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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Katia Karousakis |
| Abstract: | This report examines how biodiversity co-benefits in REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) can be enhanced, both at the design and implementation level. It discusses potential biodiversity implications of different REDD design options that have been put forward in the international climate change negotiations and proceeds by examining how the creation of additional biodiversity-specific incentives could be used to complement a REDD mechanism, so as to target biodiversity benefits directly.<BR>Le présent rapport examine les moyens de renforcer les avantages connexes pouvant être tirés de la REDD (réduction des émissions liées à la déforestation et à la dégradation des forêts) sur le plan de la biodiversité, tant au niveau de la conception qu’à celui de la mise en oeuvre. Il analyse les répercussions potentielles sur la biodiversité des différents dispositifs de REDD envisageables qui ont été avancés dans les négociations internationales sur le changement climatique et poursuit en examinant comment compléter la REDD en créant des incitations supplémentaires spécifiquement axées sur la biodiversité, de manière à cibler directement les avantages liés à celle-ci. |
| Keywords: | biodiversity conservation, climate change, cost-benefit analysis, deforestation, environmental economics, analyse coûts-avantages, changement climatique, conservation de la biodiversité, déforestation, économie de l'environnement |
| JEL: | Q23 Q57 |
| Date: | 2009–11–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:11-en&r=env |
| By: | Spash, Clive L. |
| Abstract: | Human induced climate change has become a prominent political issue, at both national and international levels, leading to the search for regulatory ‘solutions’. Emission trading has risen in popularity to become the most broadly favoured government strategy. Carbon permits have then quickly been developed as a serious financial instrument in markets turning over billions of dollars a year. In this paper, I show how the reality of permit market operation is far removed from the assumptions of economic theory and the promise of saving resources by efficiently allocating emission reductions. The pervasiveness of Greenhouse Gas emissions, strong uncertainty and complexity combine to prevent economists from substantiating their theoretical claims of cost effectiveness. Corporate power is shown to be a major force affecting emissions market operation and design. The potential for manipulation to achieve financial gain, while showing little regard for environmental or social consequences, is evident as markets have extended internationally and via trading offsets. At the individual level, there is the potential for emissions trading to have undesirable ethical and psychological impacts and to crowd out voluntary actions. I conclude that the focus on such markets is creating a distraction from the need for changing human behaviour, institutions and infrastructure. |
| Keywords: | Emissions trading; Climate change |
| JEL: | G18 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:19114&r=env |
| By: | Randall S. Jones; Byungseo Yoo |
| Abstract: | Japan, a relatively energy-efficient country, has been active in combating climate change. Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 6% relative to 1990 over the period 2008-12. As of 2007, however, its emissions were up by 9%. Japan has relied primarily on voluntary measures, which are monitored by the government, without binding commitments or price signals on carbon. It is essential to improve the policy framework to achieve its ambitious longer-term target of a 60% to 80% emission reduction by 2050 in a cost-effective manner. Japan should shift from voluntary measures to market-based instruments, notably a mandatory and comprehensive emission trading scheme, supplemented if necessary, by carbon taxes in areas not covered by trading, which minimise abatement costs and promote innovation to reduce emissions. Trading schemes should be linked to those in other countries, while expanding Japan’s use of a well-functioning Clean Development Mechanism. Continued public support for R&D in emission reduction technology, particularly in basic research, is important.<P>Améliorer le cadre d’action au Japon pour lutter contre le changement climatique<BR>Le Japon, pays où l’efficacité énergétique est relativement élevée, lutte activement contre le changement climatique. En vertu du Protocole de Kyoto, il s’est engagé à réduire les émissions de gaz à effet de serre de 6 % par rapport à 1990 sur la période 2008-12. En 2007, toutefois, ses émissions avaient augmenté de 9 %. Le Japon s’appuie essentiellement sur des mesures volontaires, qui sont contrôlées par le gouvernement, sans engagements contraignants ni signal-prix sur le carbone. Il doit absolument améliorer son cadre d’action pour pouvoir réaliser son objectif ambitieux à long terme d’une réduction des émissions de 60 à 80 % d’ici à 2050 de manière efficace par rapport au coût. Le Japon devrait passer de mesures volontaires à des instruments de marché, notamment un système d’échange de droits d’émissions obligatoire et complet, complété si nécessaire par des taxes carbone dans les secteurs non couverts, de façon à minimiser les coûts de dépollution et à encourager l’innovation dans la réduction des émissions. Le système d’échange devrait être relié à ceux d’autres pays, alors que le recours par le Japon à un Mécanisme pour un développement propre fonctionnant correctement devrait se développer. L’aide publique continue à la R-D en matière de technologies de réduction des émissions, particulièrement dans la recherche fondamentale, est importante. |
| Keywords: | carbon sinks, carbon tax, Clean Development Mechanism, Cool Earth 50, COP 15, emissions trading systems, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, Kyoto protocol, renewable energy, Top Runner Programme, changement climatique, Cool Earth 50, COP 15, efficacité énergétique, émissions de gaz à effet de serre, énergies renouvelables, Mécanisme pour un développement propre, programme Top Runner, Protocole de Kyoto, puits de carbone, système d’échange de droits d’émissions, taxes carbone |
| JEL: | Q28 Q54 Q56 Q58 |
| Date: | 2009–12–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:740-en&r=env |
| By: | Tisdell, Clem |
| Abstract: | The precautionary principle was included in 1992 in the Rio Declaration on Environmental and Development and is a part of important international agreements and documents, for example, the Convention on Biological Diversity. Yet the interpretation of this principle is not straightforward as a guide for environmental policy â a variety of interpretations are possible. This paper identifies and examines various economic versions of the principle. Furthermore, it shows that different economic versions of the principle can give rise to conflicting policy recommendations for resource conservation. In addition, it demonstrates that applications of the principle do not always favour (natural) resource conservation (for example, biodiversity conservation) although the main support for it politically has been on the assumption it does. The principleâs potential consequences for biodiversity conservation of the introduction of new genetic material, such as genetically modified organisms are explored |
| Keywords: | Biodiversity, conservation, climate change, flexibility, learning, precautionary principle, uncertainty, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q2, Q28, Q3, H43, |
| Date: | 2009–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uqseee:55339&r=env |
| By: | Aaditya Mattoo (World Bank); Arvind Subramanian (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Dominique van der Mensbrugghe; Jianwu He |
| Abstract: | There is growing clamor in industrial countries for additional border taxes on imports from countries with lower carbon prices. While this paper confirms the findings of other research that unilateral emissions cuts by industrial countries will have minimal carbon leakage effects, output and exports of energy-intensive manufactures are projected to decline, potentially creating pressure for trade action. A key factor affecting the impact of any border taxes is whether they are based on the carbon content of imports or the carbon content of domestic production. The paper's quantitative estimates suggest that the former action when applied to all merchandise imports would address competitiveness and environmental concerns in high income countries but with serious consequences for trading partners. Border tax adjustment based on the carbon content in domestic production would broadly address the competitiveness concerns of producers in high income countries and less seriously damage developing country trade. |
