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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Sedjo, ROger A. (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Biomass energy is expected to play a major role in the substitution of renewable energy sources for fossil fuels over the next several decades. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA 2012) forecasts increases in the share of biomass in US energy production from 8 percent in 2009 to 15 percent by 2035. The general view has been that carbon emitted into the atmosphere from biological materials is carbon neutral—part of a closed loop whereby plant regrowth simply recaptures the carbon emissions associated with the energy produced. Recently this view has been challenged, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering regulations to be applied to biomass energy carbon emissions. A basic approach for analyses of environmental impacts has been the use of life cycle assessment (LCA), a methodology for assessing and measuring the environmental impact of a product over its lifetime—from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling. However, LCA approaches vary, and the results of alternative methodologies often differ (Helin et al. 2012). This study investigates and compares the implications of these alternative approaches for emissions from wood biomass energy, the carbon footprint, and also highlights the differences in LCA environmental impacts. |
| Keywords: | life cycle assessment, carbon neutrality, biomass, bioenergy, carbon dioxide, energy, rational expectations |
| JEL: | Q2 Q23 Q4 Q54 |
| Date: | 2013–04–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-11&r=env |
| By: | Cordero Salas, Paula |
| Abstract: | Reduction of carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation has been identified as a cost effective element of the post-Kyoto strategy to achieve long-term climate objectives. Its success depends primarily on the design and implementation of a financial mechanism that provides land-holders sufficient incentives to participate in such scheme. This paper proposes self-enforcing contracts (relational contracts) as a potential solution for the constraints in formal contract enforcement derived from the stylized facts of the implementation because relational contracting relies upon mutual private self-enforcement in a repeated transaction framework. The paper derives an opportunity cost function for land use and characterizes the optimal self-enforcing contract as well as provide the parameters under which private enforcement is sustainable. The optimal payment scheme suggests that all payments should be made contingent on the carbon offsets delivered, that is, at the end of the contracting period. Thus, the optimal contract does not observe any ex ante payment. Self-enforcement is more difficult to sustain the higher the opportunity cost of forest conservation is relative to the value of the carbon offsets from the contract. Necessary extensions to the relational contracting model are also discussed. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Environmental Economics&Policies,Debt Markets,Forestry,Climate Change and Environment |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6503&r=env |
| By: | Hamilton, Stephen F.; Sproul, Thomas W.; Sunding, David; Zilberman, David |
| Abstract: | Centralized collection and disposal is an integral component of waste management strategies for many solid and liquid wastes, and carbon capture and storage is currently being considered for gaseous waste. In this paper we show how collective waste disposal systems introduce essential changes in the design of optimal environmental policy. Absent collective disposal, an optimal environmental policy imposes relatively stringent regulations on polluters in regions where local environmental damage functions are “high”; however, under collective waste disposal, the optimal environmental policy level increases monotonically over distance from the disposal site, and this is true irrespective of the degree of spatial heterogeneity in local environmental damage functions. We characterize the optimal spatial pattern of environmental policy levels under collective waste disposal and identify optimal membership size for waste disposal networks comprised of homogeneous producers. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151142&r=env |
| By: | Chonabayashi, Shun |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151135&r=env |
| By: | Hermann Pythagore Pierre Donfouet (CREM CNRS, UMR 6211, University of Rennes 1, France); P. Wilner Jeanty (Kinder Institute for Urban Research & Hobby Center for the Study of Texas Rice University); Eric Malin (CREM CNRS, UMR 6211, University of Rennes 1, France) |
| Abstract: | Previous studies in the environmental Kuznets curve have overlooked spatial interdependence and this could bias the estimates. This paper therefore addresses the issue of spatial interdependence in the environmental Kuznets curve by using panel data on European countries over the period of 1961-2009. The results obtained from the spatial dynamic panel suggest a significant degree of persistence in the per capita CO2 emissions in European countries over time. Furthermore, it has been found that per capita CO2 emissions in a nearby country lead to a domestic increase in per capita CO2 emissions and overall, the results are robust irrespective of the concept of neighborhood. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Kuznets curve, spatial dynamic panel |
| JEL: | Q56 C21 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201318&r=env |
| By: | Cordero Salas, Paula; Roe, Brian; Sohngen, Brent |
