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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Marcus Wagner |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses empirically the relationship between environmental innovations, environmental management and patenting. In particular it tests a number of propositions on how environmental management systems and the interaction with environmentally more or less concerned stakeholders are associated with the probability of firms to pursue innovation in general (measured as patenting behaviour) and specifically environmental innovation (measured as firm self-assessment and based on patent data). In applying a negative binomial as well as binary discrete choice models the relationship is studied using data on German manufacturing firms. As a novel and important insight, the study finds that environmental innovation can be meaningfully identified using patent data and that environmental innovation defined this way is less ubiquitous than self-reported environmental innovation. It also reveals that the implementation level of environmental management systems has a positive effect exclusively on environmental process innovation, whereas it is negatively associated with the level of a firm’s general patenting activities. For environmental product innovation and patented environmental innovations a positive relationship with environ-mentally concerned and a negative link with environmentally neutral stakeholders is found. |
| Keywords: | Environmental innovations; patents |
| JEL: | O31 Q56 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:07-14&r=env |
| By: | Block, Paul J. |
| Abstract: | "Ethiopia is at a critical crossroads with a large and increasing population, a depressed national economy, insufficient agricultural production, and a low number of developed energy sources. The upper Blue Nile basin harbors considerable untapped potential for irrigation and hydropower development and expansion. Numerous hydrologic models have been developed to assess hydropower and agricultural irrigation potential within the basin, yet often fail to adequately address critical aspects, including the transient stages of large-scale reservoirs, relevant flow retention policies and associated downstream ramifications, and the implications of stochastic modeling of variable climate and climate change. A hydrologic model with dynamic climate capabilities is constructed to assess these aspects. The model indicates that large-scale development typically produces benefit-cost ratios from 1.2-1.8 under historical climate regimes for the projects specified. Climate change scenarios indicate potential for small benefit-cost increases, but reflect possible significant decreases. Stochastic modeling of scenarios representing a doubling of the historical frequency of El Niño events indicates benefit-cost ratios as low as 1.0 due to a lack of timely water. An evaluation of expected energy growth rates reinforces the need for significant economic planning and the necessity of securing energy trade contracts prior to extensive development. A Ramsey growth model for energy development specifies project multipliers on total GDP over the 100-year simulation ranging from 1.7-5.2, for various climatologic conditions." Author's Abstract |
| Keywords: | Water resources development, Hydrologic model, Energy, Climate variability, Climate change, Irrigation, |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:00700&r=env |
| By: | Mads Greaker and Tom-Reiel Heggedal (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | The density of fuel filling stations influences consumers' utility of private car transport. Thus, to the extent that different modes of private transport require different fuels, there may exist a network externality in the consumption of private transport. We investigate this in a formal model of the market for private transport. In the model there are two competing technologies; today's internal combustion engine based on fossil fuels, and tomorrow's hydrogen car. Due to the network externality there may exist several market equilibriums, of which one is likely to Pareto dominate the other(s). Thus, a lock-in situation is possible. On the other hand, if either the costs of establishing hydrogen filling stations is too high or the hydrogen car technology is still in its infancy, the only equilibrium is the current internal combustion engine equilibrium. Hence, apart from internalizing the environmental externality on gasoline cars, the government has no reasons to intervene before the technology is ripe. And even then, governments should take great care so as not to create a situation of excess momentum. |
| Keywords: | Lock-in; Path dependency; Hydrogen economy; Climate change policy |
| JEL: | L11 L15 L62 Q42 |
| Date: | 2007–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:516&r=env |
| By: | Brunette, Marielle; Couture, Stéphane; Langlais, Eric |
| Abstract: | The paper focuses on forests management strategies for natural hazards of nonindustrial owners, in the case where the forest provides nontimber services. We introduce a basic two-period model where the private owner manages natural hazards on his forest thanks to the accumulation of savings on his individual income, or to the adoption of sylvicultural practices. We show that: 1/ the harvesting rule, in the presence of amenity services and a random growth rate for forest, is smaller than the one predicted under the Faustmann's rule; 2/ savings and sylvicultural pratices may be seen as perfectly substitutable tools for the management of natural hazards. However, our analysis predicts that the harvesting rule displays a specific sensibility to price effects and/or changes in the distribution of natural hazards, depending on whether forest owners opt for the financial strategy or undertake sylvicultural practices. |
