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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Moustafa, Khaled |
| Abstract: | High levels of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere and toxic pollutants in the air, water and food have serious repercussions on all life's systems, including living beings, environment and economy. Everyone on the Earth is concerned by pollution in some way or another, no matter where and how the pollution is produced as airborne and foodborne pollutants could circulate around the world in different ways, through for example climate components (wind, rain) and/or import and export of foodstuffs. Similarly to living beings that take advantage of day-night circadian rhythms to recover after diurnal hardships, the environment in its entirety could also be seen as a complex living system that needs regular breaks to assimilate or ingest toxic pollutants produced during intensive and continuous industrial processes. If greenhouses gas emissions and pollution rates continue to increase at the same rates as they are nowadays, uncontrollable climate effects might be inevitable and the air quality in some crowded cities in the world might be hardly respirable in the future. A global "Clean Environmental Week" is discussed as an attempt toward reducing air pollution and CO2 emissions through the interruption or reduction of industrial polluting activities regularly, for a week or so per year, to let the nature 'breathe' and recover from environmentally challenging pollutions. A clean environmental period of 10 days per year could reduce CO2 emissions by about one billion tons of CO2 per annum |
| Date: | 2018–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:arabix:zwexq&r=all |
| By: | Ojo, Marianne |
| Abstract: | As well as highlighting factors which should be taken into consideration in the Design of a UK Emissions Trading System, This paper aims to address particularly, the question relating to how “in the absence of historical emissions data, the regulator is able to make an environmentally robust assessment of the eligibility and emissions target of a new entrant for the Small Emitter Opt-Out or the Ultra-Small Emitters Exemption, without undermining the environmental integrity of the system”. |
| Keywords: | Emissions Trading System; Artificial Intelligence; Vertical Integration; Block chain systems; Sustainable Development; energy; climate, environment; Ultra-Small Emitters Exemption; trade relationships; transparency; information disclosure |
| JEL: | E6 E62 F1 F17 F18 G3 G38 K2 M4 |
| Date: | 2019–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:94887&r=all |
| By: | Fulton, Lewis M; Jaffe, Amy; McDonald, Zane |
| Abstract: | Automotive transport represents one of the highest contributing sources of oil use, local air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Several countries, notably including several European countries and China, have proposed bans on the sale of automotive internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as a means to abate these negative effects from the sector. Some cities and regions have already instituted restrictions on ICE vehicles. Larger, national bans have been discussed as a policy to begin in 2040. We consider the literature on proposed policies to ban ICE vehicles and develop scenarios to estimate the potential impacts of these proposed bans, to contribute to a peaking in oil demand and eventual reductions in CO2 emissions. We find that national level ICE car bans in key markets such as China and Europe in 2040 could reduce oil use by five million barrels a day (b/d) by 2050, under five percent of projected global oil use. A global ban would eliminate three times that level of oil use but would likely take several decades for its full impact is realized. Our findings suggest that other supporting policies beyond the bans alone might be necessary to trigger more rapid changes in markets and purchase behavior. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, internal combustion engines, environmental policy, transportation policy, petroleum industry |
| Date: | 2019–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt52j400b1&r=all |
| By: | Marion Davin (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010 - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier); Mouez Fodha (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics); Thomas Seegmuller (AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - Ecole Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes the impacts of debt relief on production and pollution. We develop a two-country overlapping generations model with environmental externalities, public debts and perfect mobility of assets. Pollutant emissions arise from production, but agents may invest in pollution mitigation. Could debt relief be an efficient tool to encourage less developed countries to engage in the fight against climate change? We consider a decrease of the debt of the poor country balanced by an increase of the richer country's debt. We show that debt relief makes it possible to engage poor countries in the process of pollution abatement. Capital, environmental quality and welfare can increase in both countries. This result relies on the environmental sensitivity and the discount factor in the poor country relative to the rich one: the greater they are the more beneficial the debt relief is. |
| Keywords: | Capital market integration,Pollution,Abatement,Overlapping generations,Public debt |
| Date: | 2019–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-02303265&r=all |
| By: | Jane Ellis (OECD); Daniel Nachtigall (OECD); Frank Venmans |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews ex-post empirical assessments on the impact of carbon pricing on competitiveness in OECD and G20 countries in the electricity and industrial sectors. Most of these assessments find no statistically significant effects of carbon pricing or energy prices on different dimensions of competitiveness, including net imports, foreign direct investments, turnover, value added, employment, profits, productivity, and innovation. When statistically significant results have been found, the magnitude of such effects tends to be small - either positive or negative. Thus, concerns about negative short-term effects of carbon pricing on firms’ or sectors’ international competitiveness have not come to pass, at least to date. These findings are in part because carbon price levels have been low and because of exemptions to carbon taxes for industry, or generous levels of free allowances to firms covered by emissions trading schemes. |
| Keywords: | carbon markets, carbon pricing, competitiveness, environmental regulation |
| JEL: | H23 Q54 Q56 Q58 |
| Date: | 2019–11–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:152-en&r=all |
| By: | Brigitte Roth Tran |
| Abstract: | Using novel methodology and proprietary daily store-level sporting goods and apparel brand data, I find that, consistent with long-run adaptation to climate, sales sensitivity to weather declines with historical norms and variability of weather. Short-run adaptation to weather shocks is dominated by changes in what people buy and how they buy it, with little intertemporal substitution. Over four weeks, a one-standard deviation one-day weather shock shifts sales by about 10 percent. While switching between indoor and outdoor stores offsets a small portion of contemporaneous responses to weather, I find no evidence that ecommerce offsets any of the effects. |
| Keywords: | Adaptation ; Climate change ; Lasso ; Machine learning ; Retail ; Sales ; Weather |
| JEL: | Q54 L81 D12 |
| Date: | 2019–09–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2019-67&r=all |
| By: | Kiviet, Jan |
| Abstract: | Intermittently Singapore suffers from severe air pollution in periods of intense forest and peatland fires on neighboring South-Asian islands. A recent American Economic Review article modeled the causal relationships between fire intensity in Indonesia and air pollution (PSI) in Singapore, and between PSI and health clinic visits in Singapore. We find serious flaws in the quantitative assessment of these relationships. Attempts are made to repair these using the same classic methodology and data, but also by alternative methods requiring less speculative assumptions. Although actually more detailed data are required, also some results are produced which seem more credible. |
