|
on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Hassan Benchekroun; Halis Murat Yildiz |
| Abstract: | We determine the impact of free trade on the sustainability of an international environmental agreement (IEA) and incorporate it into the assessment of the net benefits of opening up to free trade. We show that such an analysis can reverse the conclusions reached within a standard one-shot game framework. First, we examine a one shot game and argue that the benefits from an increase in economic activity due to free trade outweigh the extra cost of free trade associated with larger environmental damage. Then, we analyze the infinite repetition of the one-shot game where countries can use trigger strategies and show that there exist circumstances where an IEA is sustainable under autarky but not under free trade. This aggravates the environmental damages caused by free trade and leads to the possibility that autarky may welfare dominate free trade. This conclusion remains valid even when countries adopt the most cooperative environmental policy when the "fully cooperative" environmental policy is not sustainable. |
| JEL: | F12 Q56 |
| Date: | 2009–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcl:mclwop:2009-10&r=env |
| By: | Carl Gaigné (INRA-ESR - Unité d'économie et de sociologie rurales - INRA); Stéphane Riou (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines); Jacques-François Thisse (CORE - Université Catholique de Louvain) |
| Abstract: | There is a large consensus among international institutions and national governments to favor urban-containment policies - the compact city - as a way to reduce the ecological footprint of cities. This approach overlooks the following basic trade-off: the concentration of activities decreases the ecological footprint stemming from commodity shipping between cities, but it increases emissions of greenhouse gas by inducing longer worktrips. What matters for the ecological footprint of cities is the mix between urban density and the global pattern of activities. As expected, when both the intercity and intraurban distributions of activities are given, a higher urban density makes cities more environmentally friendly and raises global welfare. However, once we account for the fact that cities may be either monocentric or polycentric as well as for the relocation of activities between cities, the relationship between density and the ecological footprints appears to be much more involved. Indeed, because changes in urban density affect land rents and wages, firms are incited to relocate, thus leading to new commuting patterns. We show policies that favor the decentralization of jobs in big cities may reduce global pollution and improve global welfare. |
| Keywords: | greenhouse gas; commuting costs; transport costs; cities; urban containment policy |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00456610_v2&r=env |
| By: | Nicolas Jacquemet (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne - Paris School of Economics); Alexander G. James (University of Wyoming - Department of Economics); Stéphane Luchini (Groupe de Recherche en Economie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille); Jason F. Shogren (University of Wyoming - Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Environmental economics is now a long standing field of research ; much has been learned on how environmental policy can use incentives to drive individual behaviors. Among the many examples, preference elicitation is the most discussed case in which incentives fail to accurately implement efficient behavior. Using this as our motivating example, herein we explore the cross-fertilization between environmental economics and social psychology. We first review how the lessons drawn from social psychology helped address the hypothetical bias issue. We then turn to the future of this process by focusing on how cheap talk scripts influence preference elicitation. Our experimental results shows CT scripts work through persuasion – i.e. changes mind, but poorly changes actions. in that sense, preference elicitation still lacks a way of making communication binding – i.e. a way to alter intrinsic motivation of subjects to behave truthfully. |
| Keywords: | Social psychology, commitment, persuasive communication, preference elicitation. |
| JEL: | C9 H4 Q5 |
| Date: | 2010–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:10016&r=env |
| By: | Larson, Donald F.; Nash, John |