| Abstract: | The success of reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation depends on the design of an effective financial mechanism that provides landholders sufficient incentives to participate and provide additional and permanent carbon offsets. This paper proposes self-enforcing contracts as a potential solution for the constraints in formal contract enforcement derived from the stylized facts of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation implementation in developing countries. It characterizes the optimal self-enforcing contract and provides the parameters under which private enforcement is sustainable when the seller type that is, the opportunity cost of the land, is private information. The optimal contract suggests that the seller with low opportunity cost receives a positive enforceable payment equivalent to the information rents required for self-selection, in contrast to when the buyer knows the seller type in which case all payments should be made contingent on additional forest conservation. When the buyer does not know the seller type, a first-best self-enforcing contract can be implemented if forest conservation is sufficiently productive. If the gains from forest conservation are small, self-enforcing contracts may induce some carbon sequestration by some or all seller types, depending on the value of the shared gains of the relationship. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Contract Law,Debt Markets,Common Property Resource Development,Forestry |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6502&r=env |
| By: | Burtraw, Dallas (Resources for the Future); Palmer, Karen L. (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | A carbon tax will interact with other policies that are intended to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and encourage clean sources of energy and energy efficiency. This paper examines these policy interactions. A well-designed carbon tax can be an efficient instrument for reducing emissions, yet whether it will be implemented in an efficient manner is uncertain. A legislatively determined tax may not fully reflect up-to-date scientific and economic information. Behavioral and institutional factors suggest that a tax may not have its fully intended effect. These considerations suggest that climate policy should and will continue to be a complex mix of regulations at various levels of government, even with a carbon price. Nonetheless, the possibility of unintended interactions among policies remains. The role for policies to encourage renewables and energy efficiency depends on the stringency of the carbon tax and presence of externalities related to technological learning and the energy efficiency gap. |
| Keywords: | externalities, regulation, federalism, Clean Air Act |
| JEL: | Q58 H23 H77 |
| Date: | 2013–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-09&r=env |
| By: | Steinbuks, J.; Cai, Y.; Elliott, J.W.; Hertel, T.W.; Judd, K.L. |
| Abstract: | This study seeks assess how the uncertainties associated with the un- derlying biophysical processes in uence the optimal prole of land use over the next century, in light of potential irreversibility in these deci- sions. Our analysis is based on a dynamic stochastic model of global land use, and employs 3 modeling scenarios constructed using global crop simulation and climate models. The results of the deterministic model show that climate impacts appear to have mixed eects on yields - higher temperatures hurt food production but this eect is partially oset by greater CO2 fertilization eect. Declining food crop yields result in rela- tively small expansion of cropland and accumulated GHG emissions from land use change. We then contrast this optimal path to that obtained when the uncertainty is not ignored, thereby demonstrating signicance of factoring uncertainty in the optimization stage. |
| Keywords: | climate change, crop yields, dynamic stochastic models, global land use, uncertainty, Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C61, Q15, Q23, Q26, Q40, Q54, |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151413&r=env |
| By: | Chantorn, Charapon |
| Abstract: | Previous studies have identified regulatory preemption and differentiation as two main motives for participation in voluntary environmental programs (VEPs). This research examines the motivations of livestock farmers to participate in the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP). It employs a signaling model of interaction between the regulator and livestock farmers under imperfect information to analyze the potential equilibria of participation decisions in VEPs. Data from a survey of livestock farmers in Michigan is analyzed to test hypotheses regarding the realized equilibrium in MAEAP participation. The results suggest that livestock farmers who are interested in regulatory preemption are more likely to be MAEAP-verified while those who are interested in differentiation are less likely to be verified at the time of the survey. Consistent with the model predictions under the regulatory preemption equilibrium, MAEAP-certified farms also perceived more stringent enforcement effort by the regulators. |
| Keywords: | Voluntary environmental program, Animal agriculture, Environmental policy, Environmental economics and policy, Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Q5, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midagr:151404&r=env |
| By: | Roy, René; Baker, Laurie; Thomassin, Paul J. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:150956&r=env |