| Keywords: | endogeneity robust inference, environmental economics, health economics, instrument invalidity, sensitivity analysis. |
| JEL: | C12 C13 C26 I1 Q53 |
| Date: | 2019–11–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:96950&r=all |
| By: | McGaughey, Ewan (King's College, London) |
| Abstract: | How can law and policy reform stop climate damage, and reach a carbon neutral economy by 2025? Numerous groups around the world, from activists, to academics, to elected representatives, are drafting policies to stop the planet burning and drowning. The House of Commons in the UK, as well as 308 local and regional governments, have declared a ‘climate emergency’. A total of 935 jurisdictions worldwide have done the same, while the US House of Representatives has passed a resolution calling for a Green New Deal. In light of these declarations and principles, it is necessary to understand which legal reforms are needed. This paper enumerates key legal reforms under the banner of a ‘Green New Deal’, setting out policies that can be immediately adopted by local and central government in the UK, in European Union law, and by international organisations. The same policies are also adaptable to other jurisdictions. |
| Date: | 2019–08–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:lawarx:25kf9&r=all |
| By: | Sally Owen (Victoria University of Wellington); Ilan Noy (Victoria University of Wellington); Jacob Pástor-Paz (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); David Fleming (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | Climate change is predicted to make extreme weather events worse and more frequent in many places around the world. In New Zealand, the Earthquake Commission (EQC) was created to provide insurance for earthquakes. In some circumstances, however, homeowners affected by extreme weather events can also make claims to the EQC – for landslip, storm or flood events. In this paper, we explore the impact of this public natural hazard insurance on community recovery from weather-related events. We do this by using a proxy for short-term economic recovery: satellite imagery of average monthly night-time radiance. Linking these night-time light data to precipitation data records, we compare houses which experienced damage from extreme rainfall episodes to those that suffered no damage even though they experienced extreme rainfall. Using data from three recent intense storms, we find that households which experienced damage, and were paid in a timely manner by EQC, did not fare any worse than households that suffered no damage from these extreme events. This finding suggests that EQC insurance is serving its stated purpose by protecting households from the adverse impact of extreme weather events. |
| Keywords: | climate change, extreme weather, public insurance, recovery, New Zealand |
| JEL: | Q15 Q10 Q17 Q02 |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:19_19&r=all |
| By: | Milan Scasny (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Opletalova 26, 110 00, Prague, Czech Republic; Charles University Environment Centre, Jose Martiho 407/2, 162 00, Prague, Czech Republic); Beng Wah Ang (Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, 119260, Singapore); Lukas Recka (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Opletalova 26, 110 00, Prague, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | It is common in index decomposition studies to decompose an aggregate into five or more factors. This applies to energy-related carbon emissions since carbon emission coefficient by fuel type is relatively easy to derive. However, it is extremely demanding to derive the air pollutant emission coefficient by fuel type and by sector. As a result, air pollutant emissions have typically been decomposed into three factors — the scale, the structure and the intensity factor. Using a unique facility-level dataset, this is the first study that decomposes air pollutant emissions into five factors, i.e. by decomposing the emission intensity effect further into the fuel-intensity, the fuel-mix, and the emission-fuel intensity factors. Specifically, we use a 5-factor Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method to decompose annual changes in the emissions of four types of air quality pollutants (SO2, NOx, CO and particulate matters) stemming from large stationary emission sources in the Czech Republic. Our analysis covers the period 1990 to 2016, during which the Czech economy transited towards a market economy. It also implemented strict environmental regulation to become a full member of the European Union in 2004. The emissions decreased cumulatively by 74% or more in the 1990s, remained at stable levels during the 2000s and declined again thereafter. We examine how the results differ if one relies on the ‘standard’ 3-factor and the 4-factor decompositions. |
| Keywords: | LMDI, 5-factors IDA, air quality pollutants, emission per fuel type, economic transition |
| JEL: | P28 Q43 Q53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2019_34&r=all |
| By: | Cécile Couharde; Olivier Damette; Rémi Generoso; Kamiar Mohaddes |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the climate-economy literature by analysing the role of weather patterns in influencing the transmission of global climate cycles to economic growth. More specifically, we focus on El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events and their interactions with local weather conditions, taking into account the heterogeneous and cumulative effects of weather patterns on economic growth and the asymmetry and nonlinearity in the global influence of ENSO on economic activity. Using data on 75 countries over the period 1975-2014, we provide evidence for the negative growth effects of ENSO events and show that there are substantial differences between its warm (El Niño) and cold (La Niña) phases and between climate zones. These differences are due to the heterogeneity in weather responses to ENSO events, known as teleconnections, which has so far not been taken into account by economists, and which will become more important in the climate-economy relationship given that climate change may substantially strengthen long-distance relationships between weather patterns around the world. We also show that the negative growth effects associated with these teleconnections are robust to the definition of ENSO events and more important over shorter meteorological onsets. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, ENSO events, weather shocks, climate change |
| JEL: | C33 O40 Q54 |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2019-82&r=all |
| By: | Nyborg, Karine (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | Humans are fundamentally social. Social activities require coordination, which may yield multiple equilibria in the form of stable, self-reinforcing patterns of herd behavior. Since environmental impacts can differ substantially between alternative equilibria, such self-reinforcing behaviors may, from an environmental perspective, be viewed as representing virtuous or vicious cycles. Environmental policies can help break the self-fulfilling expectations of vicious cycles, tipping the economy to more environment-friendly equilibria. |
| Keywords: | Environmental policy; multiple equilibria; social interaction; tipping points |
| JEL: | D10 D62 D91 Q01 Q50 Q58 |
| Date: | 2019–06–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2019_007&r=all |
| By: | Micha, Evgenia; Fenton, Owen; Daly, Karen; Kakonyi, Gabriella; Ezzati, Golnaz; Moloney, Thomas; Thornton, Steven F |