| Abstract: | Lessons from six case studies illustrate the complex relationships between international trade, vulnerable ecologies and the poor. The studies, taken from Africa, Asia and Latin America and conducted by local researchers, are set in places where the poor live in close proximity to ecologies that are important to global conservation efforts, and focus on the cascading consequences of trade policy for local livelihoods and environmental services. Collectively, the studies show how under-valued common resources are often poorly protected and consequently subject to shifting economic incentives, including those that arise from trade. The studies provide examples where trade works to accelerate the use of natural resources and to exacerbate unsustainable dependencies by the poor, and other examples where trade has the opposite effect. An important conclusion is that local livelihood and technology choices have important consequences for how environmental resources are used and should be taken into account when designing policies to safeguard fragile ecologies. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Emerging Markets,Labor Policies,Population Policies |
| Date: | 2010–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5258&r=env |
| By: | Hobbs, B.F.; Bushnell, J.; Wolak, F.A. |
| Abstract: | In electricity, “downstream” CO2 regulation requires retail suppliers to buy energy from a mix of sources so that their weighted emissions satisfy a standard. It has been argued that such “load-based” regulation would solve emissions leakage, cost consumers less, and provide more incentive for energy efficiency than traditional source-based cap-andtrade programs. Because pure load-based trading complicates spot power markets, variants (GEAC and CO2RC) that separate emissions attributes from energy have been proposed. When all energy producers and consumers come under such a system, these load-based programs are equivalent to source-based trading in which emissions allowances are allocated by various rules, and have no necessary cost advantage. The GEAC and CO2RC systems are equivalent to giving allowances free to generators, and requiring consumers either to subsidize generation or buy back excess allowances, respectively. As avoided energy costs under source-based and pure load-based trading are equal, the latter provides no additional incentive for energy efficiency. The speculative benefits of load-based systems are unjustified in light of their additional administrative complexity and cost, the threat that they pose to the competitiveness and efficiency of electricity spot markets, and the complications that would arise when transition to a federal cap-and-trade system occurs. |
| Keywords: | Emissions trading, greenhouse gas regulation, electricity market models |
| JEL: | Q52 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2010–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1018&r=env |
| By: | Blackman, Allen (Resources for the Future); Rivera, Jorge |
| Abstract: | Initiatives certifying that farms and firms adhere to predefined environmental and social welfare production standards are increasingly popular. According to proponents, they create financial incentives for farms and firms to improve their environmental and socioeconomic performance. This paper reviews the evidence on whether sustainable certification of agricultural commodities and tourism operations actually has such benefits. It identifies empirical ex post farm-level studies of certification, classifies them on the basis of whether they use methods likely to generate credible results, summarizes their findings, and considers the implications for future research. We conclude that empirical evidence that sustainable certification has significant benefits is limited. We identify just 37 relevant studies, only 14 of which use methods likely to generate credible results. Of these 14 studies, only 6 find that certification has environmental or socioeconomic benefits. This evidence can be expanded by incorporating rigorous, independent evaluation into the design and implementation of projects promoting sustainable certification. |
| Keywords: | sustainable, certification, eco-label, literature review |
| JEL: | Q2 Q56 |
| Date: | 2010–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-10-17&r=env |
| By: | Mourad Afif; Sandrine Spaeter |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we focus on the adverse selection issue that prevails in an economy when the regulator is not able to observe the type of the abate- ment costs of the firms. The regulator decides the total level of emission that minimizes the total social cost and he sells them to the firms at some di¤erentiated prices. When firms can hide their type relative to their true abatement costs, prices must not only minimize the social cost of the envir- onmental policy. They must also induce the firms to reveal their true type. A striking point of our model is that there is no participation constraint for firms are compelled to be actors of the environmental policy. Another original result concerns the rent, which still benefits to low-cost types, but which appears to be a fee paid by high-cost types. |
| Keywords: | Regulation; adverse selection; emission permits; abatement costs; price differentiation. |
| JEL: | D82 H23 Q52 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2010-07&r=env |