| Keywords: | Risk; Forest; Amenities; Savings and Sylvicultural Practices |
| JEL: | D20 Q0 Q19 Q14 Q10 |
| Date: | 2007–09–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:5228&r=env |
| By: | Masayuki Mori |
| Abstract: | Since 1997 several ministries in Japan have collaborated on an eco-school programme, which applies to both newly constructed and renovated school buildings, in an effort to make its schools more environmentally friendly. |
| Keywords: | sustainable development, environment, learning environment, educational buildings |
| Date: | 2007–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaaa:2007/8-en&r=env |
| By: | Jenni Webster; Leigh Robinson; Kelvin Trimper; Stan Salagaras |
| Abstract: | Presented here are Australian case studies of educational buildings with environmentally sustainable designs – an upper secondary school complex and a university learning centre – and sustainability initiatives by a private developer working in collaboration with government authorities. |
| Keywords: | sustainable development, community, learning environment, sustainability |
| Date: | 2007–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaaa:2007/11-en&r=env |
| By: | JAVIER SABOGAL-AGUILAR |
| Abstract: | Resumen: Este artículo es resultado del proyecto de Restauración y Protección de Agroecosistemas Estratégicos en la Captura de Carbono, Municipio de Pasto, Nariño. Explora la posibilidad que tienen las comunidades y propietarios de pequeños predios de la Cuenca Alta del Río Pasto de contribuir a la mitigación del Cambio Climático a la vez que obtienen ingresos monetarios y otros beneficios por la participación en proyectos del Mecanismo de Desarrollo Limpio forestales. El documento presenta una metodología novedosa de participación de comunidades de bajos ingresos en proyectos MDL forestales que se diferencia de las existentes por el alto contenido de participación y confianza generada entre los pequeños productores y las instituciones desarrolladoras. Se concluye con la evidencia de viabilidad del proyecto MDL forestal planteado y los beneficios que generó el proyecto en términos académicos, de desarrollo comunitario y de generación de potenciales proyectos que pueden ser desarrollados con posterioridad. Abstract: Payments for reduction of emissions certificates under the clean development mechanism at the “Cuenca Alta del Río Pasto” (Colombia). This paper is a result of the project of Restoration and Protection of strategic Agro-Ecosystems in the Sink of CO2, Municipality of Pasto, Nariño. It explores the possibility of that the communities of small lands owners of “La Cuenca Alta del Río Pasto” contribute to the decrease of the climatic change and they obtain a monetary income and other benefits for the participation in forest projects of the Clean Development Mechanism. The document presents a novel methodology of participation to low incomes communities in MDL-LULUCF projects, different from the existing ones for the participation and confidence generated in the small farmers. The article concludes with the evidence of viability of the CDM-LULUCF project and the benefits that it generated in academic issues, community development and the generation of potential projects that can be develop. |
| Date: | 2007–10–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000155:004204&r=env |
| By: | Marcella Veronesi (Corresponding author, Università di Verona and University of Maryland; Dipartimento di Scienze economiche (Università di Verona) and Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (University of Maryland)); Martina Menon (Università di Verona; Dipartimento di Scienze economiche (Università di Verona)); Federico Perali (Università di Verona; Dipartimento di Scienze economiche (Università di Verona)) |
| Abstract: | This study proposes a novel approach to estimating a travel cost model that accounts for intrahousehold resource allocation. We define it ‘Collective Travel Cost Method’ (CTCM). The technique is based on an analogy borrowed from the literature of collective household behavior and adapted to the recreational setting. Knowledge of the travel cost to the recreational site of each household member allows us to identify the sharing rule within the household and to estimate a collective Almost Ideal Demand System that takes into account the role of each member’s preferences for consumption choices and how resources are allocated within the household. We show how to identify and estimate welfare measures, such as the equivalent variation (EV), to infer the Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) to access a natural park of each household member. Moreover, the development and estimation of the CTCM allows: (1) to test whether the WTP estimated by the traditional unitary TCM is significantly different from the WTP estimated by the CTCM; (2) to test whether two spouses have equal or different WTP to access the recreational site, and (3) whether the individual WTP estimated by the CTCM is significantly different from the WTP derived by applying the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) on the same sample of individuals. |
| Keywords: | collective model, compensating variation, equivalent variation, revealed preferences, travel cost method, Willingness-To-Pay. |
| JEL: | D13 Q26 Q51 |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:42&r=env |
| By: | Odile Blanchard (LEPII - Laboratoire d'Économie de la Production et de l'Intégration Internationale - [CNRS : UMR5252] - [Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II]) |