| By: | Cordero Salas, Paula |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role of cooperation and reciprocity on the structure of self-enforcing carbon sequestration contracts. The optimal contract is derived as a result of the optimizing actions of purely self-interested agents, and agents that act according to social or egoistic preferences. The analysis finds that buyers'preferences do not affect contract structure unless the buyer is averse to inequality. In contrast, the optimal payment rule is directly related to the seller's preferences as the payment must motivate the seller to comply with forest conservation. It also finds that the presence of altruistic or warm glow preferences increases the likelihood of cooperation in the long-term relationship relative to the case of selfish parties. These results imply that agencies or organizations that are not only concerned about carbon sequestration but also have objectives related to the economic development of small land holders may be more successful in the implementation contracts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Contract Law,Debt Markets,E-Business,Common Property Resource Development |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6521&r=env |
| By: | Cai, Ruohong; Oppenheimer, Michael |
| Abstract: | Using an agent-based model, we simulate the climate-induced agricultural labor migration for alternative future climate scenarios. For each agent, the probability of migration is calculated as a function of a set of relevant factors using a logistic regression model. Historical U.S. agricultural employment data was used to calibrate the model. The simulation result showed that larger crop yield reduction induced by climate change tends to generate larger migration flows. Furthermore, we observed that the network effects tend to forecast a larger migration difference between alternative climate scenarios. |
| Keywords: | Agent-based model, Climate change, Agricultural labor migration, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:150972&r=env |
| By: | Sohngen, Brent; Kim, Sei Jin; Sam, Abdoul; King, Kevin |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151215&r=env |
| By: | Yanez-Pagans, Patricia |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes whether monetary incentives modify cooperative behavior in activities that have been traditionally unpaid. We provide a simple theoretical framework and exploit variation over time in community access to Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) within Mexican common property communities to analyze whether payments increase work in forest protection activities, which are increasingly incentivized under PES, and also explore their eects on other community activities that remain unpaid. We nd that cash incentives increase work, both in the intensive and extensive margins, in forest conservation activities; however, we claim that the framing of the incentive plays an important role in explaining cooperation in activities that remain unpaid. Our ndings indicate that, as long as agents are exposed to sanctions resulting from deviant behavior and their actions are visible, lump-sum transfers without specic work conditionalities can be more eective than wages to promote cooperation. Given the increased popularity of PES initiatives as tools to combat climate change, our ndings are important not only for environmental conservation but also for the sustainability and welfare of common property communities. |
| Keywords: | Payments for Ecosystem Services, Cooperative Behavior, Common Property Management, Incentive Framing, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151295&r=env |
| By: | Blare, Trent; Haro-Carrión, Xavier; Grogan, Kelly A.; Useche, Pilar |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151427&r=env |
| By: | Bown, Chad; Denevers, Michele; Harrison, Ann |
| Abstract: | Since last fall, President Obama has repeatedly declared that manufacturing jobs are coming back to America. In this article, however, we suggest that the return of U.S. manufacturing is still more promise than reality.In particular, while the recent increase in natural gas exploration and production has been optimistically linked to a U.S. manufacturing revival, the boom has not led to significant growth in employment. Paradoxically, for the U.S. to reap the greatest benefit possible from the extraction of its natural gas reserves, both more and fewer regulations are needed. On the one hand, current restrictions on natural gas exports must to be lifted to provide the right incentives for domestic producers, who receive much lower prices at home than they would abroad. On the other hand, more comprehensive environmental regulations would reassure critics that natural gas does indeed providea clean and sustainable promise for the U.S. economy. |
| Keywords: | environment; fracking; natural gas, climate change; methane |
| JEL: | Q4 Q5 Q55 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47872&r=env |
| By: | Li, Shuang; Ker, Alan P. |
| Abstract: | Research and observations indicate climate change has and will have an impact on On- tario eld crop production. Little research has done to forecast how climate change might in uence the Canadian Federal-Provincial Crop Insurance program, including its premium rates and reserve fund balances, in the future decades. This paper proposes using a mixture of two normal yield probability distribution model to model crop yield conditions under hypothetical climate change scenarios. Then superimposes Crop Insur- ance premium rate and reserve fund balance calculations onto the yield model to forecast their trends and uctuation situations in the future decades. We nd under the scenarios where climate change alters the probability of a lower yield year occurring and where climate change alters yield averages, both have more signicant impacts on premium rates and reserve fund balances, compared to the scenarios where climate change alters yield variations. The results of this research will help Agricorp Ltd. identify the likely frequency and magnitude of both insurance premium rate uctuations and reserve fund balance uctuations under dierent climate change scenarios. Therefore the results can be used to help Agricorp Ltd. identify and forecast both premium rate uctuation risk and reserve fund liquidity risk. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151213&r=env |
| By: | Sneeringer, Stacy; Key, Nigel |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151430&r=env |