| By: | Blonz, Joshua (Resources for the Future); Burtraw, Dallas (Resources for the Future); Walls, Margaret A. (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Uncertainty is a fundamental characteristic of climate change. This paper focuses on uncertainty that is introduced in the implementation of policy, especially as it affects the level and distribution of the burden on households that results from the allocation of emissions allowances. We examine the Waxman–Markey bill (H.R. 2454), with bookend scenarios labeled optimistic and pessimistic. The scenarios vary outcomes associated with allocations to local distribution companies, investments in electricity energy efficiency and technology development. We introduce a third scenario that allocates a substantial portion of allowance value directly to households. We find the average consumer surplus loss per household in 2016 in the optimistic scenario to be $136 and the allowance price is as low as $13.20 per ton. In the pessimistic scenario, the consumer surplus loss rises to $413, with an allowance price of $23.43 per ton. Allocation of allowance value directly back to households provides an intermediate, but more certain, result. |
| Keywords: | cap-and-trade, allocation, distributional effects, cost burden, equity, regulation,local distribution companies |
| JEL: | H22 H23 Q52 Q54 |
| Date: | 2010–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-10-12&r=env |
| By: | Morley, Bruce; Abdullah, Sabah |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study is to determine the causal relationship between environmental taxes and economic growth, using different measures of environmental taxes with GDP as well as adjusted net savings. A panel of European countries and a separate panel of OECD countries are used from 1995 to 2006 and the standard Granger noncausality approach is applied, using panel cointegration and a dynamic panel technique to estimate the error correction models. The results suggest some evidence of long-run causality running from economic growth to increased revenue from the environmental taxes, with also some evidence of short-run causality in the reverse direction. However overall there is little evidence to support the double dividend theory. |
| Keywords: | economic growth; double dividend; environmental taxes; Granger Causality |
| Date: | 2010–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eid:wpaper:04/10&r=env |
| By: | Shardul Agrawala; Maëlis Carraro |
| Abstract: | Much of the current policy debate on adaptation to climate change has focussed on estimation of adaptation costs, ways to raise and to scale-up funding for adaptation, and the design of the international institutional architecture for adaptation financing. There is however little or no emphasis so far on actual delivery mechanisms to channel these resources at the sub-national level, particularly to target the poor who are also often the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It is in this context that microfinance merits a closer look. This paper offers the first empirical assessment of the linkages between microfinance supported activities and adaptation to climate change. Specifically, the lending portfolios of the 22 leading microfinance institutions in two climate vulnerable countries – Bangladesh and Nepal - are analysed to assess the synergies and potential conflicts between microfinance and adaptation. The two countries had also been previously examined as part of an earlier OECD report on the links between macro-level Official Development Assistance and adaptation. This analysis provides a complementary “bottom-up” perspective on financing for adaptation. Insights from this analysis also have implications for OECD countries. This is because microfinance is also being increasingly tapped to reduce the vulnerability of the poor in domestic OECD contexts as well and may therefore have the potential to contribute to adaptation. The paper identifies areas of opportunity where microfinance could be harnessed to play a greater role in fostering adaptation, as well as its limitations in this context. It also explores the linkage between the top-down macro-financing for adaptation through international financial mechanisms and the bottom-up activities that can be implemented through microfinance.<BR>Une bonne partie du débat sur l’adaptation s’est concentrée sur l’estimation des coûts de l’adaptation, sur les moyens de mobiliser et d’intensifier les ressources financières nécessaires, et sur la conception d’une architecture institutionnelle internationale pour le financement de l’adaptation. Or, les mécanismes existants d’acheminement de ces ressources au niveau infranational, en particulier ceux ciblant les populations démunies qui sont souvent les plus vulnérables aux impacts du changement climatique, n’ont jusqu’à présent guère retenu l’attention. C’est dans ce contexte que la microfinance mérite d’être examinée de plus près. Le présent rapport offre la première évaluation empirique des liens entre les activités soutenues par la microfinance et