Madison Ashworth, Todd L. Cherry, D. Finnoff, S. Newbold, J. Shogren, Linda Thunström
We discuss contributions by environmental and natural resource (ENR) economists to research and policy analysis of COVID-19. ENR economists have a perspective and tool kit that are particularly well suited to this task. The field of environmental economics began as an interdisciplinary endeavor and has since built on its early legacy to assemble a large set of conceptual models and empirical methods that integrate the relevant natural science, market and nonmarket institutions, and human behaviors to inform policies and shape collective action outcomes. We present elements of policy analysis that together form an integrated framework for studying the pandemic and options for controlling it. We highlight particular tools and skills that provide ENR economists with some comparative advantages for researching and analyzing COVID-19 polices, take stock of what ENR economics research has already achieved, and identify important unresolved issues that ENR economists appear to be especially well qualified to address.
{"title":"COVID-19 Research and Policy Analysis: Contributions from Environmental Economists","authors":"Madison Ashworth, Todd L. Cherry, D. Finnoff, S. Newbold, J. Shogren, Linda Thunström","doi":"10.1086/717732","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/717732","url":null,"abstract":"We discuss contributions by environmental and natural resource (ENR) economists to research and policy analysis of COVID-19. ENR economists have a perspective and tool kit that are particularly well suited to this task. The field of environmental economics began as an interdisciplinary endeavor and has since built on its early legacy to assemble a large set of conceptual models and empirical methods that integrate the relevant natural science, market and nonmarket institutions, and human behaviors to inform policies and shape collective action outcomes. We present elements of policy analysis that together form an integrated framework for studying the pandemic and options for controlling it. We highlight particular tools and skills that provide ENR economists with some comparative advantages for researching and analyzing COVID-19 polices, take stock of what ENR economics research has already achieved, and identify important unresolved issues that ENR economists appear to be especially well qualified to address.","PeriodicalId":47676,"journal":{"name":"Review of Environmental Economics and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46302676","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 article proposes and evaluates four hypotheses about US pollution and environmental policy over the past half century. First, air and water pollution has declined substantially, although greenhouse gas emissions have not. Second, environmental policy explains a large share of these trends. Third, much of the regulation of air and drinking water pollution has benefits that exceed costs, although the evidence for surface water pollution regulation is less clear. Fourth, while the distribution of pollution across social groups is unequal, market-based environmental policies and command and control policies do not appear to produce systematically different distributions of environmental outcomes. I also discuss recent innovations in methods and data that can be used to evaluate pollution trends and policies, including the increased use of environmental administrative data, statistical benefit–cost comparisons, analysis of previously understudied policies, more sophisticated analyses of pollution transport, micro-macro frameworks, and a focus on the distribution of environmental outcomes.
{"title":"Pollution Trends and US Environmental Policy: Lessons from the Past Half Century","authors":"Joseph S. Shapiro","doi":"10.1086/718054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/718054","url":null,"abstract":"This article proposes and evaluates four hypotheses about US pollution and environmental policy over the past half century. First, air and water pollution has declined substantially, although greenhouse gas emissions have not. Second, environmental policy explains a large share of these trends. Third, much of the regulation of air and drinking water pollution has benefits that exceed costs, although the evidence for surface water pollution regulation is less clear. Fourth, while the distribution of pollution across social groups is unequal, market-based environmental policies and command and control policies do not appear to produce systematically different distributions of environmental outcomes. I also discuss recent innovations in methods and data that can be used to evaluate pollution trends and policies, including the increased use of environmental administrative data, statistical benefit–cost comparisons, analysis of previously understudied policies, more sophisticated analyses of pollution transport, micro-macro frameworks, and a focus on the distribution of environmental outcomes.","PeriodicalId":47676,"journal":{"name":"Review of Environmental Economics and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49074935","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}
We examine the private and public economics of electric vehicles (EVs) and discuss when market forces can be expected to produce the optimal path of EV adoption. Privately, consumer cost savings from EVs vary. Some experience net benefits from choosing gasoline cars, even after accounting for EV subsidies. Publicly, we survey the literature documenting the external costs and benefits of EVs and highlight several themes for optimal policy design. These include (1) promoting regional variation in EV policies that align private incentives with social benefits, (2) pursuing a time-path of policies that reflects changing marginal benefits, and (3) rationalizing electricity and gasoline prices to reflect their social marginal cost. On the one hand, research suggests optimal policy be front-loaded and then ramp down over time as industries gain experience in EV production and as charging infrastructure is put in place. On the other hand, as electricity generation becomes cleaner over time, environmental considerations may favor increasing subsidies as the environmental benefits of driving EVs rise relative to conventional vehicles.