| Abstract: | Sustainable intensification of agriculture (SIA) has become an important concept to ensuring food security in the context of increasing agricultural production while minimising negative externalities in contemporary agronomic systems. In supporting this, there is a need to establish a decision-making and management system that involves the views and opinions of different stakeholders and unifies the goals of SIA amongst them. The objective of this work is to identify and describe pathways toward farm-level SIA. An explanatory network approach and fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs) support the analysis of stakeholder views across the three pillars of sustainability: social, economic and environmental. Different stakeholder groups were asked to collectively map the pathways towards farm level SIA in a workshop exercise. The respective groups considered a common set of pre-selected factors as potential descriptors of sustainability and created unique maps by adding their own components and descriptors and identifying causal links between them. While the relative weighting of factors by each group differed, according to their perspectives and interpretation, yield, knowledge transfer, water quality, weather extremes and technology/infrastructure were scored as priority descriptors of farm-level sustainability by all groups in an aggregate analysis. Exploratory analysis of FCMs was found to provide an efficient mechanism to investigate stakeholder views on pathways towards farm-level SIA, by identifying causal relationships and interactions between factors and actors that affect its achievement. The study shows that sustainable intensification is a complex dynamic system that includes institutional structures, personal goals, stakeholder interests and socio-economic factors, and is affected by cognitive beliefs and particular knowledge within stakeholder groups. Our results show how experience, knowledge and beliefs affect the perception of farm-level SIA by various stakeholder groups, and how this knowledge is often fragmented and miscommunicated. The exercise confirmed the hypothesis that farm-level SIA has to be seen as a dynamic process in which farm performance is affected by various factors, with the complexity of the process increasing when different stakeholder interests and beliefs combine for farm management. |
| Date: | 2019–09–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:2rqjd&r=all |
| By: | Yuping Deng (School of Economics and Trade, Hunan University, Changsha, P.R. China); Yanrui Wu (Business School, The University of Western Australia); Helian Xu (School of Economics and Trade, Hunan University, Changsha, P.R. China) |
| Abstract: | The Chinese government adopted a series of pollution reduction targets in its eleventh five-year (2006-2010) economic development program. Whether this program can achieve its goal of pollution reduction and quality improvement for exports is of vital importance for China’s sustainable development. This paper aims to investigate the effects of these environmental regulation policies on export product quality by using the quasi-difference-in-difference method. Empirical results show that the implementation of these pollution reduction targets significantly reduces export product quality. This negative impact is more profound in western regions, capital-intensive sectors and privately-owned firms. Moreover, the negative effect is only observed among firms exporting to non-OECD countries, whereas the export quality of firms exporting to OECD countries is positively affected by the new policy. Lastly, our extended analysis shows that the negative effects can be mitigated through product switching within the firms. |
| Keywords: | Environmental regulation; Export product quality; Product switching; China |
| JEL: | F10 F18 Q56 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwa:wpaper:19-14&r=all |
| By: | Jayawardena, Lal |
| Abstract: | The proposals in this paper derive from studies undertaken at WIDER on questions relating to sustainable development in developing countries. The paper attempts to quantify the resource transfer implications of supporting feasible environment-sensitive development in the developing countries, and outlines a set of operational mechanisms for implementing a Global Environmental Compact involving "reciprocal obligations" between the North and South along the lines envisaged by the South Commission. |
| Keywords: | International Development |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:widerw:295401&r=all |
| By: | Maggio, Giuseppe; Sitko, Nicholas J.; Ignaciuk, Ada |
| Abstract: | Does receiving information on potential adverse weather conditions induce adaptive responses by smallholders? Do market institutions ease constraints to adaptation of these practices? This report examines these questions using a unique panel dataset of Zambian smallholder households collected before and after 2015/16 El Niño Southern Oscillation event. The analysis finds that farmers receiving drought-related seasonal forecasts are more likely to integrate drought tolerant crops into their cropping systems and to acquire improved maize seed varieties. These farmers, on average, are found to apply double the quantity of improved maize seeds than farmers residing in the same zones but not receiving weather information. Larger and more competitive private output markets function as enablers of smallholder adaptive responses to seasonal forecast information, as farmers with improved market access are more likely to shift toward drought resilient technologies than farmers with low output market access. Three policy recommendations emerge from the findings. First, while seasonal forecast information can induce adaptive responses by farmers, there is the need of improving access to this information, particularly for households in remote areas or limited asset ownership. Second, targeting voucher-based farmer input support programs based on seasonal forecast information can enable the crowding in of private investments in these regions and increase the adaptive responses of farmers, particularly resource constrained farmers. Finally, this analysis suggests that policies that incentivize private investment in agricultural markets should be considered within the broader framework of smallholder climate adaptation and resilience in Zambia. This includes strategies to improve agricultural trade predictability. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2019–11–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:faoaes:296656&r=all |
| By: | Rand John; Tarp Finn; Trifkovi? Neda; Rodriguez Paula |
| Abstract: | We use the case of the timber industry in Myanmar to analyse how national regulatory frameworks and international ecological discourses affect forest management and small businesses.The state plays two roles in the timber industry in Myanmar: it is the main producer and legal source of raw timber for the private sector; and it regulates timber extraction and the legality of operation of private sector firms. The state seeks a balance between forest conservation as a public policy objective and providing enough raw timber for the private sector. The implications of this for the private sector are twofold. The strict regulatory framework increases operational costs, as multiple licences and permits are required. And the state-controlled supply of raw materials results in inefficiencies, such as shortage and high raw timber prices.Under these conditions, the smallholder wood industry in Myanmar is at risk of stagnating at best, if not disappearing. |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2019-78&r=all |
| By: | Bhowmik, Avit K.; McCaffrey, Mark Stanislaus (Institutde for Sustainable Development Studies); Frischmann, Chad; Gaffney, Owen; Ruskey, Abigail M |
| Abstract: | To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, strategic scaling of existing and emerging technologies and practices is imperative. A new “Powers of 10” (P10) logarithmic optimization framework presented here identifies potential optimal scales for implementing climate action strategies between a single individual and the globally projected ~10 billion persons by 2050. Applying a dataset of existing strategies from Project Drawdown, we find prioritizing community to urban-focused climate action strategies can complement top-down and bottom-up efforts and support rapid sustainability transformation. |