| By: | Gautam, Mahesh R.; Timilsina, Govinda R.; Acharya, Kumud |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the literature on the potential biophysical and economic impacts of climate change in the Himalayas. Existing observations indicate that the temperature is rising at a higher rate in Nepal and Chinese regions of the Himalayas compared with rest of the Himalayas. A declining trend of monsoon in the western Indian Himalayas and an increasing trend in the eastern Indian Himalayas have been observed, whereas increasing precipitation and stream flow in many parts of Tibetan Plateau are noted. Glaciers in both the eastern and western Himalayas are mostly retreating, but the majority of the glaciers in Karakorum are either stable or advancing slowly. Expansion of glacier lakes is reported, with the highest rate in Nepal and Bhutan. Most literature predicts increases in temperature and monsoon precipitations and decreases in winter precipitations in the future thereby leading to monsoon flooding and increased sediments in stream flow. Available hydrological simulations indicate reduced rainfall and shrinkage of glacier thereby leading to shortage of water supply for power generation and irrigation in winter particularly in highly glaciated basins. Projected economic impacts of glacial lake outburst floods can be substantial on the developed river basin with infrastructures and population centers. However, there is a clear gap in knowledge of economic impacts of climate change in the Himalayas. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Science of Climate Change,Global Environment Facility,Regional Economic Development,Ecosystems and Natural Habitats |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6516&r=env |
| By: | Burtraw, Dallas (Resources for the Future); Woerman, Matt (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | The parsimony of economic theory provides general insights into an otherwise complex world. However, the most straightforward organizing principles from theory have not often taken hold in environmental policy or in the decentralized climate policy regime that is unfolding. One reason is inadequate recognition of a variety of institutions. This paper addresses three ways the standard model may inadequately anticipate the role of institutions in the actual implementation of climate policy, with a US focus: multilayered authority across jurisdictions, the impressionistic rather than deterministic influence of prices through subsidiary jurisdictions, and the complementary role of prices and regulation in this context. The economic approach is built on the premise that incentives affect behavior. We suggest an important pathway of influence for economic theory is to infuse incentive-based thinking into the conventional regulatory framework. In a complex policy regime, incentives can be shaped by shadow prices as well as market prices. |
| Keywords: | institutions, federalism, subsidiarity, shadow prices, incentives, regulation |
| JEL: | Q54 H77 D02 |
| Date: | 2013–03–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-03-rev&r=env |
| By: | Wang, Zidong; Yu, T. Edward; English, Burton C.; Larson, James A. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151272&r=env |
| By: | Sinkala, Thomson; Timilsina, Govinda R.; Ekanayake, Indira J. |
| Abstract: | With increased global interest in biofuels, Zambia, a Sub-Saharan African country that entirely depends on imports for its petroleum supply, is planning to implement blending mandates for biofuels. But, a large number of issues -- including production costs of biofuels, land requirements to meet the mandates, and environmental benefits -- have not yet been explored. This study aims to contribute in filling this gap. It finds that depending on feedstock type, costs of ethanol production range from US$0.360 a liter to US$0.680 a liter while the costs for biodiesel production range from US$0.612 a liter to US$0.952 a liter. Even if lower energy contents of biofuels are taken into account, the analysis shows that biofuels are cheaper than their petroleum counterparts. Considering the cost advantage of these biofuels over petroleum products and the availability of surplus agricultural land, Zambia is likely to benefit from the development of a biofuel industry. Biofuels is expected to reduce Zambia's petroleum import bill, which currently stands at more than US$700 million, enhance food security by providing incentives to increase yields, and increase affordability and accessibility to modern energy in the country where 77 percent of the population still lacks access to modern energy. It could also stimulate rural employment and development. |
| Keywords: | Energy Production and Transportation,Renewable Energy,Economic Theory&Research,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Food&Beverage Industry |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6499&r=env |
| By: | Müller, Marc; Sanfo, Safietou; Laube, Wolfram |
| Abstract: | Rainy-season farming is a major source of income for the rural population in the Guinea Savannah zone of West Africa. Farming systems in the region are dominated by rain-fed production of cereals, but include also leguminous crops and oilseeds. A recent World Bank study has identified high potentials for competitive agricultural production and agriculture-led growth in the Guinea Savannah zones of Sub-Saharan Africa. This optimistic outlook is conditional on appropriate investment strategies, policy reforms, and institutional changes. Furthermore, the World Bank warns that global climate change could pose a potential constraint for agricultural growth due to likely reductions in rainfall levels and significant increases in rainfall variability. This could lead to serious dry spells and a drop of crop yields. The study regions are the département Atakora in Benin, the région Sud-Ouest in Burkina Faso, and the Upper East Region in