institutions to investigate the empirical relationship between major reforms and social conflict. We exploit 22 major cadastral reform events during 1814-2014 that we match with countries that experienced no reform. We find a clear tendency for conflict levels and political instability to decrease one or two decades after cadastral reforms. Our findings could have relevance for policy debates among countries that have still not pursued the introduction of land registries. |
| Keywords: | cadasters; social conflict; land registry; civil war; leader changes |
| JEL: | K11 N20 O20 |
| Date: | 2026–05–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0863 |