| Keywords: | trade, trade policy, environment, climate change |
| JEL: | F13 F18 H23 Q56 |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp09-15&r=env |
| By: | Aaditya Mattoo; Arvind Subramanian; Dominique van der Mensbrugghe; Jianwu He |
| Abstract: | Most economic analyses of climate change have focused on the aggregate impact on countries of mitigation actions. We depart first in disaggregating the impact by sector, focusing particularly on manufacturing output and exports because of the potential growth consequences. Second, we decompose the impact of an agreement on emissions reductions into three components: the change in the price of carbon due to each country’s emission cuts per se; the further change in this price due to emissions tradability; and the changes due to any international transfers (private and public). Manufacturing output and exports in low carbon intensity countries such as Brazil are not adversely affected. In contrast, in high carbon intensity countries, such as China and India, even a modest agreement depresses manufacturing output by 6-7 percent and manufacturing exports by 9-11 percent. The increase in the carbon price induced by emissions tradability hurts manufacturing output most while the Dutch disease effects of transfers hurt exports most. If the growth costs of these structural changes are judged to be substantial, the current policy consensus, which favors emissions tradability (on efficiency grounds) supplemented with financial transfers (on equity grounds), needs re-consideration. |
| Keywords: | trade; environment; climate change; emissions trading |
| JEL: | F13 F18 H23 Q56 |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:188&r=env |
| By: | Aldy, Joseph E. (Resources for the Future); Krupnick, Alan J. (Resources for the Future); Newell, Richard G.; Parry, Ian W.H. (Resources for the Future); Pizer, William A. |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an exhaustive review of critical issues in the design of climate mitigation policy by pulling together key findings and controversies from diverse literatures on mitigation costs, damage valuation, policy instrument choice, technological innovation, and international climate policy. We begin with the broadest issue of how high assessments suggest the near and medium term price on greenhouse gases would need to be, both under cost-effective stabilization of global climate and under net benefit maximization or Pigouvian emissions pricing. The remainder of the paper focuses on the appropriate scope of regulation, issues in policy instrument choice, complementary technology policy, and international policy architectures. |
| Keywords: | global warming damages, mitigation cost, climate policy, instrument choice, technology policy |
| JEL: | Q54 Q48 H23 |
| Date: | 2009–05–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-08-16&r=env |
| By: | Blackman, Allen (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | In developing countries, weak environmental regulatory institutions often undermine conventional command-and-control policies. As a result, these countries are increasingly experimenting with alternative approaches that aim to leverage nonregulatory “green” pressures applied by local communities, capital markets, and consumers. This article reviews three strands of the empirical literature on this trend. The first strand examines the direct impact of nonregulatory pressures on developing country firms’ environmental performance. The second and third strands analyze policy innovations reputed to leverage these pressures -- public disclosure and voluntary regulation. I find that the econometric evidence that nonregulatory pressures have had a direct impact on firms’ environmental performance is thin, at least partly because disentangling such impacts is inherently difficult. Nevertheless, existing empirical research suggests that public disclosure programs have spurred emissions reductions by particularly dirty firms. The evidence on voluntary regulatory policies is far more mixed. Taken as a whole, the literature suggests that policymakers would do well to exercise caution in promoting and implementing alternative pollution control tools: they are only likely to be effective in some incarnations and situations. |
| Keywords: | developing country, pollution control, informal regulation, public disclosure, voluntary regulation |
| JEL: | Q52 Q56 Q58 O13 |
| Date: | 2009–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-10&r=env |
| By: | Ferreira, Susana; Moro, Mirko |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the potential of using subjective well-being (SWB) data to value environmental attributes. A theoretical framework compares this method, also known as the lifesatisfaction approach, with the standard hedonic pricing approach, identifying their similarities and differences. As a corollary, we show how SWB data can be used to test for the equilibrium condition implicit in the hedonic approach (i.e., equality of utility across locations). Results for Ireland show that the equilibrium condition required by the hedonic pricing approach in Irish markets does not hold. They also show that air quality, in the baseline specification, and warmer climate, across all the specifications, have a significant positive impact on SWB. Their associated monetary estimates, however, seem too large. |
| Keywords: | air pollution; climate; life satisfaction; subjective well-being; hedonic pricing; happiness; environmental valuation |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stl:stledp:2009-24&r=env |
| By: | Arimura, Toshi H. (Resources for the Future); Darnall, Nicole; Katayama, Hajime |
| Abstract: | Using Japanese facility-level data, we estimate the effects of ISO 14001 certification on the promotion of more advanced practices, namely green supply chain management (GSCM). Our results show that ISO 14001 promotes GSCM practices, in that facilities with environmental management systems (EMS) certified to ISO 14001 are 40 percent more likely to assess their suppliers’ environmental performance and 50 percent more likely to require that their suppliers undertake specific environmental practices. Further, we find that government approaches that encourage voluntary EMS adoption indirectly promote GSCM practices, in that the probability of facilities’ assessing their suppliers’ environmental performance and requiring them to undertake specific environmental practices increases by 9 percent and 10 percent, respectively, if a government assistance program exists. Combined, these findings suggest that there may be significant but previously unnoticed spillover effects of ISO 14001 and government promotion of voluntary action. |
| Keywords: | voluntary actions, positive spillover, environmental management systems, ISO 14001, green supply chain management, government assistance programs, environmental impacts, discrete choice model, endogeneity |
| JEL: | C35 Q53 Q58 |
| Date: | 2009–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-05&r=env |
| By: | Goeree, Jacob K.; Holt, Charles A.; Palmer, Karen; Shobe, William; Burtraw, Dallas (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | We experimentally study auctions versus grandfathering in the initial assignment of pollution permits that can be traded in a secondary spot market. Low and high emitters compete for permits in the auction, while permits are assigned for free under grandfathering. In theory, trading in the spot market should erase inefficiencies due to initial mis-allocations. In the experiment, high emitters exercise market power in the spot market and permit holdings under grandfathering remain skewed towards high emitters. Furthermore, the opportunity costs of “free” permits are fully “passed through.” In the auction, the majority of permits are won by low emitters, reducing the need for spot-market trading. Auctions generate higher consumer surplus and slightly lower product prices in the laboratory arkets. Moreover, auctions eliminate the large “windfall profits” that are observed in the treatment with free, grandfathered permit allocations. |
| Keywords: | market-based regulation, emissions trading, allocation, auctions, grandfathering, climate policy, windfall profits |
| JEL: | C92 D43 D44 Q58 |
| Date: | 2009–09–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-39&r=env |