Ghana. Climate projections and trend estimates for these regions show very heterogeneous results for level and variability of monthly rainfall patterns. Therefore, we want to investigate which potential future developments pose the greater threat for agricultural production in the study regions. We develop a set of regional agricultural supply models, each representing 10-12 cropping activities and roughly 150.000 ha of agricultural area. We distinguish two stages of crop production: The planting stage from April to June and the yield formation stage between June and November. Preliminary results suggest that drought events during the planting stage have a more severe impact on the output of individual crops than drought events during the second stage. In contrast, the impact on total farm revenues appears to be more prominent during the second stage, when farmers have a limited capability to adjust their production plan. A clear if not surprising result is the larger vulnerability of crops with growth cycles ranging from the very beginning to the very end of the rainy season. The observed diversity of cropping activities serves the purpose to reduce the vulnerability to adverse rainfall events within a certain range. However, some extreme events are associated with very poor harvests of specific cash crops, thus severely affecting the income of the farming sector. A comprehensive picture will be obtained once the climate change scenarios are completed and the model results are tested and validated for various settings. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, West Africa, agricultural production, stochastic production frontier, highest posterior density estimation, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Development, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151208&r=env |
| By: | Hamilton, Kirk; Atkinson, Giles |
| Abstract: | Questions about the ultimate size of mineral and energy resource endowments and the degree of fiscal prudence which should be exercised by countries engaged in resource extraction have become central for many developing countries during the recent resource boom. To explore these questions, this paper develops a model of optimal resource extraction and discovery that combines two polar assumptions: (i) that discovering a resource today drives up the cost of future resource discoveries, and (ii) that extracting resources yields knowledge that reduces the cost of discovery. Although the model shows that resource discoveries should be valued at marginal discovery cost in measures of national saving and income, the ultimate size of the resource that can be exploited is the result of the interplay between rising discovery costs and accumulating knowledge. Empirical tests of the model show that the resulting income estimates would be extremely volatile for many extractive economies, owing to the lumpiness of resource discoveries. Two alternative accounting approaches, based on Hicksian concepts, yield more intuitive and less volatile income estimates. The question of fiscal prudence for extractive economies hinges on how optimistic countries are about the risks in future mineral and energy markets, and how far into the future these countries are willing to project optimistic trends when making decisions about how much to consume and how much to save of current resource revenues. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Debt Markets,Climate Change Economics,Banks&Banking Reform |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6505&r=env |
| By: | Kim, Taeyoung; Cho, Seong-Hoon; Larson, Eric R.; Armsworth, Paul R. |
| Abstract: | The size of the protected area is recognized as one of the key attributes for assessing the effectiveness of investing in protected areas. We evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas by examining economies of scale in size and the average cost of acquiring protected areas depending on the land acquisition contract types and motivations. We use recent land acquisitions (2000-2009) of the central and southern Appalachian forest ecosystems by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as a case study. Our findings suggest that (1) the purchase of protected areas achieves economies of scale in size on average; (2) the fee simple deals achieve economies of scale in size while the easements do not, and the easement deals are more cost effective than the fee simple deals; (3) targeting the protection of mammals or birds achieves greater economies of scale than not targeting them; and (4) the deals without development pressures achieve greater economies of scale in size than the deals with the threat of development. Our findings will help TNC and other conservation organizations to design more cost effective investments in land conservation. |
| Keywords: | Cost effectiveness, Economies of Scale, Land conservation, Protected area size., Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151271&r=env |
| By: | Liu, Yanxu; Sims, Charles |
| Abstract: | This study investigates a spatial externality common in invasive species control decisions made by multiple, spatially-connected decision makers (i.e., individual landowners, state and federal agencies, etc.). The externality arises due to the different spatial considerations of decision-makers which drives a wedge between individual and social damages, and results in a suboptimal level of individual control. The number of decision makers, the size of individual parcels, and the spatial configuration of small and large parcels influence the severity of the externality and consequently the insufficiency of privately supplied invasive species control. To internalize the externality, this paper provides a corrective mechanism in which individuals compensate invaded individuals for control actions that preserve uninvaded areas. These results shed light on the coordination problem in transboundary invasive species issues. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:151293&r=env |
