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on Resource Economics |
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Issue of 2013‒01‒12
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Carnovale, Maria; Gibson, Matthew |
| Keywords: | Economics, Other, Environmental Economics |
| Date: | 2012–12–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucsdec:qt4j2755jq&r=res |
| By: | Marita Laukkanen; Céline Nauges |
| Abstract: | One quarter of the agricultural area in the European Union is registered in agrienvironmental programs. Despite the prevalence of such programs and increasing demands for environmental quality in the European Union, ex-post assessments of program benefits are rare. This study uses a structural econometric model to evaluate the impacts of agri-environmental payments provided through the Finnish Agri-Environmental Program, whose primary goal is to reduce nutrient pollution from agricultural land. Drawing on a representative sample of individual grain farms, the research quantifies the effects of agri-environmental payments on farmers? decisions on the use of agri-chemical inputs and on the allocation of land to grain production and set-aside (fallow) over the period 1996?2005. The effects of program payments are ascertained based on exogenous variation in payment rates across regions and over time. We find that the agri-environmental payments have reduced fertilizer inputs but that this impact has been modest. In terms of land allocation, the impact has been counterproductive in that the payments have slightly increased the grain area and reduced set-aside. To quantify the impact of agri-environmental payments on nutrient loading ? the environmental outcome of interest ? we then combine the predicted land allocation and fertilizer use with environmental production functions. Overall, we estimate that the payments have reduced the damage costs associated with nutrient pollution from grain farming by 11 to 12 percent. |
| Keywords: | agri-environmental programs, payments for ecosystem services, farm subsidies, structural models, panel data, policy evaluation, nutrient pollution, cost-benefit analysis |
| JEL: | Q58 Q28 Q53 Q18 H23 |
| Date: | 2012–11–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fer:wpaper:40&r=res |
| By: | Ying Liu (University of Wollongong); Kankesu Jayanthakumaran (University of Wollongong); Frank Neri (University of Wollongong) |
| Abstract: | Most climate scientists around the world are concerned about global warming. These concerns have resulted in calls for reductions in CO2 emissions over time. If these calls are to be heeded, an appropriate emissions accounting method must first be agreed upon by CO2 emitting countries, none of which are more important than China. This paper estimates China’s CO2 emissions in 2002 and in 2007 using firstly a production-based, and then a consumption-based, accounting method, both in aggregate and at the sectoral industry level. Our objectives are firstly to investigate the recent trends in Chinese emissions of CO2, and secondly to reveal the extent of the differences in the estimates produced by these two methods. Our estimates confirm what others have found, namely that Chinese emissions of CO2 increased substantially over this relatively short time period. Furthermore, the consumption-based method results in China being responsible for 38% fewer emissions in 2007 than would be the case with the production-based method. Problems caused by global warming will only be ameliorated if an acceptable worldwide distribution of responsibilities for emissions reduction efforts can be found. We believe that the consumption based method is more appropriate because it allocates responsibilities according to final consumption. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions, China, Accounting Methods |
| JEL: | Q01 Q53 Q58 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uow:depec1:wp12-08&r=res |
| By: | Ramón López; Sang Won Yoon |
| Abstract: | The standard theoretical literature has shown that environmental sustainability and positive economic growth are not incompatible as long as environmental policies are optimal. However, in showing this result earlier studies have relied on strong assumptions that may appear to charge the dice in favor of such result. Here we show that once the role of the consumption composition effect is recognized, environmentally sustainable economic growth may exist even if some of the most questionable assumptions used by the canonical models are relaxed. In particular, we show that sustainable growth is possible even if environmental and man-made factors of production are complement rather than highly substitutable as has been invariably assumed by the literature and even if technological change is entirely pollution-augmenting. |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udc:wpaper:wp375&r=res |