l’adaptation au changement climatique. Il comporte une analyse des portefeuilles des 22 institutions principales de microfinance dans deux pays vulnérables au changement climatique – le Bangladesh et le Népal – qui doit permettre d’évaluer les synergies et les conflits éventuels entre la microfinance et l’adaptation. Ces deux pays ont déjà fait l’objet d’un examen préalable dans le cadre d’un autre rapport de l’OCDE sur les liens entre l’aide publique au développement au niveau macro-économique et l’adaptation. La présente analyse aborde le financement de l’adaptation selon une perspective « ascendante » complémentaire. Les pays de l’OCDE peuvent également bénéficier des éclaircissements apportés par cette analyse. En effet, la microfinance est également de plus en plus utilisée pour réduire la vulnérabilité des populations démunies dans le contexte national des pays de l’OCDE et pourrait donc être exploiter pour promouvoir l’adaptation. Ce rapport identifie également les domaines dans lesquels la microfinance pourrait être mise à profit pour jouer un rôle plus important dans l’adaptation, ainsi que les limites de ce mode de financement dans ce contexte. Enfin, il examine le lien entre l’approche « descendante » du macrofinancement de l’adaptation au moyen d’instruments financiers internationaux, et les activités ascendantes mises en oeuvre par le biais de la microfinance. |
| JEL: | Q54 Q56 R51 |
| Date: | 2010–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:15-en&r=env |
| By: | Basseti, Thomas; Benos, Nikos; Karagiannis , Stelios |
| Abstract: | This paper considers the implications of education and environment policy for growth in a model where the interactions between health, education, and the environment are taken into account. With respect to previous works, in which one of these three dimensions is omitted, we consider their combined effects, arriving to novel results in the literature. According to our model, higher taxes and environment spending share in total public spending do not affect welfare significantly, but they have an important positive impact on human capital and environment quality. Here, a positive relationship between public education spending and environment quality emerges as well as between environment maintenance expenditure and human capital. At the same time, countries with a high environmental quality should spend less on environment maintenance compared to heavily polluted countries. Finally, for countries with advanced abatement technologies, the relationship between human capital and environment is positive, which is compatible with the environmental Kuznets curve. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal policy; Health production; Human capital; Environment quality. |
| JEL: | I12 I28 E60 Q58 |
| Date: | 2010–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:21754&r=env |
| By: | Martin Koning (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I); Rémy Prud'Homme (Université Paris XII - Université Paris XII Val de Marne); Pierre Kopp (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I) |
| Abstract: | On the southern part of the Parisian Maréchaux' boulevards, the old bus line Petite Ceinture has been replaced by a modern tramway (T3). Simultaneously, the road-space has been narrowed by about a third. A survey conducted on 1,000 users of the T3 shows that the tramway hardly generated any modal report from the private cars (PC) towards the public transit (PT). However, it did generate important intra-modal transfers: from bus and subways towards tramway concerning the PT, surely from Maréchaux' boulevards towards the Parisian Ring-Road (boulevard périphérique, PRR) and/or adjacent streets for the PC. The various benefits and costs of these changes are evaluated in this research. The welfare gains made by PT users are more than compensated by the time losses of the motorists, and in particular, by the additional cost of road congestion on the PRR. The same conclusion applies with regard to CO2 emissions: the reductions saved with the replacement of the busses and some (few) PC are less important than the increased pollution induced by the lengthening of the automobile trips and the increased congestion on the PRR. Even if one ignores the initial investment of 350 M€, the social impact of the T3 project, illustrated by its Clear Discount Value (CDV), is strongly negative. This is especially true for suburbanites. Concerning the lonely inhabitants (electors) of Paris, our analysis shows that they pocket the main part of the benefits while supporting a weak fraction of the costs. |
| Keywords: | Tramway, Costs-Benefits Analysis, Road Congestion, CO2 Emissions |
| Date: | 2010–01–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00467896_v1&r=env |
| By: | Méjean, A.; Hope, C. |
