Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-22DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103265
Tsz Chun Kwok , Daniel Spiro , Arthur A. van Benthem
We provide a theoretical micro foundation for how much pollution (negative externalities) a firm will internalize based on the ownership distribution of its shareholders. Small shareholders, compared to large ones, want the firm to spend more on avoiding pollution since they suffer less profit loss for the same environmental benefit. In particular, if a shareholder holds a share of , where is the population in society, that shareholder’s preferences align with a social planner’s. Three theoretical predictions arise. First, small shareholders will systematically vote for a greener corporate profile. Second, firms with a smaller weighted-median shareholder will pollute less. Third, countries with concentrated corporate wealth holdings and/or more individualized firm ownership will pollute more. This implies that standard models of externalities in environmental economics and macroeconomics containing representative agents are either internally inconsistent or not fully specified.
{"title":"Firm ownership and pollution","authors":"Tsz Chun Kwok , Daniel Spiro , Arthur A. van Benthem","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103265","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103265","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We provide a theoretical micro foundation for how much pollution (negative externalities) a firm will internalize based on the ownership distribution of its shareholders. Small shareholders, compared to large ones, want the firm to spend more on avoiding pollution since they suffer less profit loss for the same environmental benefit. In particular, if a shareholder holds a share of <span><math><mn>1</mn><mrow><mo>/</mo></mrow><mi>N</mi></math></span>, where <span><math><mi>N</mi></math></span> is the population in society, that shareholder’s preferences align with a social planner’s. Three theoretical predictions arise. First, small shareholders will systematically vote for a greener corporate profile. Second, firms with a smaller weighted-median shareholder will pollute less. Third, countries with concentrated corporate wealth holdings and/or more individualized firm ownership will pollute more. This implies that standard models of externalities in environmental economics and macroeconomics containing representative agents are either internally inconsistent or not fully specified.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 103265"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this paper, we investigate the local environmental and economic effects of lithium extraction in the Atacama Salt Flat (ASF) in Chile as a result of the global push for the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs). Utilizing granular administrative and remote sensing datasets, we assess the impacts of the extraction operations on water availability, vegetation, economic activity, and population dynamics in the ASF. Our findings reveal significant declines in groundwater levels as well as notable reductions in vegetation, economic activity, and local populations due to exposure to the extraction of lithium. We present evidence that the negative effect on vegetation was concentrated in human settlements as opposed to natural reserves, suggesting a reduction in agricultural activity. The main mechanism is the reduction in endemic forestry species and agricultural crops. This likely led to a decline in economic opportunities, which may explain the population outflow from areas around the ASF.
{"title":"The non-green effects of going green: Local environmental and economic consequences of lithium extraction in Chile","authors":"Leonardo Peñaloza-Pacheco , Vaios Triantafyllou , Gonzalo Martínez","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103257","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103257","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, we investigate the local environmental and economic effects of lithium extraction in the Atacama Salt Flat (ASF) in Chile as a result of the global push for the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs). Utilizing granular administrative and remote sensing datasets, we assess the impacts of the extraction operations on water availability, vegetation, economic activity, and population dynamics in the ASF. Our findings reveal significant declines in groundwater levels as well as notable reductions in vegetation, economic activity, and local populations due to exposure to the extraction of lithium. We present evidence that the negative effect on vegetation was concentrated in human settlements as opposed to natural reserves, suggesting a reduction in agricultural activity. The main mechanism is the reduction in endemic forestry species and agricultural crops. This likely led to a decline in economic opportunities, which may explain the population outflow from areas around the ASF.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 103257"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145616615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-17DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103260
Martin Paul Jr. Tabe-Ojong , Emmanuel Tolani , Ernest L. Molua
We examine the impact of droughts on crop yields and forward-looking adaptive responses to extreme temperatures such as crop diversification and the adoption of climate-resilient crop varieties. We also investigate cropland adjustments in responding to past droughts. To do this, we combine panel data from 2012 to 2019 with satellite data on drought conditions. We also consider households' self-reported drought experiences. By estimating econometric models, we find that droughts lead to yield reductions with the most significant impact on beans (9.5 %), groundnuts (7.2 %), and maize (6.0 %). In response to past droughts, households cultivate more diverse crops with a lower tendency for crop concentration and specialization. Furthermore, households are increasingly turning to climate-resilient crop varieties with a 15 percentage point increase in adoption. These climate-resilient crop varieties are bred to withstand the threats posed by drought conditions as well as a range of climate change-induced pests and diseases. In response to droughts, households expand total cultivated land by about 11–18 %, thus balancing yield losses with increased land use. This is particularly the case for some crops like sorghum, cowpea and soybeans where we find an increase in acreage shares indicating relative dominance and competitiveness. Household perceptions of droughts correspond well with objective drought measures showing consistent implications on yields, diversification, adoption of resilient seeds and cropland expansion.