{"title":"The Economics of Electric Vehicles","authors":"D. Rapson, Erich Muehlegger","doi":"10.1086/725484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/725484","url":null,"abstract":"We examine the private and public economics of electric vehicles (EVs) and discuss when market forces can be expected to produce the optimal path of EV adoption. Privately, consumer cost savings from EVs vary. Some experience net benefits from choosing gasoline cars, even after accounting for EV subsidies. Publicly, we survey the literature documenting the external costs and benefits of EVs and highlight several themes for optimal policy design. These include (1) promoting regional variation in EV policies that align private incentives with social benefits, (2) pursuing a time-path of policies that reflects changing marginal benefits, and (3) rationalizing electricity and gasoline prices to reflect their social marginal cost. On the one hand, research suggests optimal policy be front-loaded and then ramp down over time as industries gain experience in EV production and as charging infrastructure is put in place. On the other hand, as electricity generation becomes cleaner over time, environmental considerations may favor increasing subsidies as the environmental benefits of driving EVs rise relative to conventional vehicles.","PeriodicalId":47676,"journal":{"name":"Review of Environmental Economics and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45322748","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}
Governments around the world are planning to accelerate their efforts to decarbonize and electrify their transportation sector. In this article, I describe the key role charging stations play in electric vehicle (EV) markets and discuss how a lack of charging infrastructure can pose a barrier to EV adoption. Then I discuss Norway’s experience with incentives for charging infrastructure and consumer subsidies. I conclude by highlighting key lessons from Norway and their implications for designing effective policies to support EV adoption.
{"title":"It’s Not Easy Being “Green”: Lessons from Norway’s Experience with Incentives for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure","authors":"Katalin Springel","doi":"10.1086/715549","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/715549","url":null,"abstract":"Governments around the world are planning to accelerate their efforts to decarbonize and electrify their transportation sector. In this article, I describe the key role charging stations play in electric vehicle (EV) markets and discuss how a lack of charging infrastructure can pose a barrier to EV adoption. Then I discuss Norway’s experience with incentives for charging infrastructure and consumer subsidies. I conclude by highlighting key lessons from Norway and their implications for designing effective policies to support EV adoption.","PeriodicalId":47676,"journal":{"name":"Review of Environmental Economics and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49345182","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}
Almost all of the world’s energy demand growth is projected to occur in low- and medium-income countries (LMICs). Targeted energy efficiency investments have the potential to mitigate tensions between economic growth objectives and sustainable development commitments. We review the empirical evidence on both the private and social benefits of energy efficiency improvements in LMICs. In addition to direct energy savings, energy efficiency investments can generate indirect benefits such as improved reliability, enhanced energy access, and increased productivity. We highlight the role that energy subsidies, unreliable power supply, and capital constraints may play in the underinvestment in energy efficiency. Increasingly, LMICs are implementing policies and programs aimed at mitigating these barriers. We discuss some recent policy design innovations and emphasize the importance of rigorous evaluation.
{"title":"The Economics of Energy Efficiency in Developing Countries","authors":"M. Fowlie, R. Meeks","doi":"10.1086/715606","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/715606","url":null,"abstract":"Almost all of the world’s energy demand growth is projected to occur in low- and medium-income countries (LMICs). Targeted energy efficiency investments have the potential to mitigate tensions between economic growth objectives and sustainable development commitments. We review the empirical evidence on both the private and social benefits of energy efficiency improvements in LMICs. In addition to direct energy savings, energy efficiency investments can generate indirect benefits such as improved reliability, enhanced energy access, and increased productivity. We highlight the role that energy subsidies, unreliable power supply, and capital constraints may play in the underinvestment in energy efficiency. Increasingly, LMICs are implementing policies and programs aimed at mitigating these barriers. We discuss some recent policy design innovations and emphasize the importance of rigorous evaluation.","PeriodicalId":47676,"journal":{"name":"Review of Environmental Economics and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/715606","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45522935","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}
Addressing the poverty and distributional impacts of carbon pricing reforms is critical for the success of ambitious actions in the fight against climate change—from both the political economy perspective and the social welfare perspective. This article systematically reviews the following four channels through which carbon pricing can potentially affect poverty and inequality: consumption, income, health, and revenue recycling. It finds that the channels differ in important ways along several dimensions; as such, a blanket assessment of whether carbon pricing is progressive or regressive may have limited value in informing policy designs. The article also identifies several key gaps in the current literature and discusses how policy designs could take into account the attributes of the channels in mitigating the impacts of carbon pricing reforms on households.