| By: | Salant, Stephen W. (University of Michigan); Yu, Xueying (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | Over the past 60 years, forest tenure in China has oscillated unpredictably between private and common-property regimes. This policy-induced uncertainty has distorted land owners’ harvesting decisions and has lowered the value of China’s forest output. We provide an analytical framework for assessing these effects quantitatively and conclude that substantial losses in the net value of wood harvested over time have occurred. Understanding the consequences of this policy-induced uncertainty is particularly important since China is currently engaged in an ambitious plan to increase its domestic supply of timber. Contrary to the standard result in the literature that catastrophic risk—whether from natural disasters like forest fires or from government expropriation—necessarily leads to premature harvesting, we find that farmers may delay harvesting if sufficient compensation for loss is paid. |
| Keywords: | forest tenure risk, Faustmann model, optimal rotation period under uncertainty |
| JEL: | Q23 Q28 |
| Date: | 2013–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-08&r=env |
| By: | Salvador Barrios (European Commission); Jonathan Pycroft (European Commission); Bert Saveyn (European Commission) |
| Abstract: | One key objective of tax-based fiscal consolidations which is too often disregarded in public debate is to minimise economic distortions. This paper uses a computable general equilibrium model to gauge these potential distortions by calculating the marginal cost of public funds (MCF) for EU member states. We consider two specific tax categories which are often proposed as good candidates for efficiency-enhancing tax shifting policies: labour and green taxes. Our analysis suggests that the economic distortions provoked by labour taxes are significantly larger than for green taxes. This result suggests that a green-taxes oriented fiscal consolidation would be preferred to a labour-tax oriented one (assuming that both tax increases would yield the same tax revenues). This holds for all EU member states modelled and despite the fact that potential welfare enhancement through pollution abatement are cancelled-out. Nevertheless, this result is slightly less strong when one considers the spillover effects between countries, which are more pronounced (in relative terms) for green taxes. This suggests that the use of green taxes for fiscal consolidation would be more effective were there to be close coordination across EU countries. In addition the efficiency losses associated with labour taxes are also likely to be greater when labour markets are less flexible (from an efficiency-wage perspective), a result also found to a small extent for green taxes. This raises the possibility that undertaking structural reforms (especially in the labour market) would help to minimize the efficiency losses entailed by tax-driven fiscal consolidations. |
| Keywords: | European Union, Taxation, labour taxation, environment, marginal cost public funds |
| JEL: | H21 H23 H24 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tax:taxpap:0035&r=env |
| By: | Illichmann, Rebecca; Abdulai, Awudu |
| Abstract: | This study employs a choice experiment approach to investigate consumers’ preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for organic food products. We use mixed logit and latent class models to examine preference heterogeneity. The results revealed significant heterogeneity in preferences for organic apples, milk, and beef product attributes among consumers. The WTP results obtained from mixed logit indicate gender-specific differences for the examined products of this study. Female respondents have a significant higher WTP for apple attributes, while significant higher WTP values for beef attributes are observed for male respondents. The findings of the latent class models indicate that consumers’ trust tend to influence their preferences for organic food products. |
| Keywords: | Organic farming, choice experiment, preference heterogeneity, mixed logit, latent class model, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C25, D12, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:150980&r=env |
| By: | Clive L. Spash; Clive L. Spash |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwsre:sre-disc-2013_02&r=env |
| By: | de Gorter, Harry; Kliauga, Erika M.; Timilsina, Govinda R. |
| Abstract: | The lack of growth in the Brazilian sugarcane-ethanol complex since the 2008 financial crisis has been blamed on policies: lower mandate, holding gasoline prices below world levels, high fuel taxes, and inadequate fuel tax exemptions for ethanol. This paper develops an empirical model of the Brazilian fuel-ethanol-sugar complex to analyze the impacts of these policies. Unlike biofuel mandates and tax exemptions elsewhere, Brazil's fuel-ethanol-sugar markets and fuel policies are unique such that each policy, in theory, has an ambiguous impact on the market price of ethanol and hence on sugarcane and sugar prices. The results indicate two policies that seemingly help the ethanol industry do otherwise in reality: low gasoline taxes and high anhydrous tax exemptions lower ethanol prices. But higher mandates, hydrous ethanol tax exemptions, and gasoline prices had the expected impact of increasing ethanol and sugar prices. Eliminating Brazilian ethanol tax exemptions and mandates reduces ethanol prices by 21 percent. Observed changes in prices are explained by outward shifts in fuel transportation and sugar export demand curves, and bad weather reducing sugarcane supply. |
| Keywords: | Energy Production and Transportation,Markets and Market Access,Transport and Environment,Renewable Energy,Alcohol and Substance Abuse |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6524&r=env |