{"title":"Rolling back the tides: Impact of droughts on crop diversification and cropland expansion","authors":"Martin Paul Jr. Tabe-Ojong , Emmanuel Tolani , Ernest L. Molua","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103260","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine the impact of droughts on crop yields and forward-looking adaptive responses to extreme temperatures such as crop diversification and the adoption of climate-resilient crop varieties. We also investigate cropland adjustments in responding to past droughts. To do this, we combine panel data from 2012 to 2019 with satellite data on drought conditions. We also consider households' self-reported drought experiences. By estimating econometric models, we find that droughts lead to yield reductions with the most significant impact on beans (9.5 %), groundnuts (7.2 %), and maize (6.0 %). In response to past droughts, households cultivate more diverse crops with a lower tendency for crop concentration and specialization. Furthermore, households are increasingly turning to climate-resilient crop varieties with a 15 percentage point increase in adoption. These climate-resilient crop varieties are bred to withstand the threats posed by drought conditions as well as a range of climate change-induced pests and diseases. In response to droughts, households expand total cultivated land by about 11–18 %, thus balancing yield losses with increased land use. This is particularly the case for some crops like sorghum, cowpea and soybeans where we find an increase in acreage shares indicating relative dominance and competitiveness. Household perceptions of droughts correspond well with objective drought measures showing consistent implications on yields, diversification, adoption of resilient seeds and cropland expansion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 103260"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145616613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103261
Panbing Wan , Lin Chen , ZhongXiang Zhang
This paper examines how central supervision influences border pollution, using China's National Specially Monitored Firms (NSMF) program as a quasi-experiment. We show that the program significantly reduces SO2 emission intensity among polluting firms near provincial borders relative to those farther away. The effect is concentrated in firms located downwind of urban areas. The mechanism operates through strengthened local enforcement, as the NSMF program compels stricter monitoring of border-proximate firms. In response, these firms adopt greater end-of-pipe abatement measures to comply with heightened regulatory pressure.
{"title":"Does central supervision mitigate border pollution? Evidence from the national specially monitored firms program in China","authors":"Panbing Wan , Lin Chen , ZhongXiang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines how central supervision influences border pollution, using China's National Specially Monitored Firms (NSMF) program as a quasi-experiment. We show that the program significantly reduces SO<sub>2</sub> emission intensity among polluting firms near provincial borders relative to those farther away. The effect is concentrated in firms located downwind of urban areas. The mechanism operates through strengthened local enforcement, as the NSMF program compels stricter monitoring of border-proximate firms. In response, these firms adopt greater end-of-pipe abatement measures to comply with heightened regulatory pressure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 103261"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145616614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-17DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103256
Pablo Aguirre-Hormann , Francisco Donoso , Patricio Domínguez , Cristóbal De la Maza , Enzo E. Sauma
This study evaluates whether automated, customized notifications can improve environmental adherence at scale. Using a census panel from Chile's environmental regulator (SMA) with monthly compliance statuses from facilities' monitoring reports, we analyze a national deployment of notifications to all industrial wastewater dischargers. A regression discontinuity design at the rollout demonstrates null effects on substantive environmental obligations but significant improvements in administrative compliance: reporting timeliness increased between 17 % and 24.5 % with respect to baseline levels while completeness jumped between 53.7 % and 66 %. Post-rollout dynamics show persistent gains in administrative compliance and a delayed, not causally identified, rise in compliance with flow-discharge limits. Transition-hazard estimates show higher monthly exit from and lower entry into non-compliance for administrative duties, with increased exits from non-compliance for flow-discharge limits. Subgroup analyses indicate that facilities starting from lower pre-intervention compliance improve more on that same obligation and we find attenuated effects where facilities had recent regulatory attention. Taken together, our results are more consistent with behavioral adjustment than with strategic reporting, though manipulation cannot be ruled out. The presented evidence highlights the promise of technology-driven nudges to address informational barriers and enhance regulatory responses in resource-constrained settings. Our contributions are threefold: (1) quasi-experimental evidence of immediate notification effectiveness; (2) integrated dynamics and transition analyses that shed light on mechanisms of response; and (3) analyses of distributional effects.