| Date: | 2018–08–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:eartha:feaq5&r=all |
| By: | Oliveira, Eduardo (Université catholique de Louvain) |
| Abstract: | By 2030, the fastest rates of population growth and urbanisation will be witnessed in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by India and parts of Southeast Asia (Nagendra et al., 2018). Academic literature (Shoffner et al., 2018) as well as policy documents (UNDP, 2018) have been acknowledging that urbanisation is a global phenomenon with strong environmental sustainability implications and cities have become central to ensuring a sustainable future (Acuto et al., 2018). In ‘Urban Environments in Africa’, Garth Myers deconstructs the criticisms of urban political ecology (UPE) and investigates African environmentalism from different ontological and epistemological points of view. |
| Date: | 2019–07–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:africa:hu9xv&r=all |
| By: | Imtenan Al-Mubarak; Saleh Al Muhanna; Zlata Sergeeva (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center) |
| Abstract: | It is widely recognized that the commitments set out in the Paris Agreement fall short of achieving the 2 degrees Celsius global warming target, agreed as the central goal of the agreement and its parties. Given this, KAPSARC has set out to explore the political feasibility of enhancing nationally determined contributions by utilizing the KAPSARC Toolkit for Behavioral Analysis (KTAB). |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Geopolitics, Nationally determined contributions, Paris Agreement, KAPSARC toolkit for behavioral analysis (KTAB) |
| Date: | 2019–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:prc:dpaper:ks--2019-dp75&r=all |
| By: | Falchetta, Giacomo; Gernaat, David E.H.J.; Hunt, Julian; Sterl, Sebastian |
| Abstract: | In sub-Saharan Africa, 160 million grid-connected electricity consumers live in countries where hydropower accounts for over 50% of total power supply. A warmer climate with more frequent and intense extremes could result in supply reliability issues. Here, (i) a robust framework to highlight the interdependencies between hydropower, water availability, and climate change is proposed, (ii) the state-of-the art literature on the projected impacts of climate change on hydropower in sub-Saharan Africa is reviewed, and (iii) supporting evidence on past trends and current pathways of power mix diversification, drought incidence, and climate change projections is provided. We find that only few countries have pursued a diversification strategy away from hydropower over the last three decades, while others' expansion plans will reinforce the dependency. This will occur irrespective of the fact that some of the largest river basins have experienced a significant drying during the last century. Agreement is found on likely positive impacts of climate change on East Africa's hydropower potential, negative impacts in West and Southern Africa, and substantial uncertainty in Central Africa. Irrespective of the absolute change in gross technical potential, more frequent and intense extremes are projected. One possible paradigm to increase resilience and fulfil the pledges of the Paris Agreement is a synergetic planning and management of hydropower and variable renewables. |
| Date: | 2019–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:eartha:w7rj3&r=all |
| By: | Bheemaiah, Anil Kumar Dr (A.B) |
| Abstract: | The need for a trail map to world peace, is a map to reversibility and non-lethality, a long-distance deployment of EMI based delta sleep-inducing armament, a dual-use technology, with health benefits and use in stupor management in proposed space travel. In this paper, we present an improvement over much-published attempts at missile shields, deployable around the world. Truck launch ICBMs and shorter-range missiles and motors for light payloads, allow for a dual-use to space payloads and a mechanism at deploying missile-based defense mechanisms at short notice, from any location in the world, a defense shield mechanism. The trail to reversibility is in the induction of EMI based payloads, for non-casualty based warfare, completely eliminating the possibility of civilian casualties. A case study of the use of tesla semi-trucks and H2-O2 based blue Shepard motors for truck launch ICBMs is presented as a low carbon footprint solution for both shields and for space payloads. Keywords: ICBM, missile shields, EMI weapons, Delta sleep, reversibility, Peace Weapons(™), Tesla Semi, Blue Shepard. What: Reversibility is central to non -lethal and reversible disruption in conflicts, as internal conflicts are projected across political boundaries, in a need for large scale strike capabilities and EMI payloads. Present propulsion technology for dual-use, including lightweight motors by Blue Origin, includes solutions for redeployable vehicles, launchable from Tesla Trucks, under short notice from favorable locations, in a stealth mode. This publication proves the use of sleep EMI over wide areas, with a higher impact than wide-area drone use. A case study from World War II is presented, in the use of nuclear arsenal over Hiroshima and Nagasaki for negotiations to a Japanese early surrender, a case for the use of sleep-inducing EMI weapons with the same scale as disarmament and reversible disruption, with the same potential for the negotiation of early surrender of Imperialist Japanese forces is presented as an alternative solution towards zero civilian casualties. How: Dual-use delta sleep technology is the future of space travel, in the design of sleep schedules in the habitation of space stations and space transit carriers, with traditional dual-use motors for launch. The discrete nature of the space travel and possible stealth use of non-lethal weapons on intercontinental scales, calls for lightweight propulsion which has a very low carbon footprint in the use of reusable technologies like Blue Origins hydrogen-oxygen motors and Tesla electric trucks. The dual-use leads to the use of sleep technology for both small areas and very wide area technologies in digital medicine and in armament. Why: The evolution of human conflict is sculpted by much of the helpless spectators in the battles of internal conflicts, as aspecism is proven, the superiority of the flora and fauna in creation is proven in the evolution of armament towards EMI weaponry, with non-lethal applications and disruption of only human development. In this path of self annihilation, is a solution of peace diplomacy as presented by nature itself, a path to reversibility and non lethality, with a wide applicability, a scalable ballistic and drone-based payload, tailored to both flatland and global civilizations, in their quest for an early resolution to their conflict , both external and internal. Summary: Main Points: Use of off the shelf technology for shields and dual-use space payloads. Case study of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings as the need for reversibility and non-lethality in saving over 200,000 civilian lives. Attainment of the separation of civilian and military casualties and the attainment of a zero civilian casualty figure in military conflicts. |
| Date: | 2019–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:thesis:8kcvd&r=all |
| By: | Nafziger, E. Wayne |
| Abstract: | This paper, a draft from the early stages of an ongoing UNU/WIDER research project, outlines hypotheses for the economic cause of humanitarian disasters. Complex humanitarian emergencies are considered to be man-made crises, in which large numbers of people die and suffer from war, physical violence, disease, hunger, or displacement. The study identifies four sets of economic factors responsible for emergencies: stagnation and protracted decline in incomes, unequal or immiserizing growth, rapid population growth during substantial environmental degradation and resource depletion, and large and abrupt shifts in income and wealth distribution during adjustment and liberalization programmes. The strategies of elites to maintain or expand power and benefits, in the midst of adverse economic changes and mass reaction to these changes, are instrumental in determining the potential for humanitarian disasters. A goal of the paper is to discuss, in a preliminary way, cases that fit an economic model of the causes of emergencies, setting the stage for further case studies to test how much we can generalize on the hypotheses and examples from this paper. |