| By: | Fell, Harrison (Resources for the Future); Morgenstern, Richard (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | We compare several emissions reduction instruments, including quantity policies with banking and borrowing, price policies, and hybrid policies (safety valve and price collar), using a dynamic model with stochastic baseline emissions. The instruments are compared under the design goal of obtaining the same expected cumulative emissions across all options. Based on simulation analysis with the model parameterized to values relevant to proposed U.S. climate mitigation policies, we find that restrictions on banking and borrowing, including the provision of interest rates on the borrowings, can severely limit the value of the policy, depending on the regulator-chosen allowance issuance path. Although emissions taxes generally provide the lowest expected abatement costs, a cap-and-trade system combined with either a safety valve or a price collar can be designed to provide expected abatement costs near those of a tax, but with lower emissions variance than a tax. Consistently, a price collar is more cost-effective than a safety valve for a given expected cumulative emissions outcome because it encourages inexpensive abatement when abatement costs decline. |
| Keywords: | cost containment, safety valve, price collar, climate change |
| JEL: | Q55 |
| Date: | 2009–04–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-14&r=env |
| By: | Brennan, Timothy J. (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Among the many complex issues of technology, governance, and market design affecting the electricity sector, climate policy has become dominant. From the perspective of a nonspecialist looking at this changing dominance, a quiz illuminates some of the peculiar uses of language one can find in climate change and energy efficiency policy. Six economic challenges are then examined: cap-and-trade vs. taxes, non-price regulations, energy efficiency policies, mitigation vs. adaptation, trade effects, and transmission planning. Three additional challenges affect not just the means to the climate policy end but also the end itself: the “fat tails” problem, discount rates, and whether environmental protection should be evaluated by aggregating willingness to pay across persons. Planners in the public and private sectors need to be aware of not only the economic policy challenges but also arguments that may influence the intensity of the climate policies with which they have to cope. |
| Keywords: | climate cahnge, energy policy, electricity |
| JEL: | Q54 Q48 L94 |
| Date: | 2009–09–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-32&r=env |
| By: | Hennlock, Magnus |
| Abstract: | Imperfect measurement of uncertainty (deeper uncertainty) in climate sensitivity is introduced in a two-sectoral integrated assessment model (IAM) with endogenous growth, based on an extension of DICE. The household expresses ambiguity aversion and can use robust control via a `shadow ambiguity premium' on social carbon cost to identify robust climate policy feedback rules that work well over a range such as the IPCC climate sensitivity range (IPCC, 2007a). Ambiguity aversion, in combination with linear damage, increases carbon cost in a similar way as a low pure rate of time preference. However, ambiguity aversion in combination with non-linear damage would also make policy more responsive to changes in climate data observations. Perfect ambiguity aversion results in an infinite expected shadow carbon cost and a zero carbon consumption path. Dynamic programming identifies an analytically tractable solution to the IAM. |
| Keywords: | climate policy, carbon cost, robust control, Knightian uncertainty, ambiguity aversion, integrated asssessment |
| JEL: | C73 C61 Q54 |
| Date: | 2009–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-19&r=env |
| By: | Achtnicht, Martin |
| Abstract: | Motorised individual transport strongly contributes to global CO2 emissions, due to its intensive usage of fossil fuels. Current political efforts addressing this issue (i.e. emission performance standards in the EU) are directed towards car manufacturers. This paper focuses on the demand side. It examines whether CO2 emissions per kilometre is a relevant attribute in car choices. Based on a stated preference experiment among potential car buyers from Germany, different mixed logit specifications are estimated. In addition, distributions of willingness to pay measures for an abatement of CO2 emissions are obtained. The results suggest that the emissions performance of a car matters substantially, but its consideration varies heavily across the sampled population. In particular, some evidence on gender, age and education effects on climate concerns is provided. -- |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions,Willingness to pay,Passenger cars,Stated preferences,Mixed logit |
| JEL: | C25 D12 Q51 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:09058&r=env |
| By: | García López, Jorge (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Sterner, Thomas (Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C.); Afsah, Shakeb (consultant in Washington, D.C.) |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the Program for Pollution Control Evaluation and Rating (PROPER) in Indonesia. PROPER, the first major public disclosure program in the developing world, was launched in June 1995; though it collapsed in 1998 with the Asian financial crisis, it is currently being revived. There have been claims of success for this pioneering scheme, yet little formal analysis has been undertaken. We analyze changes in emissions concentrations (mg/L) using panel data techniques with plant-level data for participating firms and a control group. The results show that there was indeed a positive response to PROPER, especially among firms with poor environmental compliance records. The response was immediate, and firms pursued further emissions reductions in the following months. The total estimated reductions in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were approximately 32%.<p> |
| Keywords: | environmental policy; pollution control; public disclosure; Asia; Indonesia |
| JEL: | D78 D82 |
| Date: | 2009–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0414&r=env |
| By: | Muller, Adrian (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Sterner, Thomas (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | In permit trading systems, free initial allocation is common practice. A recent example is the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). We investigate effects of different free allocation schemes on incentives and identify significant perverse effects on abatement and output employing a simple multi-period model. Firms have incentives for strategic action if allocation in one period depends on their actions in previous ones and thus can be influenced by them. These findings play a major role where trading schemes become increasingly popular as environmental or resource use policy instruments. This is of particular relevance in the EU-ETS, where the current period is a trial-period before the first commitment period of the Kyoto protocol. Finally, this paper fills a gap in the literature by establishing a consistent terminology for initial allocation.<p> |
| Keywords: | - |
| JEL: | D62 D78 Q50 |
| Date: | 2009–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0413&r=env |
| By: | Aaditya Mattoo; Arvind Subramanian; Dominique van der Mensbrugghe; Jianwu He |
| Abstract: | There is growing clamor in industrial countries for additional border taxes on imports from countries with lower carbon prices. A key factor affecting the impact of these taxes is whether they are based on the carbon content of imports or the carbon content in domestic production. Our quantitative estimates suggest that the former action when applied to all merchandise imports would address competitiveness and environmental concerns in high income countries but with serious consequences for trading partners. For example, China’s manufacturing exports would decline by one-fifth and those of all low- and middle-income countries by 8 percent; the corresponding declines in real income would be 3.7 percent and 2.4 percent. In contrast, border tax adjustment based on the carbon content in domestic production, especially if applied to both imports and exports, would broadly address the competitiveness concerns of producers in high income countries without seriously damaging developing-country trade. Therefore, as part of a comprehensive agreement on climate change, new WTO rules could be negotiated that would prohibit the extreme form of action while possibly allowing trade actions based on domestic carbon content as a safety valve. |
