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on Resource Economics |
| By: | Pol Campos-Mercade; Claes Ek; Magnus Soderberg; Florian H. Schneider |
| Abstract: | Standard economic theory assumes that consumers ignore the externalities they create, such as emissions from burning fossil fuels and generating waste. In an incentivized study (N = 3, 718), we find that most people forgo substantial gains to avoid imposing negative externalities on others. Using administrative data on household waste, we show a clear link between such prosociality and waste behavior: prosociality predicts lower residual waste generation and higher waste sorting. Prosociality also predicts survey-reported pro-environmental behaviors such as lowering indoor temperature, limiting air travel, and consuming eco-friendly products. These findings highlight the importance of considering social preferences in environmental policy. |
| Keywords: | social preferences, prosociality, environmental behaviors, externalities |
| JEL: | D01 D62 Q53 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11895 |
| By: | J. Scott Holladay (Department of Economics, University of Tennessee, Fellow, Howard B. Baker School for Public Policy); Justin R. Roush (Department of Economics, Xavier University) |
| Abstract: | We document significant variation in the relative pollution emissions of foreign owned and domestically owned manufacturing plants in the U.S. We use a sample of matched plant characteristics and pollution emissions to document the pollution emissions of foreign owned facilities relative to their competitors in the same industry. On average there is no difference in emissions intensity between domestic and foreign owned plants across all manufacturers, but in some industries foreign owned plants are much cleaner, while in others much dirtier. We show that the variation in relative pollution emissions of foreign owned manufacturing plants is correlated with industry characteristics: lower industry-level trade costs, higher fixed costs, and lower returns to agglomeration are associated with cleaner foreign owned plants. These results are consistent with a theoretical framework in which foreign plants have lower productivity, and therefore more pollution intensity, in industries where foreign ownership is more attractive relative to exporting. |
| Keywords: | Trade and environment, Firm heterogeneity, Plant-level emissions |
| JEL: | F1 Q5 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ten:wpaper:2025-02 |
| By: | Hayet, Kaddachi; Naceur, Benzina |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of corruption on environmental quality in GCC countries from 2003 to 2021, focusing in particular on direct and indirect impacts on CO2 emissions. We use two-stage least squares (2SLS) panel regression analysis to account for potential endogeneity and provide robust empirical evidence. The results show that corruption has a direct and significant positive effect on environmental quality. This suggests that some corrupt practices can lead to short-term emission reductions by delaying or distorting large, environmentally harmful projects. However, it also has indirect negative effects: corruption undermines economic growth and institutional integrity and ultimately worsens long-term environmental impacts. Overall, the positive effects of corruption on environmental quality are positive, although they are differentiated and context-dependent. In addition, the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is tested. This suggests that after an initial decline in emissions, environmental destruction could resume as income levels rise. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers seeking to strengthen institutional governance, eradicate corruption, and promote sustainable environmental policies in resource-dependent economies. |
| Keywords: | Corruption, environmental quality, CO2 emissions, EKC, Economic Growth |
| JEL: | Q51 |
| Date: | 2025–05–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:124830 |
| By: | Cèlia Estruch-Garcia (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Albert Solé-Ollé (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Filippo Tassinari (Universitat Pompeu Fabra & BSE & IEB); Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB & CEPR) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the electoral effects of Barcelona's Superblocks pedestrianization policy, a green initiative designed to reduce car traffic and enhance urban environments. Using census tract-level data from the 2023 local elections, we assess the policy's impact on support for the incumbent mayor. Our findings reveal a positive and statistically significant increase in votes in areas directly affected by the policy, with benefits also extending to neighboring districts. Importantly, there is no evidence that the intervention led to traffic displacement, which suggests that such disruptions did not provoke electoral backlash. Further analysis indicates that the policy's effects are not driven by concerns over gentrification or mobility disruptions. Instead, the effects are stronger in more educated neighborhoods, pointing to the role of environmental attitudes in shaping political support. These results contribute to the literature on the political economy of green policies, underscoring the importance of localized impacts in shaping electoral outcomes and sustaining públic support for urban climate initiatives. |
| Keywords: | Green policies, Cities, Elections |
| JEL: | D72 Q58 R53 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:doc2025-01 |
| By: | Immervoll, Herwig (OECD, Paris); Linden, Jules (LISER (CEPS/INSTEAD)); O'Donoghue, Cathal (University of Galway); Sologon, Denisa Maria (LISER (CEPS/INSTEAD)) |
| Abstract: | Carbon pricing is becoming increasingly common but raises equity concerns and is frequently perceived as putting higher burdens on the poor than the rich. This chapter discusses the reasons for unequal carbon price burdens across countries and population groups, through the lens of a comparative analysis for two countries with comparable climates but different income levels, Lithuania and Finland. The simulations consider multiple revenue recycling options, and they account for both the direct burdens from households’ fuel consumption and indirect burdens associated with the impact of carbon charges on the prices of other goods. With no compensation to affected households, average burdens are larger and also more regressive in Lithuania than in Finland, largely because of cross-country differences in energy expenditure patterns. Net distributional outcomes depend crucially on how carbon tax revenues are used, however, and carefully designed compensation can prevent regressive impacts of carbon-price packages. |
| Keywords: | Environmental tax reform, Energy budget share, Distributional impact, Carbon tax burden, Carbon taxation, Revenue recycling |
| JEL: | C8 D12 D31 H23 Q52 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17898 |
| By: | Georg Kirchsteiger; Tom Lenaerts; Remi Suchon |
| Abstract: | Experimental evidence shows that in a repeated dilemma setting cooperation is more likely to become the norm in small matching groups than in large ones. This result holds even if cooperation is an equilibrium outcome for all investigated group sizes. But what happens if small matching groups are merged to become large ones? Our paper is based on the idea that due to norm spillovers, a large group created by a merger of small groups is more likely to cooperate than a large group of similar size that is created directly. We tested this idea experimentally in the context of an infinitely repeated prisoner’s dilemma game. We compared the cooperation behavior of groups that result from mergers of smaller groups with the cooperation behavior of groups with constant group size. We found that cooperation levels were significantly higher in large groups that resulted from gradual growth than in large groups of the same size that were directly created. Looking at the individual behavior, we see that more subjects develop a norm of unconditional cooperation when the group size increases than when it is already large from the beginning. Hence, our results confirm the idea that cooperation is much more likely to be achieved when groups grow from small to large than when large groups are formed directly. |
| Keywords: | Prisoner’s dilemma, Cooperation in repeated games, Group growth, Norm spillover |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/391301 |
| By: | Olga Chiappinelli (University of Barcelona, BEAT); Ambrogio Dalò (Universiy of Groningen); Leonardo M. Giuffrida (ZEW Mannheim, MaCCI, CESifo) |
| Abstract: | Governments can support the green transition through green public procurement. Despite its strategic importance, the impact of this policy on firms remains unclear. Using US data, this paper provides the first empirical analysis of the causal effects of green contracts on corporate environmental and economic performance. We focus on an affirmative program for sustainable products, which represents one-sixth of the total federal procurement budget, and publicly traded firms, which account for one-third of total US emissions. Our results show that securing green contracts reduces emissions relative to firm size and increases productivity, with these effects persisting in the long run. We find no evidence that the program selects greener firms, nor that green public procurement sales crowd out private sales. We propose that increased R&D investment, incentivized by the program’s requirements, is a key mechanism behind these improvements. |
| Keywords: | Public Procurement, Environmental Policy, Firm Performance, Staggered Difference-in-difference |
| JEL: | D22 D44 H32 H57 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ewp:wpaper:474web |