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on Resource Economics |
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Issue of 2023‒09‒25
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Wimmer, Lorenz; Maus, Victor; Luckeneder, Sebastian |
| Abstract: | Urban green space (UGS) is known to provide several benefits for the local population, including regulating local climate and improving human health. The inequality hypothesis claims that these environmental amenities are unequally distributed across space and among different social groups. We propose using a continuous vegetation index derived from satellite imagery to investigate environmental inequality (EI) in UGS distribution. We used spatial autoregressive models to describe the relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and socioeconomic variables in a case study on the city of Vienna at an unprecedented level of detail (250 m resolution). We show statistically significant evidence for the existence of EI in Vienna. Neighborhoods with a higher share of foreigners have significantly less UGS. Results are robust across spatial aggregation levels and alternative spatial and non-spatial model specifications. We find that our model outperforms alternative ground measure for UGS, as NDVI does not cluster around extreme values. We demonstrate the potential of satellite imagery to investigate complex social problems related to EI in urban areas. |
| Keywords: | Remote Sensing; Foreigners; NDVI; Environmental Inequality; Spatial Regression; Socioeconomics |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wus045:45680654&r=res |
| By: | Meens-Eriksson, Sef (Department of Economics, Umeå University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I study municipal price sensitivity of demand for disposal of residual waste (unsorted waste from households) and mechanisms underlying the relationship. First, I estimate the effect on households’ generation of residual waste with respect to municipal waste collection policies. Second, I estimate to what extent municipalities change waste policy in response to higher costs for disposal of municipal residual waste. The empirical analysis is based on data regarding Swedish municipalities’ waste management systems and disposal costs in the period 2010–2019. Results suggests that the price elasticity of demand is in the range 0.20–0.24. The effect is almost entirely driven by municipalities’ implementation of weight-based collection tariffs for residual waste in response to costlier disposal. Besides weight-based tariffs, separate collection of food waste and joint collection of residual waste and recyclables are also found to have substantial negative effects on residual waste quantities. Nevertheless, such waste policies are not more likely to be implemented in response to higher disposal costs for the municipality. |
| Keywords: | Demand for waste; waste economics; waste management; environmental taxes |
| JEL: | D10 Q01 Q50 Q53 Q58 |
| Date: | 2023–09–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:1015&r=res |
| By: | Mao, Haiou (Huazhong University); Görg, Holger (Kiel Institute for the World Economy); Fang, Guopei (Huazhong University) |
| Abstract: | We look at divestments by foreign firms – a topic that has received comparatively little attention in the literature – and investigate how changes in the regulatory environment in the host country may impact on such divestment decisions. We use the implementation of China's Two Control Zone (TCZ) policy as a "quasi-natural experiment", using detailed firm level combined with city level data for the empirical analysis. Our results show that the implementation of TCZ policy has led to higher probabilities of divestments by foreign firms in targeted TCZ cities and industries. The mechanism behind this seems to be a TCZ-induced increase in discharge fees and efforts to reduce SO2 emissions. Allowing for heterogeneity of effects, we find that the effect is particularly strong for firms from source countries with less stringent environmental regulation, and those using less advanced technology. We furthermore show that firms using intermediates from polluting industries also experience a higher probability of divestment. |
| Keywords: | foreign divestment, environmental regulation, Two Control Zone Policy, China |
| JEL: | F23 Q58 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16406&r=res |
| By: | Adrien Fabre (CNRS, CIRED); Thomas Douenne (University of Amsterdam); Linus Mattauch (TU Berlin) |
| Abstract: | We document majority support for policies entailing global redistribution and climate mitigation. Recent surveys on 40, 680 respondents in 20 countries covering 72% of global carbon emissions show strong support for an effective way to jointly combat climate change and poverty: a global carbon price funding a global basic income, called the “Global Climate Scheme†(GCS). Using complementary surveys on 8, 000 respondents in the U.S., France, Germany, Spain, and the UK, we test several hypotheses that could reconcile strong stated support with a lack of salience in policy circles. A list experiment shows no evidence of social desirability bias, majorities are willing to sign a real-stake petition, and global redistribution ranks high in the prioritization of policies. Conjoint analyses reveal that a platform is more likely to be preferred if it contains the GCS or a global tax on millionaires. Universalistic attitudes are confirmed by an incentivized donation. In sum, our findings indicate that global policies are genuinely supported by a majority of the population. Public opinion is therefore not the reason that they do not prominently enter political debates. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, global policies, cap-and-trade, attitudes, survey |
| JEL: | P48 Q58 H23 Q54 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2023.08&r=res |