| Keywords: | trade; trade policy; environment; climate change |
| JEL: | F13 F18 H23 Q56 |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:189&r=env |
| By: | Emanuel Shachmurove (Emanuel Shachmurove, Esq.); Yochanan Shachmurove (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | Public concern over global climate change, resource depletion, and environmental degradation has amplified over the last several years, leading to increased demand for environmentally friendly products. Additionally, the price of Clean-Technology products has fallen. This paper examines venture capital investment in the Clean-Technology industry of the U.S. in 1995-2008. The paper explores the effects of macroeconomic variables, national venture capital investment and geography on Clean-Technology investment. The conclusion indicates the importance of geographical location in affecting Clean-Technology investment. A weak correlation between national venture capital and Clean-Technology investments raises the possibility of a more diversified investment portfolio. |
| Keywords: | Venture Capital; Clean-Technology Industry; Economic Geography; Location; Environmental Economics; Sustainability; Industrial Sector |
| JEL: | C12 D81 D92 E22 G12 G24 G3 M13 M21 O16 O3 |
| Date: | 2009–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:09-043&r=env |
| By: | Nancy Birdsall; Arvind Subramanian |
| Abstract: | The basic narrative on climate change between the rich and poor worlds has been problematic. The focus on emissions has made industrial countries inadequately sensitive to the unmet energy needs in developing countries. And it has led developing countries to adopt the rhetoric of recrimination and focus on the legacy of historical emissions by industrial countries. The ensuing blame game has led to the current gridlock. As a way out, we suggest some simple principles for determining equitable distribution of emission cuts between developed and developing countries to meet global targets. These principles emphasize basic energy needs and the equality of access to energy opportunities rather than emissions, taking account of development levels, as well as energy efficiency in creating such opportunities. To apply these principles, we develop a new data set to distinguish between energy needs and emissions-intensity for major developing- and developed-country emitters and quantify the relationship between these variables and changes in income (or development). This quantification allows us to project emissions levels in 2050. Our main finding is that meeting global emissions targets equitably requires very large, probably revolutionary, improvements in the carbon intensity of production and consumption, much larger than seen historically. We conclude that a new shared narrative that places equality of energy opportunities at the forefront would naturally shift the focus of international cooperation from allocating emissions “rights” or reductions and blame to maximizing efforts to achieving technology gains and rapidly transferring them worldwide. Abandoning the setting of emissions targets for developing counries and creating instead a framework where all countries contribute to maximizing technology creation and diffusion is what Copenhagen should be about. |
| Keywords: | equity; emissions; climate change |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:187&r=env |
| By: | Eric Fesselmeyer; Marc Santugini (IEA, HEC Montréal) |
| Abstract: | A wide spectrum of scientific evidence on climate change and its impact on natural resources has generated more risk in the minds of many people and, thus, has altered the general perception of the future. We study how this risk - modeled as changes in the characteristics of natural resources - has an effect on the behavior of agents extracting a common resource in a dynamic Cournot-Nash game. We show that the risk of a deterioration of the quality of a resource induces agents to extract more today, while the risk of a less renewable resource induces agents to extract less today. The overall effect of both sources of risk is ambiguous. We also show that the anticipation of a climate change has an ambiguous effect on the tragedy of the commons. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Dynamic games, Resource extraction, Tragedy of the Commons. |
| JEL: | C72 C73 D43 D90 L13 Q20 Q54 |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iea:carech:0908&r=env |
| By: | Das, Amarendra |
| Abstract: | This paper compares the environmental performance of public and private firms in the context of Indian chromite mining industry. It proposes a new methodology to measure firms’ environmental performance in a multidimensional framework. Comparison of unidimensional and multidimensional environmental defiance indices reveal no significant difference between the public and private firms. |
| Keywords: | Firm ownership; Multi Dimensional Environmental Compliance |
| JEL: | G38 Q53 L72 |
| Date: | 2009–08–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:18716&r=env |
| By: | Kousky, Carolyn (Resources for the Future); Cooke, Roger (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Adapting to climate change will not only require responding to the physical effects of global warming, but will also require adapting the way we conceptualize, measure, and manage risks. Climate change is creating new risks, altering the risks we already face, and also, importantly, impacting the interdependencies between these risks. In this paper we focus on three particular phenomena of climate related risks that will require a change in our thinking about risk management: global micro-correlations, fat tails, and tail dependence. Consideration of these phenomena will be particularly important for natural disaster insurance, as they call into question traditional methods of securitization and diversification. |
| Keywords: | tail dependence, micro-correlations, fat tails, damage distributions, climate change |
| JEL: | Q54 G22 C02 |
| Date: | 2009–02–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-03-rev&r=env |
| By: | Fischer, Carolyn (Resources for the Future); Fox, Alan K. |
| Abstract: | Emissions regulations like carbon pricing raise the price of covered sector goods and thus can interact with and exacerbate other preexisting distortions in the economy. One such distortion is labor taxes. Another is emissions “leakage” due to the lack of comparable emissions pricing abroad or among other emitting sectors at home. A potential response is to combine the emissions tax with a rebate to production to mitigate the price increases. We use an optimal tax framework to solve for the optimal emissions tax and output rebate, given these distortions. We then employ a multisector computable general equilibrium model based on the GTAP framework to simulate the effects of a $50 per-ton carbon tax on the major emissions-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and estimate optimal rebates by sector. |
| Keywords: | carbon tax, tax interaction, carbon leakage |
| JEL: | Q2 Q43 H2 D58 D61 |
| Date: | 2009–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-12&r=env |
| By: | Fraas, Arthur (Resources for the Future); Johansson, Robert |
| Abstract: | Increasing energy security and lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been prominent goals in recent energy and environmental policies. While these goals are often complementary, there may also be cases where they conflict. A case in point is the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). The goals of EISA are to increase the United States' energy independence and security as well as to increase the production of clean renewable fuels. Title II of EISA establishes mandates for increasing the use of low carbon fuels to replace gasoline. While the Title II mandates will meet the energy security goal of EISA, the mandate for the use of at least 16 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol by 2022 may conflict with efforts to reduce substantially the nation's GHG emissions over the next 20 years. The nation's production capacity for biomass is likely to be limited and the use of biomass to replace coal in generating electricity yields 2 to 3 times the GHG reduction associated with using cellulosic ethanol to displace gasoline. Thus, there is a trade-off between the energy security gains of the biofuels mandate under EISA and the more effective (in terms of GHG emission reductions) use of biomass in the electric utility sector. One means of evaluating this trade-off is to examine the factors that affect the costeffectiveness of diverting biomass from electricity production to cellulosic ethanol production. This paper identifies some of the key factors that affect the cost-effectiveness of the energy security and climate change goals of EISA. The cost-effectiveness of EISA will depend on (1) constraints on biomass production, that is, the extent to which the EISA mandate may crowd out the use of biomass to generate electricity; (2) the world oil price (and the cost of production of cellulosic ethanol); and (3) the social cost of carbon. |