| Keywords: | International Development |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:widerw:295442&r=all |
| By: | Callaghan, Corey Thomas; Major, Richard E.; Cornwell, William K.; Poore, Ailstair G. B.; Wilshire, John; Lyons, Mitchell |
| Abstract: | Understanding species-specific relationships with their environment is essential for ecology, biogeography, and conservation biology. Moreover, understanding how these relationships change with spatial scale is critical to mitigating potential threats to biodiversity. But methods which measure inter-specific variation in responses to environmental parameters, generalizable across multiple spatial scales, are lacking. We used broad-scale citizen science data, over a continental scale, integrated with remotely-sensed products, to produce a measure of response to urbanization for a given species at a continental-scale. We then compared these responses to modelled responses to urbanization at a local-scale, based on systematic sampling within a series of small cities. For 49 species which had sufficient data for modelling, we found a significant relationship (R2 = 0.51) between continental-scale urbanness and local-scale urbanness. Our results suggest that continental-scale responses are representative of small-scale responses to urbanization. We also found that relatively few citizen science observations (~250) are necessary for reliable estimates of continental-scale urban scores to predict local-scale response to urbanization. Our method of producing species-specific urban scores is robust and can be generalized to other taxa and other environmental variables with relative ease. |
| Date: | 2019–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:ecoevo:ky2hu&r=all |
| By: | Moustafa, Khaled |
| Abstract: | Many environmental and planetary issues are due to an exploitation strategy based on exploit, consume and ignore the consequences. As many natural and environmental resources are limited in time and space, such exploitation approach causes important damages on earth, in the sea and maybe soon in the space. To sustain conditions under which humans and other living species can coexist in productive and dynamic harmony with their environments, terrestrial and space exploration programs may need to be based on 'scrutinize the consequences, prepare adequate solutions and then, only then, exploit'. Otherwise, the exploitation of planetary resources may put the environmental stability and sustainability at a higher risk than it is currently predicted. |
| Date: | 2018–02–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:arabix:f72du&r=all |
| By: | Daly, Mary C. (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco) |
| Abstract: | Remarks at The Economics of Climate Change conference, San Francisco, CA, by Mary C. Daly, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, November 8, 2019. |
| Date: | 2019–11–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedfsp:199&r=all |
| By: | Dickens, Chris; Nhlengethwa, Sibusiso; Ndhlovu, Brown |
| Abstract: | The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development promises to achieve change in almost every aspect of life on Earth. Encompassing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets, the Agenda marks the first time in history when all nations have agreed on how to chart their future. The SDGs are not just a global reporting exercise, however, but rather involve a global program that embraces country-led efforts. Guided by the ideas contained in the 2030 Agenda, each nation must seek to become more prosperous and sustainable, while contributing to the global effort at the same time. If all the countries achieve this, we will have a sustainable planet and a secure future for all. This document offers guidance on how developing countries can adapt the SDGs to their own contexts and priorities. It indicates important areas for developing countries to consider when creating their own program to achieve the SDGs, and provides examples of success to demonstrate concrete possibilities for progress. |
| Keywords: | Financial Economics, Industrial Organization, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2019–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iwmirp:296739&r=all |
| By: | Suphi Sen; Marie-Theres von Schickfus |
| Abstract: | Climate policies to keep global warming below 2℃ might render some of the world’s fossil fuels and related infrastructure worthless prior to the end of their economic life time. Therefore, some energy-sector assets are at risk of becoming stranded. This paper investigates whether and how investors price in this risk of asset stranding. We exploit the gradual development of a German climate policy proposal aimed at reducing electricity production from coal and analyze its effect on the valuation of energy utilities. We find that investors take stranded asset risk into consideration, but that they also expect a financial compensation for their stranded assets. |
| Keywords: | stranded assets, climate policy, expectations, utilities, event study |
| JEL: | Q35 Q38 G14 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7945&r=all |
| By: | Yuping Deng (School of Economics and Trade, Hunan University, Changsha, P.R. China); Yanrui Wu (Business School, The University of Western Australia); Helian Xu (School of Economics and Trade, Hunan University, Changsha, P.R. China) |
| Abstract: | A firm’s top manager and a government official may be connected due to special circumstances. This social relationship or political connection may provide industrial polluters with protection or a “pollution shelter” which could lead to severe environmental deterioration. This paper aims to examine the link between political connections and firms’ pollution discharges by using Chinese data. Empirical results show that political connections are the institutional origin for firms to adopt strategic pollution discharges. Government officials who are young, of low education, promoted locally and in office for a relatively long time are more likely to build political connections with polluters. This phenomenon may lead to inadequate enforcement of regulation and emission control. The pollution discharge of politically connected firms also varies considerably due to firm heterogeneity. This study also shows that pollution shelter effects caused by political connections are more obvious in the central and western regions, prefecture cities and capital-intensive industries. |
| Keywords: | Political connections; pollution discharges; political promotion; China |
| JEL: | Q51 L20 O12 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwa:wpaper:19-15&r=all |
| By: | Asma Khatun Mst (School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology); Koji Kotani (School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | An increase in surface and ground-water salinity due to climate change is reported to have become a great threat to the health of coastal inhabitants in Bangladesh. However, little is known about how much such salinity affects the risk of water-related diseases and how such risk can be mitigated in the field. This research examines the association between water-related diseases and coastal salinity along with sociodemographic and anthropometric factors. We conduct questionnaire surveys with 527 households: 273 subjects from the non-salinity and 254 subjects from the salinity rural coastal areas of Bangladesh. The logistic regression analysis demonstrates that the probability of suffering from water-borne, water-washed and water-related diseases are 8%, 14% and 11% higher in the salinity areas than in the non-salinity areas, respectively. However, it is identified that people who consume rainwater as a drinking source and/or belong to “normal body mass index†have less chances of being affected by water-related diseases even in the salinity areas than those who drink ground/pond water and/or belong to “underweight body mass index.†Overall, the results suggest that the long-term reservation of rainwater and addressing communitybased food security & nutrition programs shall be effective countermeasures to reduce the risk of health problems in the coastal population and to sustain their lives even under the threat of land salinity. |