| Abstract: | High crude oil prices and the eventual decline of conventional oil production raise the issue of alternative fuels such as non-conventional oil. The paper describes a simple probabilistic model of the costs of synthetic crude oil (SCO) produced from Canadian oil sands. Synthetic crude oil is obtained by upgrading bitumen that is first produced through mining or in-situ recovery techniques. This forward-looking analysis quantifies the effects of learning and production constraints on the costs of supplying synthetic crude oil from Canadian bitumen deposits. The results show the uncertainties associated with the future costs of synthetic crude oil. Carbon costs have a large impact of the total costs of synthetic crude oil, in particular in the case of synthetic crude oil from in-situ bitumen, due to the carbon-intensity of the recovery techniques. The influence of each parameter on the supply costs is examined. In the case of mined SCO, the maximum production rate, the ultimate recovery rate and the depletion parameters show the largest influence on the results, while learning parameters dominate in the case of in-situ SCO. |
| Keywords: | Non-conventional oil; Uncertainty; Social cost of carbon |
| JEL: | Q42 Q54 |
| Date: | 2010–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1014&r=env |
| By: | Laing, T.; Grubb, M. |
| Abstract: | There has been a wide discussion on the different properties between carbon taxes, cap-and-trade schemes and hybrid instruments such as cap-and-trade schemes with price floors and ceilings. There has been less discussion on the incentives to investment that each of these instruments may provide. We build a three-period model to investigate the incentives offered to a large firm with diversified abatement options from such instruments when facing a choice between investing in lowcarbon technologies with potential learning benefits. We parameterise our model for a system similar to the EUETS and for two sample technologies, biomass for electricity and coal with carbon capture and storage. For both technologies we find that cap-and-trade schemes generate greater mean returns to such an investment than taxes, but with a wider distribution. We find that introducing price floors increase such mean returns while reducing the distribution, while ceilings further reduce the distribution, but also the mean and thus the overall incentives they offer will depend on the risk preference of the firm and scale of investment in relation to overall compliance costs. |
| Keywords: | Carbon Markets, Investment, Cap-and-trade, CCS, Biomass |
| Date: | 2010–02–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1012&r=env |
| By: | Sedjo, Roger A. (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) of the Department of Agriculture has proposed regulations to implement the new Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). Authorized in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, BCAP is designed to ensure that a sufficiently large base of new nonfood, nonfeed biomass crops is established in anticipation of future demand for renewable energy consumption. BCAP “is intended to assist agricultural and forest land owners and operators with the establishment and production of eligible crops including wood biomass in selected project areas for conversion to bioenergy, and the collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible material for use in a biomass conversion facility” (U.S. Department of Agriculture 2010, 6266). The program is proposed for a limited period of time. This paper examines some of BCAP’s implications for wood flows and for the various components of the forest industry, particularly wood growers and mill operators. |
| Keywords: | biomass, biofuels, renewable resources, energy, bioenergy, wood, forests |
| JEL: | Q2 Q4 Q5 |
| Date: | 2010–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-10-22&r=env |
| By: | Sahu, Santosh; Narayanan, K |
| Abstract: | Increasing energy consumption has been one of the major issues in the environmental and industrial economics in the context of global climate change. Recent literature has dealt with several methodological and application issues related to the technique of decomposing changes in industrial energy consumption. In this paper, we examine these issues in the context of another commonly adopted approach to decomposition of aggregate changes in energy intensity of Indian manufacturing industries. The industrial sector accounts for about 37 percent of the total final energy consumption in India. Of this the manufacturing sector consumes about 66 percent (2004-05). The manufacturing sector is one of the energy intensive industries among other industries in India. The scope of the study includes an empirical analysis of General Parametric Divisia Method. This paper follows the energy intensity approach rather the energy consumption approach. This method involves decomposition of the aggregate energy intensity index measured in terms of energy consumption per unit of output. The analysis also includes a comparison of the time series analysis versus the period-wise decomposition. The factors considered are changes in production structure and sectoral energy intensities. The results of the analysis confirm that the changes in sectoral energy intensity play a greater role in the variation in the total energy intensity of Indian Manufacturing compared to the changes in the production structure of the Industries. |