{"title":"The Poverty and Distributional Impacts of Carbon Pricing: Channels and Policy Implications","authors":"Baoping Shang","doi":"10.1086/723899","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/723899","url":null,"abstract":"Addressing the poverty and distributional impacts of carbon pricing reforms is critical for the success of ambitious actions in the fight against climate change—from both the political economy perspective and the social welfare perspective. This article systematically reviews the following four channels through which carbon pricing can potentially affect poverty and inequality: consumption, income, health, and revenue recycling. It finds that the channels differ in important ways along several dimensions; as such, a blanket assessment of whether carbon pricing is progressive or regressive may have limited value in informing policy designs. The article also identifies several key gaps in the current literature and discusses how policy designs could take into account the attributes of the channels in mitigating the impacts of carbon pricing reforms on households.","PeriodicalId":47676,"journal":{"name":"Review of Environmental Economics and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42960695","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}
Severe ambient water pollution is common in many developing countries. A broad array of regulatory and other policy instruments can be used to improve water quality. However, some approaches have been studied more than others, and there are many additional challenges that are specific to the developing country setting. This article describes a range of prescriptive and market-based regulations, voluntary programs, and other policy instruments to control water pollution and also reviews the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these approaches in practice, with a focus on developing countries. We also examine additional challenges for implementing and assessing such policies in developing countries, including data availability and quality issues, insufficient monitoring and enforcement, rent-seeking in regulatory systems, and jurisdictional spillovers where regulation is decentralized. Finally, we highlight important gaps in the published empirical research in this area.
{"title":"Water Pollution Control in Developing Countries: Policy Instruments and Empirical Evidence","authors":"Sheila M. Olmstead, Jiameng Zheng","doi":"10.1086/715645","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/715645","url":null,"abstract":"Severe ambient water pollution is common in many developing countries. A broad array of regulatory and other policy instruments can be used to improve water quality. However, some approaches have been studied more than others, and there are many additional challenges that are specific to the developing country setting. This article describes a range of prescriptive and market-based regulations, voluntary programs, and other policy instruments to control water pollution and also reviews the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these approaches in practice, with a focus on developing countries. We also examine additional challenges for implementing and assessing such policies in developing countries, including data availability and quality issues, insufficient monitoring and enforcement, rent-seeking in regulatory systems, and jurisdictional spillovers where regulation is decentralized. Finally, we highlight important gaps in the published empirical research in this area.","PeriodicalId":47676,"journal":{"name":"Review of Environmental Economics and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/715645","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46580666","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}
Benefit–cost analysis (BCA) provides important science to inform regulatory decision-making. Ideally, the BCA should be based on science, including economics. However, the prominent role of BCA in the policy-making process also creates an incentive to adopt practices that produce results that support a preferred policy. Indeed, rather than informing decision-making, BCA can become a tool for justifying a decision that is made by manipulating results in ways contrary to good science. This article identifies two challenges that threaten the scientific integrity of a BCA because they allow normative and policy judgments to enter into the BCA. The article concludes by identifying actions to help protect the scientific integrity of BCA.