| Keywords: | energy security, cost-effective policy, cellulosic ethanol |
| JEL: | Q42 Q48 Q52 |
| Date: | 2009–08–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-24&r=env |
| By: | Burtraw, Dallas (Resources for the Future); Sweeney, Richard (Resources for the Future); Walls, Margaret (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the costs to households of a carbon dioxide (CO2) cap-and-trade program. We find important variation in the distribution of costs of the policy across 11 regions of the country and income deciles. The introduction of a price on CO2 is regressive, but this may be outweighed by the distribution value of CO2 emissions allowances. We evaluate five alternatives: three are progressive (expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and cap-and-dividend approaches), while the others are neutral (reduction in payroll tax) or amplify the regressivity (reduction in income tax). Regional differences are most substantial for low-income households. |
| Keywords: | cap-and-trade, allocation, distributional effects, cost burden, equity |
| JEL: | H22 H23 Q52 Q54 |
| Date: | 2009–04–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-17-rev&r=env |
| By: | Stratford Douglas (Department of Economics, West Virginia University); Shuichiro Nishioka (Department of Economics, West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | Understanding international differences in the emissions intensity of trade and production is essential to understanding the effects of greenhouse gas limitation policies. We develop data on emissions from 48 industrial sectors in 32 countries and estimate the CO2 emissions intensity of production and trade. We find no evidence that developing countries specialize in emissions-intensive sectors; instead, emissions intensities differ systematically across countries because of differences in production techniques. Northern and Western European countries have the lowest emissions-intensity, while Southern and Eastern European countries and China have the highest emissions-intensity. Developed countries such as Japan and the United States whose trading partners are mostly developing countries import the most emissions. |
| Keywords: | Heckscher-Ohlin; Emissions Technique; CO2 Emissions; Environment |
| JEL: | F18 Q27 Q56 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wvu:wpaper:09-02&r=env |
| By: | Tisdell, Clem |
| Abstract: | The production of biofuels has been supported by many conservationists and environmentalists on the grounds that it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and is a renewable energy substitute for non-renewable fossil fuels, mainly oil. More recently the domestic production of biofuels (and the domestic supply of other forms of alternative energy) have been welcomed by several nations as ways to reduce their oil imports and increase their energy self-sufficiency, as for example, has happened in the United States. India also which is very dependent on oil imports has also begun to produce biofuels in Kerala and elsewhere. However, doubts have been raised about the effectiveness of biofuel use as a means to reduce the accumulation of greenhouse gases and elementary economics teaches us that it is likely to have opportunity costs. For example, increased cropping to provide biofuels can be at the expense of the production of food and natural fibres thereby adding to their prices. It may also increase the conversion of natural areas to agricultural use and consequently, add to biodiversity loss and an increase in greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. For example, in Borneo, forests are being converted to grow oil palm, partly used for biodiesel production in developing countries. These issues are discussed generally and their economic welfare implications are given particular attention in relation to Asian nations. Amongst the different situations examined from economic welfare and environmental points of view are the following: 1. Asian nations producing biofuels for their own use from home-grown crops, as is the case of India and China. 2. The external trade of Asian countries in feedstock for biofuels, such as palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia and in biofuel itself. 3. Possible Asian ventures to grow crops for biofuels abroad or import biofuels. 4. The economic consequences for Asian countries of decisions by higher income countries, such as the United States (which also happens to be a major global exporter of food and natural fibre), to raise their production of biofuels. Analysis is provided that casts doubts on the likelihood that the introduction of biofuels will reduce greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere. |
| Keywords: | Biofuels, conservation, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2009–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uqseee:55340&r=env |
| By: | Jan Corfee-Morlot; Lamia Kamal-Chaoui; Michael G. Donovan; Ian Cochran; Alexis Robert; Pierre-Jonathan Teasdale |
| Abstract: | Cities represent a challenge and an opportunity for climate change policy. As the hubs of economic activity, cities generate the bulk of GHG emissions and are thus important to mitigation strategies. Urban planning will shape future trends and the concentration of population, socio-economic activity, poverty and infrastructure in urban areas translates into particular vulnerability to increased climate hazards. City governments and urban stakeholders will therefore be essential in the design and delivery of cost-effective adaptation policies. Further, by empowering local governments, national policies could leverage existing local experiments, accelerate policy responses, foster resource mobilization and engage local stakeholders. This paper presents a framework for multilevel governance, showing that advancing governance of climate change across all levels of government and relevant stakeholders is crucial to avoid policy gaps between local action plans and national policy frameworks (vertical integration) and to encourage cross-scale learning between relevant departments or institutions in local and regional governments (horizontal dimension). Vertical and horizontal integration allows two-way benefits: locally-led or bottom-up where local initiatives influence national action and nationally-led or top-down where enabling frameworks empower local players. The most promising frameworks combine the two into hybrid models of policy dialogue where the lessons learnt are used to modify and fine-tune enabling frameworks and disseminated horizontally, achieving more efficient local implementation of climate strategies. |
| Keywords: | climate change, global warming, government policy, regional economics, Regional, Urban and rural Analyses |
| JEL: | Q51 Q54 Q56 Q58 R00 |
| Date: | 2009–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:14-en&r=env |
| By: | Tisdell, Clem |