{"title":"Is a nudge enough? Evidence from environmental compliance in Chile's industrial wastewater regulation","authors":"Pablo Aguirre-Hormann , Francisco Donoso , Patricio Domínguez , Cristóbal De la Maza , Enzo E. Sauma","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study evaluates whether automated, customized notifications can improve environmental adherence at scale. Using a census panel from Chile's environmental regulator (SMA) with monthly compliance statuses from facilities' monitoring reports, we analyze a national deployment of notifications to all industrial wastewater dischargers. A regression discontinuity design at the rollout demonstrates null effects on substantive environmental obligations but significant improvements in administrative compliance: reporting timeliness increased between 17 % and 24.5 % with respect to baseline levels while completeness jumped between 53.7 % and 66 %. Post-rollout dynamics show persistent gains in administrative compliance and a delayed, not causally identified, rise in compliance with flow-discharge limits. Transition-hazard estimates show higher monthly exit from and lower entry into non-compliance for administrative duties, with increased exits from non-compliance for flow-discharge limits. Subgroup analyses indicate that facilities starting from lower pre-intervention compliance improve more on that same obligation and we find attenuated effects where facilities had recent regulatory attention. Taken together, our results are more consistent with behavioral adjustment than with strategic reporting, though manipulation cannot be ruled out. The presented evidence highlights the promise of technology-driven nudges to address informational barriers and enhance regulatory responses in resource-constrained settings. Our contributions are threefold: (1) quasi-experimental evidence of immediate notification effectiveness; (2) integrated dynamics and transition analyses that shed light on mechanisms of response; and (3) analyses of distributional effects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 103256"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145616616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study examines the role of experienced emotions in economic decision-making in the context of climate change. Using short video treatments in an experimental laboratory setting with 301 students, we successfully induce climate-related hope, anxiety, and guilt —emotions that are commonly addressed by NGOs to raise funds. We investigate the potential of our video treatments to affect one key dimension of climate change mitigation behavior: donations to NGOs engaging in CO2 emission reduction. In our experimental setting, we find that being in the guilt condition positively impacts donation behavior at the extensive margin, while being in the hope or anxiety condition negatively impacts donation behavior at the intensive margin. Experiencing anxiety, however, leads to a lower probability of donating larger amounts to spatially far away donation beneficiaries. Finally, we find that donating subsequently reduces guilt levels, indicating emotional relief. We argue that this finding aligns with theoretical considerations on the inclusion of emotions in the utility maximization framework.
{"title":"Feeling guilty, anxious or still hopeful? The role of distinct emotions in climate change mitigation behavior","authors":"Myriam Bechtoldt , Carina Keller , Daniel Schunk , Isabell Zipperle","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103273","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103273","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the role of experienced emotions in economic decision-making in the context of climate change. Using short video treatments in an experimental laboratory setting with 301 students, we successfully induce climate-related hope, anxiety, and guilt —emotions that are commonly addressed by NGOs to raise funds. We investigate the potential of our video treatments to affect one key dimension of climate change mitigation behavior: donations to NGOs engaging in CO<sub>2</sub> emission reduction. In our experimental setting, we find that being in the guilt condition positively impacts donation behavior at the extensive margin, while being in the hope or anxiety condition negatively impacts donation behavior at the intensive margin. Experiencing anxiety, however, leads to a lower probability of donating larger amounts to spatially far away donation beneficiaries. Finally, we find that donating subsequently reduces guilt levels, indicating emotional relief. We argue that this finding aligns with theoretical considerations on the inclusion of emotions in the utility maximization framework.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 103273"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145786961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-29DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103263
Emmanuel Murray-Leclair
This paper examines how plants adjust their production in response to asymmetric carbon pricing. When plants compete across areas, asymmetric regulation can lead to carbon leakage, shifting emissions from regulated to unregulated areas. I build a production model with multiple fuel inputs, imperfect competition, and region-specific carbon taxes. Using publicly available Canadian plant-level data on a wide range of air pollutants, I invert the chemical reactions from combustion to back out plants’ fuel usage. I then estimate the model by exploiting variation in the British Columbia (B.C.) and Quebec carbon taxes, which were implemented in 2008 and 2007, respectively. Findings indicate substantial emissions reductions in British Columbia, with 95 % confidence intervals ranging from 7 % to 48 %, and no reduction in Quebec. Contrary to theoretical predictions of carbon leakage, the analysis reveals no statistically significant shift in production toward unregulated provinces. A detailed decomposition reveals that the absence of leakage was primarily due to the regulated plants’ ability to absorb the tax by switching from oil to natural gas and by reallocating output from dirtier to cleaner plants within British Columbia.