{"title":"Quality Science for Quality Decisions: Protecting the Scientific Integrity of Benefit–Cost Analysis","authors":"A. McGartland","doi":"10.1086/715623","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/715623","url":null,"abstract":"Benefit–cost analysis (BCA) provides important science to inform regulatory decision-making. Ideally, the BCA should be based on science, including economics. However, the prominent role of BCA in the policy-making process also creates an incentive to adopt practices that produce results that support a preferred policy. Indeed, rather than informing decision-making, BCA can become a tool for justifying a decision that is made by manipulating results in ways contrary to good science. This article identifies two challenges that threaten the scientific integrity of a BCA because they allow normative and policy judgments to enter into the BCA. The article concludes by identifying actions to help protect the scientific integrity of BCA.","PeriodicalId":47676,"journal":{"name":"Review of Environmental Economics and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/715623","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44182868","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}
What is the impact of extractive industries such as oil, gas, and mining on gender equality? We seek to answer this question. A correlational analysis of cross-country data indicates that resource-dependent countries generally have greater gender inequality, lower education levels for men and women, lower absolute female welfare, and more conservative attitudes toward women. To further explore the relationship between extractive industries and gender equality, we review the empirical literature on extractive industries and their gender-specific effects. The literature review reveals that extractive industries have highly gender-specific effects, with economic impacts such as job creation interacting with gender norms (e.g., gender segregation in labor markets) to affect labor and marriage markets, fertility, and violence. Health, including sexual, reproductive, and infant health, is determined by environmental factors, such as pollution, but the negative effects of these environmental factors can be partly offset by economic opportunities. We argue that program evaluation research is needed to explore ways to strengthen the beneficial effects of extractive industries on gender equality while mitigating their undesirable effects.
{"title":"Extractive Industries and Gender Equality","authors":"S. Baum, Anja Benshaul-Tolonen","doi":"10.1086/715525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/715525","url":null,"abstract":"What is the impact of extractive industries such as oil, gas, and mining on gender equality? We seek to answer this question. A correlational analysis of cross-country data indicates that resource-dependent countries generally have greater gender inequality, lower education levels for men and women, lower absolute female welfare, and more conservative attitudes toward women. To further explore the relationship between extractive industries and gender equality, we review the empirical literature on extractive industries and their gender-specific effects. The literature review reveals that extractive industries have highly gender-specific effects, with economic impacts such as job creation interacting with gender norms (e.g., gender segregation in labor markets) to affect labor and marriage markets, fertility, and violence. Health, including sexual, reproductive, and infant health, is determined by environmental factors, such as pollution, but the negative effects of these environmental factors can be partly offset by economic opportunities. We argue that program evaluation research is needed to explore ways to strengthen the beneficial effects of extractive industries on gender equality while mitigating their undesirable effects.","PeriodicalId":47676,"journal":{"name":"Review of Environmental Economics and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/715525","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42827037","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}
Since 2006, China has experienced an unprecedented expansion of its wind and solar power generation capacity and associated manufacturing industries. This rapid growth was supported by large subsidies that resulted in a significant and increasing government subsidy debt to renewable investors as well as a high curtailment rate for renewable electricity. This article reviews China’s renewable electricity development and policies between 2006 and 2020. First, we examine how China’s fixed feed-in tariff subsidies for wind and solar power generation under its planned electricity system distorted investment incentives and led to both the high subsidy debt and the high rates of curtailment. Then we discuss how and why the government shifted its renewable subsidy policy from fixed feed-in tariffs to auctions. We conclude with a discussion of additional policy reforms to support the continued development of renewable electricity in China.
{"title":"Renewable Electricity Development in China: Policies, Performance, and Challenges","authors":"M. Auffhammer, Min Wang, Lunyu Xie, Jintao Xu","doi":"10.1086/715624","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/715624","url":null,"abstract":"Since 2006, China has experienced an unprecedented expansion of its wind and solar power generation capacity and associated manufacturing industries. This rapid growth was supported by large subsidies that resulted in a significant and increasing government subsidy debt to renewable investors as well as a high curtailment rate for renewable electricity. This article reviews China’s renewable electricity development and policies between 2006 and 2020. First, we examine how China’s fixed feed-in tariff subsidies for wind and solar power generation under its planned electricity system distorted investment incentives and led to both the high subsidy debt and the high rates of curtailment. Then we discuss how and why the government shifted its renewable subsidy policy from fixed feed-in tariffs to auctions. We conclude with a discussion of additional policy reforms to support the continued development of renewable electricity in China.","PeriodicalId":47676,"journal":{"name":"Review of Environmental Economics and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/715624","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48863117","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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