| Abstract: | This article shows that there is no regular relationship between the level of the rate of interest and the extent to which the conservation of biodiversity is favoured. Microeconomic examples are given in which a rise in the rate of interest adversely affects biodiversity conservation as well as other cases in which the opposite is the case. When these alternative possibilities are taken into account, they suggest that rises in the rate of interest (other things held constant) are more likely than not to aid biodiversity conservation. This is expected to be so when there considerable upfront costs are involved in economic strategies that bring about environmental changes so that in the initial periods the private net benefits from these changes are negative although subsequently they can become significantly positive. Consideration of macroeconomic models reinforces the view that there is no definite association between changes in biodiversity conservation and the rate of interest. This is so assuming that there is a positive association on the whole, between the rate of (man-made) capital accumulation (the investment level) and biodiversity loss. From macroeconomic models, it is clear an increase in the level of aggregate investment can be associated with a rise or fall in the rate of interest (and vice versa) depending on the circumstances. This is illustrated by using a simplified form of the loanable funds theory originally developed by Wicksell but is also consistent with other general theories of the rate of interest. In conclusion, doubts are raised about our ability to enforce a zero (or very low) social rate of discount in market or mixed economy. It is, however, suggested that if a low ceiling is put on the rate of interest, this will reduce savings and consequently, investment and would be favourable to biodiversity conservation given that an increase in the rate of (man-made) capital accumulation is the main contributor to biodiversity loss. Finally, it is noted that mainstream economic models measuring possible welfare streams give no weight to the conservation of biodiversity per se. Therefore, policies designed to achieve the sustainability objectives specified by these models can continue to favour biodiversity loss on economic grounds. |
| Keywords: | Biodiversity Conservation, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2009–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uqseee:55336&r=env |
| By: | Holt, Charles; Myers, Erica (Resources for the Future); Wråke, Markus; Mandell, Svante; Burtraw, Dallas (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | This paper describes an individual choice experiment that can be used to teach students how to correctly account for opportunity costs in production decisions. Students play the role of producers who require a fuel input and an emissions permit for production. Given fixed market prices, they make production quantity decisions on the basis of their costs. Permits have a constant price throughout the experiment. In one treatment, students have to purchase both a fuel input and an emissions permit for each production unit. In a second treatment, they receive permits for free, and any unused permits are sold on their behalf at the permit price. If students correctly incorporate opportunity costs, they will have the same supply function in both treatments. This experiment motivates classroom discussion of opportunity costs and emissions permit allocation under cap-and-trade schemes. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme provides a relevant example for classroom discussion, as industry earned significant windfall profits from free allocation of emissions allowances in the early phases of the program. |
| Keywords: | opportunity cost, emissions permits, allowance allocation, classroom experiments |
| JEL: | A22 C90 Q52 |
| Date: | 2009–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-22&r=env |
| By: | Manuel Frondel; Nolan Ritter; Christoph M. Schmidt; Colin Vance |
| Abstract: | The allure of an environmentally benign, abundant, and cost-effective energy source has led an increasing number of industrialized countries to back public financing of renewable energies. Germany's experience with renewable energy promotion is often cited as a model to be replicated elsewhere, being based on a combination of far-reaching energy and environmental laws that stretch back nearly two decades. This paper critically reviews the current centerpiece of this effort, the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), focusing on its costs and the associated implications for job creation and climate protection. We argue that German renewable energy policy, and in particular the adopted feed-in tariff scheme, has failed to harness the market incentives needed to ensure a viable and cost-effective introduction of renewable energies into the country's energy portfolio. To the contrary, the government's support mechanisms have in many respects subverted these incentives, resulting in massive expenditures that show little long-term promise for stimulating the economy, protecting the environment, or increasing energy security. |
| Keywords: | Energy policy, energy security, climate, employment |
| JEL: | Q28 Q42 Q48 |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0156&r=env |
| By: | Zhao, Xufu; Tisdell, Clem |
| Abstract: | After providing some background about the importance of cotton as a fibre, this article provides information about the global relevance of Chinaâs and Australiaâs cotton industries and compares the structure and other significant features of their cotton industries. Attention is given to trends in overall cotton yields and the volume of production of cotton globally, in Australia, and in China as indicators of the sustainability of cotton supplies. Some simple economic theory is applied to indicate the relationship between market conditions and the sustainability of global cotton supplies. Then the environmental and economic factors that challenge the sustainability of Australian cotton production are outlined and analysed and this is done subsequently for Chinaâs cotton production. Geographical and regional features that affect the sustainability of cotton supplies in Australia and China are given particular attention. Some new economic theory is proposed to model hysteresis in Australiaâs supplies of cotton. Ways of coping with the sustainability difficulties that are being encountered by both these nations are compared. Many of the sustainability challenges facing these two countries are found to differ but some of their environmental obstacles to sustainable cotton production are similar. |
| Keywords: | Australia, China, cotton production, fibre markets, hysteresis of supplies, sustainable agriculture, water resources., Environmental Economics and Policy, Q01, Q11, Q15, Q24, Q50., |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uqseee:55338&r=env |
| By: | Dan Hammer; Robin Kraft; David Wheeler |
| Abstract: | Rising concern about carbon emissions from deforestation has led donors to finance UN-REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries), a program that offers direct compensation for forest conservation. Sustainable operation of UN-REDD and other direct-compensation programs will require a transparent, credible, frequently updated system for monitoring deforestation. In this paper, we introduce FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action), a prototype system based on remotely sensed data. We test its accuracy against the best available information on deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia. Our results indicate that publicly available remotely sensed data can support accurate quarterly identification of new deforestation at 1 km spatial resolution. More rapid updates at higher spatial resolution may also be possible. At current resolution, with efficient coding in publicly available software, FORMA should produce global updates on one desktop computer in a few hours. Maps of probable deforestation at 1 km resolution will be accessible with Google Earth and Google Maps, with an open facility for ground-truthing each pixel via photographs and text comments. |
| Keywords: | remote sensing; forest; deforestation; conservation; climate change |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:192&r=env |
| By: | Hasson, Reviva (Department of Economics, Faculty of Commerce, University of Cape Town); Löfgren, Åsa (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Visser, Martine (Department of Economics, Faculty of Commerce, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | We use behavioral and experimental economics to study a particular aspect of the economics of climate change: the potential tradeoff between countries’ investments in mitigation versus adaptation. While mitigation of greenhouse gases can be viewed as a public good, adaptation to climate change is a private good, benefiting only the country or the individual that invests in adaptation. We use a one-shot public-goods game that deviates from the standard public-goods game by introducing a stochastic term to account for probabilistic destruction in a climate-change setting. Probability density function is mapped to within-group levels of mitigation. We compare low-vulnerability and high-vulnerability treatments by varying the magnitude of disaster across treatments. Our results show that there is no significant difference in the level of mitigation across these treatments. Further, our results emphasize the important role of trust in enhancing cooperation.<p> |