{"title":"Asymmetric environmental regulation, interfuel substitution and carbon leakage","authors":"Emmanuel Murray-Leclair","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103263","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103263","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines how plants adjust their production in response to asymmetric carbon pricing. When plants compete across areas, asymmetric regulation can lead to carbon leakage, shifting emissions from regulated to unregulated areas. I build a production model with multiple fuel inputs, imperfect competition, and region-specific carbon taxes. Using publicly available Canadian plant-level data on a wide range of air pollutants, I invert the chemical reactions from combustion to back out plants’ fuel usage. I then estimate the model by exploiting variation in the British Columbia (B.C.) and Quebec carbon taxes, which were implemented in 2008 and 2007, respectively. Findings indicate substantial emissions reductions in British Columbia, with 95 % confidence intervals ranging from 7 % to 48 %, and no reduction in Quebec. Contrary to theoretical predictions of carbon leakage, the analysis reveals no statistically significant shift in production toward unregulated provinces. A detailed decomposition reveals that the absence of leakage was primarily due to the regulated plants’ ability to absorb the tax by switching from oil to natural gas and by reallocating output from dirtier to cleaner plants within British Columbia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 103263"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103258
Célia Escribe , Philippe Quirion
Energy efficiency and decarbonized energy sources are central to climate change mitigation, but additional strategies may be needed to meet ambitious targets. Sufficiency, which involves reducing consumption and shifting to less environmentally impactful lifestyles, is increasingly considered a potential lever for decarbonization. However, its broader economic implications remain underexplored. This paper develops a static macroeconomic model with a detailed microeconomic production framework to analyze these implications. We derive comparative statics to unravel three primary propagation channels for consumption changes: direct demand effects, price effects, and substitution effects, based on the production network structure and elasticities of substitution. Using multi-regional input–output data, we assess the impacts of two sufficiency-driven consumption changes: adopting a vegetarian diet and reducing energy use. Our findings reveal significant rebound effects, up to 38 % for domestic emissions and 60 % for global emissions (accounting for carbon leakage), compared to estimates excluding behavioral aspects. Rebound effects from sufficiency strategies are smaller than those from energy efficiency improvements.
{"title":"Do sufficiency consumption changes drive emissions down? A production network approach","authors":"Célia Escribe , Philippe Quirion","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103258","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Energy efficiency and decarbonized energy sources are central to climate change mitigation, but additional strategies may be needed to meet ambitious targets. Sufficiency, which involves reducing consumption and shifting to less environmentally impactful lifestyles, is increasingly considered a potential lever for decarbonization. However, its broader economic implications remain underexplored. This paper develops a static macroeconomic model with a detailed microeconomic production framework to analyze these implications. We derive comparative statics to unravel three primary propagation channels for consumption changes: direct demand effects, price effects, and substitution effects, based on the production network structure and elasticities of substitution. Using multi-regional input–output data, we assess the impacts of two sufficiency-driven consumption changes: adopting a vegetarian diet and reducing energy use. Our findings reveal significant rebound effects, up to 38 % for domestic emissions and 60 % for global emissions (accounting for carbon leakage), compared to estimates excluding behavioral aspects. Rebound effects from sufficiency strategies are smaller than those from energy efficiency improvements.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 103258"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-26DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103266
Ruijie Tian , Huajin Wang , Da Zhang , Xiliang Zhang , Thomas Sterner
Beijing’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) is one of the earliest with sustained high permit prices among seven CO2 ETS pilots in China. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design with a unique emissions data set for firms participating in Beijing’s ETS, we study firms’ reactions to carbon pricing. We find that, on average, the ETS reduced firms’ carbon emissions by 3 years after the policy was introduced, but responses varied: emissions were reduced by about in the industrial sector, but there was hardly any change in the service sector. By looking into potential abatement mechanisms of industrial firms, we find that their emissions reduction was realized mainly through reducing coal consumption, without significantly reducing output and energy intensity. The effects on firms in the industrial sector are partly amplified by firms subject to overlapping regulations targeting heavily polluting and energy-intensive producers, highlighting heterogeneous responses for firms facing multiple regulatory pressures.