| Keywords: | Decomposition Methodology; Energy Intensity; Manufacturing Industries; India |
| JEL: | B23 Q4 |
| Date: | 2010–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:21719&r=env |
| By: | Juan Arenas (Institute for Advanced Development Studies) |
| Abstract: | En este estudio se analiza la relación entre los eventos extremos ocasionados por el cambio climático en Bolivia y la pérdida económica de la infraestructura productiva (carreteras, edificios, etcétera) y del sector agropecuario. Las relaciones entre el cambio climático y los desastres naturales, y el probable efecto de estas sobre variables socioeconómicas, han generado un debate académico y científico que es relativamente reciente. Se puede esperar que el cambio climático se manifieste a través de lluvias torrenciales más fuertes, las que ocasionarán inundaciones más frecuentes y también más dañinas. Las inundaciones por los efectos de El Niño podrían ser más severas, consecuencia de un clima más cálido. En regiones con vulnerabilidad ante las inundaciones, las inundaciones se constituyen en una amenaza a tomar en cuenta con prioridad, y Bolivia tiene amplias regiones vulnerables. Las inundaciones son los fenómenos climáticos extremos más frecuentes y que más daño causan en el país, por la frecuencia con la que se presentan y por los efectos sobre la población y la economía. Las inundaciones se presentan durante la época de lluvias, afectando a buena parte del país, principalmente en los llanos orientales. Los escenarios futuros de mayores precipitaciones a causa del cambio climático, implicarán que los daños económicos serán más frecuentes en las regiones con mayor vulnerabilidad hacia las inundaciones. En el marco del Plan Nacional de Rehabilitación y Reconstrucción, se efectuó un relevamiento de la demanda de proyectos de rehabilitación y reconstrucción a nivel de las regiones afectadas por los eventos de El Niño y La Niña (2006-2008). Las inundaciones devastadoras causadas por estos eventos dejaron pérdidas económicas por 704 millones de dólares en la infraestructura pública, representando el sector de transportes el 73% de los eventos/daños a la infraestructura (daños a carreteras y caminos). Estas inundaciones dejaron también pérdidas económicas por 410 millones de dólares en la ganadería y la agricultura. Utilizando la información sobre la precipitación diaria promedio observada, se ha establecido una relación entre precipitación y daño en infraestructura pública y producción agropecuaria por kilómetro cuadrado, en los departamentos de Santa Cruz y Beni. Tomando en cuenta además las estimaciones de precipitación que se tienen en los escenarios PRECIS A2 y B2, se identificaron para los departamentos de Santa Cruz y Beni aquellos períodos entre 2071 y 2100 en los que las condiciones de cambio climático van a originar situaciones de lluvias similares o superiores en magnitud a las que se dieron en el fenómeno de El Niño (tomado como referente de umbral de precipitación). Se establece que en niveles de precipitación ocasionados por el cambio climático entre 2071 y 2100, superiores a este umbral y por lo tanto significando episodios de lluvia fuertes, se experimentarán inundaciones que ocasionarán pérdidas económicas en las regiones. Se estiman entonces los efectos sobre el PIB nacional, que hubieran tenido efecto bajo las precipitaciones proyectadas. Estos porcentajes estimados de PIB afectado por pérdidas en la infraestructura y en la producción agropecuaria, son aplicados posteriormente a la serie de datos estimados del PIB nacional entre los años 2071 y 2100, para obtener el daño económico cada año del período. Un escenario sin cambio climático es construido para el período 2071-2100, utilizando los datos históricos de precipitación correspondientes al período 1961-1990. Para esto se toma a este período como representativo de una situación en la que no se experimentó el cambio climático, por lo que los datos históricos de precipitación esos años, también se toman como referentes de una situación sin cambio climático. Siguiendo la misma metodología utilizada para estimar los costos económicos en infraestructura pública y en el sector agropecuario, bajo el efecto del cambio climático, se han estimado los costos económicos sin cambio climático. La estimación del daño en millones de dólares de 2007, por efectos del cambio climático (a través de fuertes precipitaciones e inundaciones) en el escenario A2, indica que los daños en la infraestructura pública desde al año 2071 y hasta el año 2100, tendrán un costo económico de 93 mil millones de dólares[1], representando un promedio anual de 3.113 millones de dólares. La diferencia anual promedio entre los