| Keywords: | Public good; climate change; mitigation; adaptation; experiment; risk |
| JEL: | H41 Q54 |
| Date: | 2009–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0416&r=env |
| By: | Budy P Resosudarmo; Arief A Yusuf; Djoni Hartono; Ditya A Nurdianto |
| Abstract: | Ten years after the implementation of a major decentralization policy, issues of inter-regional disparities in income and rates of natural resource extraction still figure prominently in Indonesian economic policy debate. There is great interest in identifying the macro policies that would reduce regional income disparity and better control the rate of natural extraction, while maintaining reasonable national economic growth. In this paper we develop an inter-regional computable general equilibrium model (IRSA-INDONESIA5) as an appropriate tools for analysis these issues and employ it to examine economy-wide impacts of various policies under consideration. |
| Keywords: | Computable General Equilibrium, Development Planning and Policy, Environmental Economics. |
| JEL: | C68 O20 Q50 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2009-21&r=env |
| By: | Waggoner, Paul E. |
| Abstract: | Credits for sequestered carbon augment forests’ already considerable value as natural habitat and as producers of timber and biomass, making their accurate inventory more critical than ever before. This article examines discrepancies in inventories of forest attributes and their sources in four variables: area, timber volume per area, biomass per timber volume, and carbon concentration. Documented discrepancies range up to a multibillion-ton difference in the global stock of carbon in trees. Because the variables are multiplied together to estimate an attribute like carbon stock, more precise measurement of the most certain variable improves accuracy little, and a 10 percent error in biomass per timber levers a discrepancy as much as a mistake in millions of hectares. More precise measurements of, say, accessible stands cannot remedy inaccuracies from biased sampling of regional forests. The discrepancies and uncertainties documented here underscore the obligation to improve monitoring of global forests. |
| Keywords: | forest monitoring, Forest Identity, forest carbon, remote sensing |
| JEL: | Q23 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2009–08–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-29.pdf&r=env |
| By: | Tisdell, Clem |
| Abstract: | In order to cater for the predicted growth in global population and aspirations for increased living standards, the world needs to increase substantially its level of agricultural production and sustain agricultureâs increased productivity. New technologies may enable this to occur but they also bring with them increased sustainability problems. There are many complex dimensions to achieving agricultural sustainability such as deciding on what agricultural attributes are worth sustaining and considering what trade-offs in objectives are required. These issues are discussed from a conceptual point of view. It is also shown using economic theory that market-based agriculture limits the opportunity for individual farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural techniques because of competitive economic pressures. It is argued that while modern agricultural methods and increased inter-regional trade have substantially increased agricultural supplies, they have also exacerbated the problem of sustaining agricultural production and yields and have had a disequilibrating effect on rural communities. Although genetic engineering is seen by some as a way forward for increasing agricultural production, it is shown that GMOs do not ensure sustainability of agricultural production and that they can be a source of rural disharmony and can threaten the sustainability of farming communities. Extension of intellectual property rights in new genetic material in recent times, particularly the granting of patents not only on techniques for producing GMOs but on the organisms themselves, have added to sustainability problems faced by modern agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural development, agricultural sustainability, biodiversity, co-evolution, economic sustainability, genetically modified organisms, GMOs, monopolisation, patents, social sustainability., Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q000, Q010, Q200, Q300, Q500, Q570, |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uqseee:55335&r=env |
| By: | Stefanie Glotzbach (Department of Sustainability Sciences, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany); Stefan Baumgärtner (Department of Sustainability Sciences, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | The guiding principle of sustainability is widely accepted in today´s international policies. The principle contains two seperate objectives of justice with regard to the conservation and use of ecosystems and their services: (1) global justice between different people of the present generation ("intragenerational justice"); and (2) justice between people of different generations ("intergenerational justice"). Three hypotheses about the relationship between these objectives are logically possible and are, in fact, held in the political and scientific discourse on sustainable development: independency, facilitation and rivalry. Applying the method of qualitative content analysis we evaluate political documents and the scientific literature on sustainable development by systematically revealing the lines of reasoning and determinants underlying the different hypotheses. These determinants are the quantity and quality of ecosystem services, population development, substitutability of ecosystem services by humanmade goods and services, technological progress, institutions and political restrictions |
| Keywords: | sustainable development, ecosystem services, intragenerational justice, intergenerational justice, ecological justice, sustainability research |
| Date: | 2009–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:141&r=env |
| By: | Tisdell, Clem |
| Abstract: | Posner adopted the economic principle of wealth maximization as a guiding principle for the dispensation of justice. This resulted in his endorsing the Kaldor-Hicks principle (also known as the potential Paretian improvement principle) as a basis for just laws. This article explores whether this principle is an adequate basis for environmental law. As can be deduced from Fleming, the legal approach adopted by Posner is by no means new because early British tort law was applied in a manner intended to foster economic growth. Nevertheless, the wealth maximization principle is not adequate as a basis for just environmental laws because for one thing it ignores questions involving changes in income distribution. Consequently, Rawlsâ principle of justice is examined and compared with that of Posner. The role of property rights in relation to the state of the environment is assessed in the light of Posnerâs principle of justice, as is Coaseâs theorem supporting a clear definite allocation of private property rights as a solution to environmental problems. Furthermore, in this context, the justification for the taking of private property by the state is examined. It is argued that additional factors to wealth maximization and income distribution must be taken into account in determining whether laws are just. In addition, it is suggested that it is not the sole purpose of the law to dispense justice. |
| Keywords: | Coase theorem, law and economics, Posnerâs principle of justice, principles of justice, property rights, Rawlsâ principle of justice, tort law, welfare economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, K, K1. K11. K13, K32, Q5, |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uqseee:55337&r=env |
| By: | Terence Saldanha; Nigel Melville; Ronald Ramirez; Vernon Richardson |
| Abstract: | We empirically examine IT value co-creation in supply chains, incorporating key contingencies of the competitive environment. Prior research suggests that IT used for strategic informationbased partnerships may benefit supply chains facing higher volatility, enabling tightly coupled integration and enhanced strategic response to changing consumer preferences. Analyzing a unique dataset comprising over 6,000 U.S. manufacturing plants, we obtain three principal results. First, value co-creation using either IT for strategic information-based partnerships (ITIP) or merely IT for transaction efficiency (ITT) is positive and significant. Second, the co-created value from ITIP is larger than that for (ITT), suggesting that information-based partnerships, while perhaps requiring a greater investment, yield a higher return. Third and most importantly, co-created value from using IT for information-based partnerships is positively moderated by demand volatility, i.e., value is greater in higher demand volatility environments. However, we find the opposite is true for using IT for efficient transactions. This is a new contribution to the literature and has important theoretical and practical implications. |