| Abstract: | Les initiatives de maîtrise de l’énergie et de lutte contre le changement climatique se multiplient et prennent de l’ampleur dans les universités. Le Projet d’Université Citoyenne lancé depuis 2003 au sein de l’Université Pierre-Mendès-France (UPMF) à Grenoble, France, s’inscrit dans cette démarche. <br /><br />Divers outils d’analyse ont été créés, de nombreux audits et enquêtes ont été menés. Un plan d’actions est discuté, validé et régulièrement ajusté par un Comité de Pilotage. Les actions portent à la fois sur la quantification des émissions de gaz à effet de serre, la réduction des consommations d’énergies fossiles et sur la sensibilisation des étudiants et personnels de l’UPMF. <br /><br />Seuls quelques étudiants, enseignants et personnes des services administratifs sont impliqués actuellement dans le Projet. Le présent papier vise à explorer diverses voies qui peuvent amener chacun des membres de l’UPMF à s’engager dans des actions de réduction de leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre sur leur lieu de travail ou d’études. <br /><br />La première partie expose succinctement les principales actions qui ont été menées jusqu’alors. La deuxième présente les acteurs actuels du Projet et leurs interactions. La troisième met à jour les motivations et les freins que les membres de l’université expriment par rapport à leur engagement dans des actions de réduction de leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre. Enfin la dernière partie est consacrée aux options possibles pour lever ces barrières : comment transformer l’invitation / incitation à agir en action, et aussi comment transformer les attitudes en comportements ? |
| Keywords: | MAITRISE DE L'ENERGIE ; CHANGEMENT CLIMATIQUE ; UNIVERSITE |
| Date: | 2007–05–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:papers:halshs-00176093_v1&r=env |
| By: | Siddig, El Fatih Ali; El-Harizi, Khalid; Prato, Bettina |
| Abstract: | "Despite the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which brought to an end 20 years of civil war in the Sudan, this country continues to experience smaller-scale conflicts, particularly around access to and control of natural resources. Some observers lay the blame for this on ethnopolitical or tribal divisions. However, this paper argues that there are a variety of factors at play behind these conflicts, notably the combination of resource scarcity with a crisis of governance that is particularly evident in transitional areas like the Kordofan region. To gain a sense of the range of conflicts around natural resources in Kordofan, the authors reviewed existing records such as government archives; conducted interviews with politicians, federal and state government officials, farmers, pastoralists, and Native Administration leaders; and investigated findings in the field. Interviews also served to examine people's knowledge about government natural resource policies and their perceptions of the roles played by government and the Native Administration in conflict management and resolution. The paper presents 20 cases of stalemate competition or open conflict over natural resources in Kordofan. The cases center on (1) conflicts between farmers and herders over stock routes, gum arabic forests, gardens, watering points, and the use of dars (tribal homelands); (2) conflicts between herders and small farmers and government agents or large private investors over mechanized farming areas, oil infrastructure, and other private investments. In their analysis of natural resource governance in Sudan, the authors find that natural resources policies have often been weak foundations for sustainable resource use, and in some cases they have actually contributed to conflict. In addition, the volatile path of government devolution efforts concerning natural resources has undermined governance of these resources. While conflicts between farmers and herders were managed relatively successful in the past through customary land tenure systems, this is less and less the case today as a result of larger herds, reduced water and pasture, instability and prejudices stirred up by the war, and a proliferation of arms among herders. In addition, patron–client politics, weak natural resource management and development policies, and top-down government institutions have encouraged ethnic polarization and social divisions. The authors find that measures are needed to reform the process of natural resource management, making land use planning more comprehensive, building on local livelihood systems, and increasing public spending on infrastructure. In addition, sustainable property rights on farmland and on mobile resources should be redefined, and informal conflict management mechanisms restored to the extent that this is possible." Authors' Abstract |
| Keywords: | Conflict management, Natural resource management, Small farmers, Land use, Livelihoods, Public spending, infrastructure, Property rights, Governance, Sustainability, |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:00711&r=env |
| By: | Diao, Xinshen; Sarpong, Daniel B. |