| Keywords: | Water-borne diseases, water-washed diseases, water-related diseases, salinity, body mass index |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kch:wpaper:sdes-2019-9&r=all |
| By: | Valentina Flamini; Mauricio Soto |
| Abstract: | Following a benchmarking exercise, we estimate the spending required to reach satisfactory progress in the Sustainable Development Goals in the health, education, and infrastructure sectors in Brazil. We find that there is room for savings in education (up to 1.5 percentage point of GDP) and health (up to 2.5 percentage points of GDP) without compromising the quality of services but additional investments for over 3 percent of GDP per year are needed to close large infrastructure gaps in roads, water, and electricity by 2030. Brazil can do more with less, but increasing efficiency of public spending will require substantial reforms. |
| Date: | 2019–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:19/236&r=all |
| By: | Lele, U. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Labor and Human Capital, Marketing, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2019–11–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iwmirp:296735&r=all |
| By: | Achtnicht, Martin; Germeshausen, Robert; von Graevenitz, Kathrine |
| Abstract: | Über 80 Prozent des Endenergieverbrauchs der Haushalte in Deutschland wird für Raumwärme und Warmwasser verwendet. Da die Mehrheit der installierten Heizsysteme nach wie vor auf fossilen Energieträgern basiert, trägt der Gebäudesektor substanziell zu den nationalen Treibhausgasemissionen bei. Im vergangenen Jahr waren es rund 117 Mio. t CO2-Äquivalente. Bis zum Jahr 2030 soll der Ausstoß laut Klimaschutzplan 2050 auf 72 Mio. t CO2 reduziert werden, 2050 soll der Gebäudesektor nahezu klimaneutral sein. Angesichts sehr langer Investitionszyklen bei Gebäuden sind das ambitionierte Ziele. Um diese zu erreichen, setzt die Bundesregierung in ihrem neuen Klimaschutzprogramm auf eine Kombination von Förderprogrammen, Ordnungsrecht, einer CO2-Bepreisung sowie Information und Beratung. Das einzig wirklich Neue in diesem Maßnahmenpaket ist die Einführung einer expliziten Bepreisung von CO2-Emissionen, die nicht unter dem EU Emissionshandelssystem (EHS) reguliert werden - ein Schritt, der von Ökonomen lange gefordert wurde. Leider lassen es die Pläne der Bundesregierung nicht zu, dass die CO2-Bepreisung kurzfristig ihr volles Potenzial entfalten kann. Dieses ZEW policy brief liefert eine kritische Einordnung des Klimaschutzprogramms im Gebäudesektor. Anhand aktueller Erkenntnisse der Wirtschaftsforschung diskutiert es Nachteile von Förderprogrammen und ordnungsrechtlichen Maßnahmen und zeigt zugleich künftigen Forschungsbedarf auf. |
| Keywords: | Energieverbrauch,Treibhausgasemissionen,Gebäudesektor,CO2,Klimaschutz |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewpbs:72019&r=all |
| By: | Førsund, Finn (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | The generation of unintended residuals when producing intended outputs is the key factor behind our serious problems with pollution. The way this joint production is modelled is therefore of crucial importance for our understanding and empirical efforts to change economic activities in order to reduce harmful residuals. Estimation of efficiency and productivity when producing both intended and unintended outputs has emerged as an important research strand. The most popular models in the field are based on weak disposability between the two types of outputs and null jointness introduced by Shephard. The purpose of the paper is to show that these model types are seriously flawed. An alternative model based on the production theory of Frisch introduces technical jointness for the case when the unintended output is unavoidable. The materials balance based on physical laws tells us that when material inputs are used unintended outputs are unavoidable. The modelling of joint production must therefore reflect this. A key feature is that the two types of outputs should be separated using different production relations. This facilitates estimating two independent frontiers and calculating efficiency scores and Malmquist productivity changes for the two types using a non-parametric DEA model. |
| Keywords: | Intended and unintended outputs; joint production; Materials balance; Technical jointness; pollution; weak disposability |
| JEL: | C14 D24 D62 Q50 |
| Date: | 2019–11–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2019_009&r=all |
| By: | Yusuke Kuroishi (London School of Economics); Yasuyuki Sawada (Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo and AsianDevelopment Bank) |
| Abstract: | The literature concerning how preferences are affected by extreme events is char-acterized by mixed findings. To bridge this gap, we investigate the impacts of twodisasters triggered by different natural hazards on present bias, exponential time dis-counting, and curvature parameters of a utility function. These are elicited in anintegrated manner by the convex time budget (CTB) experiments as well as the multi-ple price list (MPL) experiments. Based on these approaches, we employ sui generisexperimental data and accurate disaster damage information from the official metricalsurveys in Iwanuma city of Japan and from satellite images of the East Laguna Villageof the Philippines, which were hit, respectively, by a strong earthquake and tsunami in2011 and serious floods in 2012. First, we find that disaster exposure makes individ-uals more present-biased and less risk-averse regardless of distinctive differences insocio-economic conditions and disaster types. Second, the impact lasted for 6 yearsin both areas, suggesting persistency of the effect. Third, our results are consistentwith emotional channels but not necessarily with a potential market friction in theform of binding liquidity constraints. Our findings suggest that the existing mixedempirical evidence can be attributed to the lack of an integrated and consistent frame-work as well as accurate data on disaster damages, rather than variations in literacyor education levels of experimental subjects. |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2019cf1130&r=all |
| By: | Bull, Joseph; Baker, Julia; Griffiths, Victoria Frances; Jones, Julia; Milner-Gulland, E.J. |
| Abstract: | Il est de plus en plus attendu des projets de développement qu’ils quantifient et atténuent pleinement leurs impacts sur la biodiversité avec pour objectif général « l’absence de perte nette » (no net loss) ou un « gain net » (net gain) de biodiversité. Or, chercher à atteindre ces objectifs en matière de biodiversité peut également affecter les populations qui dépendent de la biodiversité, de ses usages et des valeurs qui lui sont attribuées. Même si les impacts sociaux sont aussi et de plus en plus pris en compte et atténués par les projets, ceux qui découlent de l’atténuation des impacts sur la biodiversité sont souvent sous-valus et insuffisamment pris en compte. Ce document met en exergue les principes fondamentaux pour la mise en oeuvre de bonnes pratiques pour la prise en compte optimale des impacts sociaux résultant des pertes et des gains de biodiversité du fait d’un projet de développement et de son application de la hiérarchie d’atténuation. Il vise à: • Définir les effets sociaux mesurables de la mise en oeuvre de la hiérarchie d’atténuation pour la biodiversité. • Fournir un cadre pour s’assurer de la bonne intégration des aspects sociaux dans la mise en oeuvre de la compensation pour la biodiversité, conformément aux bonnes pratiques. • Faciliter, tout au long d’un projet, la collaboration étroite entre toutes les parties prenantes impliquées dans l’atténuation et la compensation des