| Keywords: | Supply Chain Management, Supply chain Partnership, Information Sharing, Environmental Turbulence, Dynamic Capabilities, Agility |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:09-42&r=env |
| By: | Pamela Kaval (University of Waikato); Matthew Roskruge (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | During December 2007 and January 2008, telephone surveys were used to randomly sample Waikato, New Zealand residents. The purpose of the surveys was to determine whether respondents valued native bird conservation programmes in their area. We elicited the contingent valuation approach to determine the value in terms of their willingness-to-pay (WTP) to support regional conservation initiatives aimed at protecting, or restoring, native bird populations. Results indicated that local birdlife was regarded positively by residents and that they were in favour of local conservation and restoration initiatives. 86% of respondents were willing-to-pay an annual addition to their rates (taxes) to support these initiatives. Conservatively, the value of native bird conservation in the region was approximately $13 million (2008 NZ$). Willingness to support these initiatives depended strongly on income, ethnicity and age. The positive WTP for additional regional rates for local birdlife conservation suggests that there could potentially be an underinvestment in birdlife conservation in the Waikato region, and that regional bodies could draw upon local funding, as opposed to relying on central government funding, to support these initiatives. |
| Keywords: | contingent valuation method; endangered species; New Zealand; native birdlife; bird conservation |
| JEL: | Q51 Q57 Q26 |
| Date: | 2009–11–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:09/11&r=env |
| By: | Macauley, Molly K. (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Beginning in the early 1990s, stricter government regulation to protect public health and the environment led to radical changes in waste technology and management in the United States. More stringent regulation induced wholly new technologies, including the lining of landfills, the control of their gas emissions, and changes in the economic scale and geographic location of operation. Economic integration of waste management transformed “the local dump” into a nationwide and modernized industry. These changes led to unprecedented intervention by local government in attempts to control price, quantity, and location-specific attributes of the $40 billion waste market. Regulatory-induced changes in markets have long been a topic of academic and policy interest, but unique in this case was the emergence of legal challenges—-under the dormant commerce clause—-concerning public governance and the private sector. This paper reviews the regulation-induced changes in the market, its subnational governmental interventions, and protection of interstate commerce when new technology restructures a local service into a national business. |
| Keywords: | municipal solid waste, economics, Supreme Court, technological change, regulation, interstate commerce |
| JEL: | Q2 K3 L5 |
| Date: | 2009–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-09-11&r=env |
| By: | Pierre van der Eng |
| Abstract: | Do markets in less-developed countries abate consequences of climate stress? Rainfall is an important factor in rice production in Indonesia. This paper uses changes in regional rice prices across the 19 residencies in less-developed Java to assess how rice markets responded to variations in rainfall during 1935-1940. It finds that rice markets were highly integrated across Java. The El Niño-induced episodes of lower than usual rainfall in 1935 and 1940 did not have a negative effect on levels and variations in regional rice prices, nor did they have adverse consequences for the supply of rice. Adaptive responses of firms specialising in the trade of rice are likely to have mitigated regional deficiencies in food production caused by climate stress. |
| JEL: | N55 O13 Q13 Q54 |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:acb:cbeeco:2009-509&r=env |
| By: | Ron Balvers (Department of Economics, West Virginia University); Ding Du (Northern Arizona University); Xiaobing Zhao (Northern Arizona University) |
| Abstract: | Financial market information can provide an objective assessment of expected losses due to global warming. In a Merton-type asset pricing model, with asset prices affected by changes in investment opportunities caused by global warming, the risk premium is significantly negative and growing over time, loadings for most assets are negative, and asset portfolios in more vulnerable industries have stronger negative loadings on the global warming factor. Required returns are 0.11 percent higher due to global warming, implying a present value loss of 4.18 percent of wealth. These costs complement and exceed previous estimates of the cost of global warming. |
| Keywords: | Asset Pricing, Global Warming, Cost of Capital, Tracking Portfolios. |
| JEL: | G12 Q54 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wvu:wpaper:09-04&r=env |
| By: | Vicent Alcantara Escolano (Departament d'Economia Aplicada, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona); Emilio Padilla Rosa (Departament d'Economia Aplicada, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | La evolución de los gases de efecto invernadero en España se está distanciando notablemente del objetivo marcado por el Protocolo de Kyoto. En el presente trabajo se analizan los diferentes factores que han contribuido al importante aumento experimentado en las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero provenientes del consumo de energía en España en el período 1990-2007. La metodología de descomposición factorial utilizada permite hacer una distribución exacta (sin residuos) de la variación de emisiones en diferentes efectos (efecto carbonización, efecto transformación, efecto intensidad y efecto escala). Los resultados muestran claramente que el efecto escala -la variación en el nivel de producción- ha sido determinante en explicar el aumento de emisiones, mientras que la contribución de los otros efectos, que deberían ser los que cambiaran la tendencia de crecimiento de emisiones, no ha permitido moderar su aumento. Una contribución especialmente negativa es la atribuible al efecto intensidad, que refleja la variación en la intensidad energética final del PIB, ya que incluso habría contribuido a aumentar las emisiones. En sentido opuesto, el efecto transformación, el impacto atribuible a la transformación energética, habría contribuido a moderar el aumento de las emisiones totales. El trabajo discute las implicaciones de los resultados obtenidos. |
| Keywords: | descomposición factorial, eficiencia energética, gases de efecto invernadero, intensidad energética, índice de carbonización, transformación energética. |
| JEL: | Q43 Q53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea0910&r=env |
| By: | Bentry Mkwara (University of Waikato); Dan Marsh (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | Deforestation arising from conversion of forest areas into agriculture is a serious problem in Malawi. Cultivation of subsistence and cash crops is often cited as a major cause of this problem. This paper applies the von Thunen model to firstly, discuss competition for agricultural land and secondly, establish why the poor are closely associated with forests. Further, a regression analysis is conducted to examine the effects of changes in crop land use on changes in forest cover. Results indicate that cultivation of different crops has varying effects on deforestation. Cultivation of maize, primarily by the poor, appears to be the principal cause of deforestation while tobacco and pulses stand at second and third positions, respectively. Finally, a simple methodology is developed to estimate the extent of poverty-driven deforestation in Malawi. |
| Keywords: | poverty; environment; agriculture; deforestation; Malawi |
| JEL: | Q15 Q23 |
| Date: | 2009–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:09/10&r=env |