valores de la situación con cambio climático y la estimación sin cambio climático es de 1.019 millones de dólares, es decir que en promedio cada año entre 2071 y 2100 el costo incremental por efecto del cambio climático en el sector de infraestructura pública será de 1.019 millones de dólares. Desde al año 2071 y hasta el año 2100, el costo económico por pérdidas agropecuarias tendrá un valor de 82 mil millones de dólares, representando un promedio anual de 2.726 millones de dólares. Acá la diferencia anual promedio entre los valores de la situación con cambio climático y sin cambio climático es de 1.158 millones de dólares, es decir que entre 2071 y 2100 el costo incremental promedio anual por efecto del cambio climático en el sector agropecuario será de 1.158 millones de dólares. Las investigaciones futuras deben profundizar en el conocimiento de los impactos del cambio climático en el país. Es muy importante crear mecanismos de evaluación económica de los daños, no solamente en situaciones de grandes desastres, sino de los eventos “habituales” de origen natural que enfrenta constantemente el país. La capacidad de planificación y adaptación ante el cambio climático no debe aparecer solamente cuando se presenta un desastre, siendo necesario fortalecer (sino es crear) la capacidad de adaptación en el país. |
| Keywords: | Cambio Climático, Bolivia, Eventos Extremos, Infraestructura Pública |
| JEL: | Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adv:wpaper:200915&r=env |
| By: | Dimitrios Diamantaras (Department of Economics, Temple University); Robert P. Gilles (Management School, Queen’s University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we argue that ambiguity, combined with social opinion formation can be represented as part of a game-theoretic equilibrium concept that transcends the standard Nash equilibrium concept, applied to a model of the tragedy of the commons. Our modeling can shed some light on the international environment crisis and the relevant ongoing international negotiations. We conclude that social opinion formation in most cases has a significant impact on equilibrium common property resource usage. |
| Keywords: | Externalities, environment, ambiguity, ambiguity equilibrium |
| JEL: | C72 D62 D81 |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tem:wpaper:1006&r=env |
| By: | Jamasb, T.; Meier, H. |
| Abstract: | The residential demand for energy has been growing steadily in tact with the societies’ increasing economic affluence. As a result, the household sector accounts for a significant share of total energy use and economic welfare in modern economies. The residential energy demand is expected to continue to grow in the foreseeable future. This has, in recent years, attracted much attention mainly in relation to the debate on the effect of energy use on climate change. |
| Date: | 2010–02–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1011&r=env |
| By: | Stoughton, Mark (Asian Development Bank Institute); Venkatachalam , Anbumozhi (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | <p>The global economic slowdown has again highlighted the vulnerability of export-led development models and economies to downturns in export markets. Economic deepening or “rebalancing” with an emphasis on service-sector development should be—and is becoming—one long-term response to the crisis by Asia's emerging economies. In the long run, sustainable economic development will depend in part on achieving a “green” trajectory of service sector development, in which services help green the “product economy.” <p>In the short run, however, can services help address short- and medium-term challenges of emergence and recovery from the crisis—particularly those of at least resuming historic rates of poverty alleviation and inclusive growth? Meeting these challenges will require that export sectors deal successfully with challenging market conditions. <p>There is a class of closely related business-to-business services which act to green the product economy, and which would improve the competitiveness of export sectors and husband scarce public resources by optimizing the efficiency of infrastructure utilization. These are functional procurement/efficiency services, which transform procurement of environmentally problematic goods and services—such as waste disposal, energy, chemicals, and transport—into performance-based services in which service providers profit by increasing the customer's eco-efficiency. Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) are the best-known of these service models. These services appear to have strong potential among the larger, more sophisticated institutions and commercial and industrial enterprises in developing Asian states, particularly in Asia's more advanced developing economies. |
| Keywords: | green service sector; energy service companies asia |
| JEL: | L80 L88 O14 O19 O25 |
| Date: | 2010–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0209&r=env |