impacts sur la biodiversité, et en en particulier entre les spécialistes environnementaux et sociaux. Les principes énoncés dans ce document s’appuient sur les bonnes pratiques internationales par lesquelles les projets de développement doivent démontrer une absence de perte nette ou un gain net de biodiversité, tout en s’assurant que les populations affectées ne soient au final pas moins mais de préférence mieux loties par rapport à leur situation de référence. Ils proposent des objectifs de grande qualité en la matière, ce qui, dans la pratique, peut s’avérer être ambitieux pour certains projets. Ils s’appuient sur la littérature et les guides et directives existantes, et sur la synthèse d’une grande diversité de points de vue exprimés au cours d’un processus de consultation approfondi. Nous nous attendons néanmoins à ce qu’ils fassent l’objet de nouvelles améliorations lorsqu’ils seront testés sur le terrain. Les auteurs sont preneurs de toute remarque constructive en ce sens. Ainsi, les projets de développement visant l’absence de perte nette ou le gain net de biodiversité devraient toujours se fixer pour objectif que : Les populations considèrent que les composantes de leur bien-être affectées par les pertes et les gains de biodiversité sont au moins aussi bonnes à la suite du projet de développement et des mesures visant l’absence de perte nette ou le gain net de biodiversité que si le projet n’avait pas été mis en oeuvre. |
| Date: | 2019–10–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:uyngd&r=all |
| By: | Salih, Siddig A. |
| Abstract: | There is a growing evidence suggesting that the ecological degradation in Africa is accelerating faster than the region's economic decline. More seriously, trees in Sub-Saharan Africa are being felled 30 times as fast as they are being replaced; implying the highest rate of deforestation in the world. Unless this trend is slowed down, the increasing demand for woodfuel coupled with high population pressure are capable of destroying the forests in less than sixty years. Our starting point is that corporate organisation to manage common property resources are practiced by many African tribes and local communities. Such a collective action is the best available option to manage a sustainable natural capital. However, the success of this viable remedy goes beyond the means of local administration in Africa. What is needed to strengthen the managerial capabilities of these communities are biological services, sufficient international financial flows and adapted technological advances. The concluding remarks identify a practical format to share the responsibility by all concerned parties in a form of development contract between donor community and African states during the short to medium term of operation. |
| Keywords: | International Development |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:widerw:295633&r=all |
| By: | Draper, John |
| Abstract: | In July 2019, the IEA established an independent Global Commission for Urgent Action on Energy Efficiency. In the world of fusion, in November 2018, a U.S. National Academies’ report on US fusion research recommended a national ‘burning plasma’ fusion energy facility but also emphasized the private sector’s role in fusion innovation. In the same month, the Fusion Industry Association publicly announced its launch, indicating a level of private-sector maturity. Multiple FIA members boldly aim to accelerate fusion’s commercial deployment to approximately one decade, yet none are fully funded. Nonetheless, introducing fusion as a new primary energy source in this timeframe could replace fossil fuels within this century and thereby contribute significantly to addressing the global warming ‘super wicked problem’. This article applies the Quadruple and Quintuple Innovation Helix inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary analytical frameworks to this issue. We apply these frameworks to consider how Global South funding for entrepreneurship and innovation, via petrostates’ sovereign wealth funds, can accelerate the development and commercialization of fusion, through funding continuous operations. We thus promote a multi-modal and multi-lateral approach to accelerate fusion innovation, increase quality of democracy, and protect the natural environment, via a managed co-opetive global solution like the IEA’s energy efficiency approach. |
| Date: | 2019–09–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:axb95&r=all |
| By: | Burgoa Terceros, Rodrigo Alfonso (IISEC, Universidad Católica Boliviana) |
| Abstract: | El documento analiza la efectividad del modelo económico que se instauró en Bolivia desde el año 2006. Para ese propósito, se evaluó el efecto del nuevo paradigma sobre seis indicadores de la economía boliviana: nivel de producción, exportaciones, diversificación económica, ingreso per cápita, desarrollo humano y medio ambiente. En ese sentido, siguiendo la metodología de control sintético, se construyó una “Bolivia sintética” a partir de la información de 100 países en el período 1991-2017. Se encontró que el modelo causó efectos muy modestos en el nivel de producción y el ingreso per cápita, efectos casi nulos en el desarrollo humano y efectos negativos en la diversificación económica, las exportaciones y el medio ambiente. De esa manera, se halló que la mejora de los indicadores bolivianos en los últimos tres lustros, se debió al entorno externo favorable, principalmente.El documento analiza la efectividad del modelo económico que se instauró en Bolivia desde el año 2006. Para ese propósito, se evaluó el efecto del nuevo paradigma sobre seis indicadores de la economía boliviana: nivel de producción, exportaciones, diversificación económica, ingreso per cápita, desarrollo humano y medio ambiente. En ese sentido, siguiendo la metodología de control sintético, se construyó una “Bolivia sintética” a partir de la información de 100 países en el período 1991-2017. Se encontró que el modelo causó efectos muy modestos en el nivel de producción y el ingreso per cápita, efectos casi nulos en el desarrollo humano y efectos negativos en la diversificación económica, las exportaciones y el medio ambiente. De esa manera, se halló que la mejora de los indicadores bolivianos en los últimos tres lustros, se debió al entorno externo favorable, principalmente. |
| Keywords: | Modelo económico boliviano; control sintético; nivel de producción; exportaciones; diversificación económica; ingreso per cápita; desarrollo humano; medio ambiente |
| JEL: | O54 |
| Date: | 2019–11–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:iisecd:2019_004&r=all |
| By: | Arantza Estévez-Fernández (VU Amsterdam); José Manuel Giménez-Gómez (Universitat Rovira i Virgili); María José Solís-Baltadano (Universitat Rovira i Virgili) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze sequential bankruptcy problems, which generalize bankruptcy problems. They contain the problems of sharing water in a transboundary river and of allocating expedition rewards in projects. We provide three mechanisms for generalizing rules for bankruptcy problems to rules for sequential bankruptcy problems: the upwards, the downwards, and the two-steps mechanisms. Further, we characterize the upwards constrained equal awards, the upwards constrained equal losses, and the upwards proportional rules on the basis of upwards composition and upwards path independence. Moreover, we compare the three mechanisms based on inheritance of well-established properties for bankruptcy rules to the setting of sequential bankruptcy rules. |
| Keywords: | Sequential bankruptcy, upwards mechanism, downwards mechanism, twosteps mechanism, constrained equal awards rule, constrained equal losses rule, proportional rule |
| JEL: | D74 C79 D63 |
| Date: | 2019–11–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20190076&r=all |
| By: | Osmani, S. R. |