| Abstract: | "An economywide, multimarket model is constructed for Ghana and the effects of agricultural soil erosion on crop yields are explicitly modeled at the subnational regional level for eight main staple crops. The model is used to evaluate the aggregate economic costs of soil erosion by taking into account economywide linkages between production and consumption, across sectors and agricultural subsectors. To fill a gap in the literature regarding economic cost analysis of soil erosion, this paper also analyzes the poverty implications of land degradation. The model predicts that land degradation reduces agricultural income in Ghana by a total of US$4.2 billion over the period 2006–2015, which is approximately five percent of total agricultural GDP in these ten years. The effect of soil loss on poverty is also significant at the national level, equivalent to a 5.4 percentage point increase in the poverty rate in 2015 compared to the case of no soil loss. Moreover, soil loss causes a slowing of poverty reduction over time in the three northern regions, which currently have the highest poverty rates in the country. Sustainable land management (SLM) is the key to reducing agricultural soil loss. The present findings indicate that through the adoption of conventional SLM practices, the declining trend in land productivity can be reversed, and that use of a combination of conventional and modern SLM practices would generate an aggregate economic benefit of US$6.4 billion over the period 2006–2015. SLM practices would therefore significantly reduce poverty in Ghana, particularly in the three northern regions." Authors' Abstract |
| Keywords: | Land degradation, Costs, Agricultural soil loss, Economywide modeling, Modeling cost of land degradation, |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:00698&r=env |
| By: | John Dolan |
| Abstract: | This article explains how Ireland has incorporated low energy design into primary and post-primary schools and gives an overview of projects that have helped inform this approach. |
| Keywords: | educational buildings, energy management, energy savings, school infrastructure |
| Date: | 2007–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaaa:2007/10-en&r=env |
| By: | Andreas Billmeier; Isabella Massa |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we assess the macroeconomic determinants of stock market capitalization in a panel of 17 countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, including both hydrocarbon-rich countries and economies without sizeable natural resource wealth. In addition to traditional variables, we include an institutional variable and remittances among the regressors. We find that (i) both institutions and remittances have a positive and significant impact on market capitalization; and (ii) both regressors matter, especially in countries without significant hydrocarbon sectors; whereas (iii) in resource-rich countries, stock market capitalization is mainly driven by the oil price. |
| Keywords: | Working Paper , Stock markets , Middle East and Central Asia , Natural resources , Oil prices , Workers remittances , Economic models , |
| Date: | 2007–07–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:07/157&r=env |
| By: | Panagiotis Al. Patargias; Kalianou Angela; George Galanis; Marina Vassilopoulou; Maria Drosou; Christos Protogeropoulos |
| Abstract: | Greece’s School Buildings Organisation (SBO) is developing bioclimatic pilot schemes which are yielding positive results. Bioclimatic action has been one of the principal priorities of Greek school infrastructure planning since 2004. Among the activities undertaken by SBO to use renewable energy sources in school buildings is a pilot project to design and install a photovoltaic system in a secondary school in Athens. |
| Keywords: | environment, school building design, learning environment, educational buildings, energy savings |
| Date: | 2007–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaaa:2007/9-en&r=env |
| By: | David Tobón Orozco; Andrés Felipe Sánchez Gandur; Maria Victoria Cárdenas Londoño |
| Abstract: | El gran aumento de los niveles de contaminación del aire constituye en la actualidad uno de los problemas más importantes que afronta la sociedad en general, dado su impacto negativo sobre el medio ambiente y la calidad de vida. A nivel internacional se están implementando variadas medidas de política ambiental —instrumentos económicos— en el sector transporte con el fin de reducir las emisiones contaminantes —externalidades—, ya que este es una de las principales fuentes de contaminación atmosférica. Por tanto, es importante analizar los instrumentos y las experiencias de regulación ambiental del sector de transporte con el fin de compararlos con las medidas que se están considerando en Colombia, y ayudar a mitigar este problema creciente en nuestras ciudades |
| Date: | 2006–09–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000099:004185&r=env |
| By: | Jenni Webster; Leigh Robinson; Kelvin Trimper; Stan Salagaras |
| Abstract: | Voici des exemples d’études de cas australiennes sur des bâtiments scolaires de conception écologique - un complexe éducatif d’enseignement secondaire et un centre universitaire de formation – et des projets d’aménagement écologiquements viables de promoteurs privés, menés en collaboration avec les autorités locales. |
| Keywords: | développement durable, communauté, environnement pédagogique, bâtiments éducatifs, durabilité |
| Date: | 2007–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaaa:2007/11-fr&r=env |
| By: | Arias, Fabio A. |
| Date: | 2007–03–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000149:004211&r=env |
| By: | Panagiotis Al. Patargias; Kalianou Angela; George Galanis; Marina Vassilopoulou; Maria Drosou; Christos Protogeropoulos |
| Abstract: | L’organisation chargée en Grèce des bâtiments scolaires, l’OSK, met au point des projets bioclimatiques pilotes qui donnent des résultats positifs. L’action bioclimatique est l’un des grands axes prioritaires de la planification des infrastructures scolaires en Grèce depuis 2004. Parmi les activités lancées par l’OSK pour promouvoir l’utilisation des sources d’énergie renouvelables dans les écoles, figure un projet pilote dont le but est de concevoir et d’installer un système photovoltaïque dans un établissement secondaire d’Athènes. |
| Keywords: | environnement, environnement pédagogique, bâtiments éducatifs, architecture scolaire, économie d’énergie |
| Date: | 2007–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaaa:2007/9-fr&r=env |