{"title":"Heterogeneous responses to carbon pricing: Firm-level evidence from Beijing emissions trading scheme","authors":"Ruijie Tian , Huajin Wang , Da Zhang , Xiliang Zhang , Thomas Sterner","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103266","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103266","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Beijing’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) is one of the earliest with sustained high permit prices among seven CO<sub>2</sub> ETS pilots in China. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design with a unique emissions data set for firms participating in Beijing’s ETS, we study firms’ reactions to carbon pricing. We find that, on average, the ETS reduced firms’ carbon emissions by <span><math><mn>39</mn><mspace></mspace><mi>%</mi></math></span> 3 years after the policy was introduced, but responses varied: emissions were reduced by about <span><math><mn>45</mn><mspace></mspace><mi>%</mi></math></span> in the industrial sector, but there was hardly any change in the service sector. By looking into potential abatement mechanisms of industrial firms, we find that their emissions reduction was realized mainly through reducing coal consumption, without significantly reducing output and energy intensity. The effects on firms in the industrial sector are partly amplified by firms subject to overlapping regulations targeting heavily polluting and energy-intensive producers, highlighting heterogeneous responses for firms facing multiple regulatory pressures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 103266"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145733574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-10-16DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103244
Praveen Kumar , Eshita Gupta , E. Somanathan
In most Indian states, electricity for irrigation is unmetered but rationed through limited daily supply hours. This study estimates the impact of the 24-hour agricultural electricity policy implemented in Telangana state in 2018, which effectively removed this rationing. Using a district-level monthly panel on agricultural power consumption in Telangana and boundary districts in neighboring states, we find a 53 % increase in agricultural power consumption in Telangana in the two years following the policy, a result that is consistent with a sharp increase in the area under water-intensive rice cultivation in Telangana relative to neighboring states. However, an analysis of detailed groundwater depth data from government monitoring wells, using a geographic difference-in-differences design, reveals no statistically significant change in measured groundwater levels or in the incidence of dry wells. We argue that these seemingly contradictory outcomes stem from limitations in the monitoring framework, which fails to capture water availability in farmer wells in regions with fragmented hard rock aquifers. Our findings highlight that unrestricted power supply can lead to substantial inefficiency in electricity and groundwater use, while official monitoring systems may fail to capture the full hydrological impact. This has important implications for both energy and groundwater policy in South India and other regions with similar hydrogeology.
{"title":"Removing rationing: Power consumption and groundwater monitoring in South India","authors":"Praveen Kumar , Eshita Gupta , E. Somanathan","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103244","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103244","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In most Indian states, electricity for irrigation is unmetered but rationed through limited daily supply hours. This study estimates the impact of the 24-hour agricultural electricity policy implemented in Telangana state in 2018, which effectively removed this rationing. Using a district-level monthly panel on agricultural power consumption in Telangana and boundary districts in neighboring states, we find a 53 % increase in agricultural power consumption in Telangana in the two years following the policy, a result that is consistent with a sharp increase in the area under water-intensive rice cultivation in Telangana relative to neighboring states. However, an analysis of detailed groundwater depth data from government monitoring wells, using a geographic difference-in-differences design, reveals no statistically significant change in measured groundwater levels or in the incidence of dry wells. We argue that these seemingly contradictory outcomes stem from limitations in the monitoring framework, which fails to capture water availability in farmer wells in regions with fragmented hard rock aquifers. Our findings highlight that unrestricted power supply can lead to substantial inefficiency in electricity and groundwater use, while official monitoring systems may fail to capture the full hydrological impact. This has important implications for both energy and groundwater policy in South India and other regions with similar hydrogeology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"135 ","pages":"Article 103244"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145425810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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