| Abstract: | In the preceding pages we have attempted a detailed rebuttal of the view that, given the prevailing structural constraints imposed by the unequal distribution of land and other assets, growth through Green Revolution must impoverish, or at best by-pass, the majority of rural poor. The approach has been essentially analytical rather than empirical, although empirical evidence has been drawn upon, mainly from South Asia, to validate the analytical conclusions. First, from the critical literature, a number of 'transmission mechanisms' were identified through which the new technology was supposed to either impoverish the poor or prevent them from gaining any benefits. Next, each of these mechanisms was subjected to a detailed analytical scrutiny in the light of both economic theory and empirical facts. This enquiry has led to the conclusion that the arguments typically advanced to support the thesis that the Green Revolution is no friend of the poor are fraught with severe problems. A more satisfactory analysis of the very same transmission mechanisms shows that the poor should actually benefit from the spread of the new technology, even without a radical redistribution of assets. |
| Keywords: | International Development |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:widerw:295429&r=all |
| By: | Melo-Velandia, Luis Fernando; Parra-Amado, Daniel; Abril-Salcedo, Davinson Stev |
| Abstract: | Extreme weather events, like a strong El Niño (ENSO), affect society in many different ways especially in the context of recent globe warming. In the Colombian case, ENSO had a significant impact on consumer food prices during the strongest event in 2015. Our research evaluates the relationship between ENSO and Colombian food inflation growth by using a smooth transition non-linear model. We estimate the impacts of a strong ENSO on food inflation growth by adopting Generalized Impulse Response Functions (GIRFs) and the results suggest that the weather shocks are transitory and asymmetric on inflation. A strong El Niño shock has a significate effect on the food inflation growth from six to nine months after the shock and the accumulated elasticity is close to 465 basic points. We build the GIRFs for eight different episodes associated with a strong El Niño in the period corresponding from March 1962 to December 2018 and there is no evidence of changes in the size of Colombian food inflation growth responses over time. |
| Keywords: | El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO); non-linear smooth transition models; inflation |
| JEL: | C32 C50 E31 |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rie:riecdt:23&r=all |
| By: | Moustafa, Khaled |
| Abstract: | Fossil fuels are intensively extracted from around the world faster than they are renewed. Regardless of direct and indirect effects of such extractions on climate change and biosphere, another issue relating to Earth's internal structure and Earth mass should receive at least some interest. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), about 34 billion barrels of oil (~4.7 trillion metric tons) and 9 billion tons of coal have been extracted in 2014 worldwide. Converting the amounts of oil and coal extracted over the last 3 decades and their respective reserves, intended to be extracted in the future, into mass values suggests that about 355 trillion tons, or ~5.86∗10(-9) (~0.0000000058)% of the Earth mass, would be 'lost'. Although this is a tiny percentage, modeling the potential loss of Earth mass may help figuring out a critical threshold of mass loss that should not be exceeded. Here, I briefly discuss whether such loss would have any potential consequences on the Earth's internal structure and on its gravitational force based on the Newton's law of gravitation that links the attraction force between planets to their respective masses and the distance that separate them. |
| Date: | 2018–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:arabix:fkh9z&r=all |
| By: | Calyx, Cobi; Low, Jenny |
| Abstract: | Inherent in deliberative democracy is the possibility of individuals changing their position on an issue in response to persuasive communication. This is a case study of how a person in a position of power changed their mind about climate change in response to deliberations, then used their position to put on record their thought processes in changing mind. Reactions to the public announcement are explored, as are factors contributing to the change of mind and decision to publicly speak about it. Power dynamics that enabled the public discussion of changing mind are also discussed. |
| Date: | 2019–09–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:fmu7d&r=all |
| By: | Goldschmidt, Nils; Wolf, Stephan |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:aluord:1904&r=all |
| By: | Muñoz, Katherine |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to examine how the solar energy that sectors use to produce goods exported in Chile during the years 2014-2016 has evolved, and how factors underlying economic growth such as intensity, technology and changes demand have influenced this evolution. In addition, the consequences of the energy policy “Energy 2050” are evaluated, which increases the level of solar energy in Chile´s electricity matrix, examining the level of energy substitution, changes in the trade balance of fossil fuels and emissions of Greenhouse gases (GHG), and the compatibility of this energy substitution with the “Electric Matrix Decarbonization Plan” proposed in 2019. The results show that the increase in the intensity of consumption would have been the main factor behind the increase of almost four times in the solar energy incorporated, with the copper mining sector being key, while the demand for exports would have contributed in the opposite direction. “Energy 2050” will play a key role, generating a 5.6-fold increase in the level of solar energy incorporated in 2028, allowing a significant decrease in the import requirements of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, and GHG emissions. In addition, this energy substitution would play a key role in the closure of the thermoelectric plants contemplated in the “Decarbonization Plan”. |
| Keywords: | Modelo Input-output, Análisis de Descomposición Estructural, Energía Solar, Políticas Energéticas, Chile |
| JEL: | F18 Q42 Q53 |
| Date: | 2019–10–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:97001&r=all |
| By: | Oliva Sandoval, Eduardo Rolando (IISEC, Universidad Católica Boliviana) |
| Abstract: | La presente investigación tiene como objetivo mostrar cómo el crecimiento económico afectó en la degradación ambiental en Bolivia en el periodo 1970-2012. Para cumplir con este fin se aplica el modelo de la Curva de Kuznets Ambiental (CKA). La degradación ambiental es aproximada mediante el Consumo Doméstico Material (CDM), mientras que como variables proxies del crecimiento económico se toman en cuenta al PIB, PIB per cápita, valor agregado de la industria y el grado de apertura económica. Los resultados plantean que Bolivia se encuentra en la fase ascendente de la Curva de Kuznets Ambiental, lo cual significa que existe una relación positiva entre el crecimiento económico y la degradación ambiental. También se encuentra que el aspecto demográfico y el grado de apertura comercial tienen incidencia en la degradación ambiental. |
| Keywords: | Crecimiento económico; Curva de Kuznets Ambiental; Contabilidad de flujos materiales; consumo doméstico material |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2019–11–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:iisecd:2019_006&r=all |
| By: | Chen Lin; Thomas Schmid; Michael S. Weisbach |
| Abstract: | Extreme temperatures lead to large fluctuations in electricity demand and wholesale prices of electricity, which in turn affects the optimal production process for firms to use. Using a large international sample of planned power plant projects, we measure the way that electric utilities’ investment decisions depend on the frequency of extreme temperatures. We find that they invest more in regions with more extreme temperatures. These investments are mostly in flexible gas and oil-fired power plants that can easily adjust their output, to improve their operating flexibility. Our results suggest that climate change is becoming a meaningful factor affecting firms’ behavior. |
| JEL: | G30 G31 |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26441&r=all |