ALBERT

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉How has ecological knowledge been applied in Norwegian management of hydropower and protected areas? By recognizing a diversity of environmental ‘knowledges’ and science as potentially subordinated to political and economic interests, we explain the link between ecological knowledge and management by the state and scale of knowledge, political conflict and international commitments. The analysis is guided by case-study methodology. We find that ecological knowledge has had weak impact in the management reform of protected areas and been reduced as a decision-making premise in hydropower management. Differing combinations of case-specific factors have produced these outcomes. In the case of protected areas, ecological knowledge was suppressed mainly by opposing economic interests. The hydropower case showed how competing environmental knowledge and international commitments related to renewable energy and climate change overshadowed nature management concerns. These observations highlight the importance of differentiating between types of environmental knowledge and between knowledge and interests in the study of nature management.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper provides empirical evidence regarding the effect of energy based taxes on economic growth. The analysis is based on a panel dataset of 31 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries from 1994 to 2013, using multiple imputation algorithm to address missingness pattern. Employing the instrumental variables with two-stage least squares instrumental variable estimator, we found that energy based taxes have a negative effect on economic growth rate. This effect may rely significantly on the level of the economy’s dependence on polluting energy use as a share of total energy used in the production process. In addition, our study shows that an increase in energy based taxes can enhance significantly the economic growth rate, as the initial level of country’s richness increases.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉We capitalize on access to plant-level data in examining the changes in emissions of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), and greenhouse gas (GHG) for a set of Canadian pulp and paper mills from 2005 to 2013. In particular, we investigate the roles played by changes in output, emission intensity, allocation of production among surviving plants, and plant closures. Output change is the main factor and improvement of emission intensity by surviving plants—the so-called technique effect—brings a small, yet positive contribution. However, there are no indications that market operations determining plant output and plant survival lead to lower emissions.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Despite the expansion of international fisheries law, fish stocks are still threatened by illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. An inevitable question arises: What can be done to better induce state compliance with international fisheries law? This article reveals a factor affecting compliance with international fisheries law that had not yet been explored in the compliance studies literature: the processes for implementing that law. It notes that one actor’s implementation processes may enhance other actors’ compliance with international fisheries law if the processes aim to affect others’ behaviour and others conform to them. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to identify conditions under which the implementation processes have such a socialisation effect. These conditions are explored in two case studies concerning IUU fishing: that existing between the Republic of Korea and the European Union (2013–2015) and that between the Republic of Korea and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (2011). The case studies show that, from an institutional perspective, the design of transparent implementation processes with dialogue between the actors involved is crucial and, in terms of social context, the international leverage and reputations of the implementing actor and the targeted actor, as well as collaboration with media and civil society, are also significant factors in the processes’ socialisation effect.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper examines the interaction of two types of provisions in international environmental agreements: an identity-based minimum participation clause (MPC) and an equal treatment provision. While MPCs have been widely studied in the context of multilateral agreements, this paper is the first to formally introduce treaties specifying equal proportional reductions from the no-treaty equilibrium for all participants. Does the presence of these two provisions assist or impede the formation and efficiency of the grand coalition? In cases of equal treatment and heterogeneity of agents, smaller coalitions may result in higher welfare than requiring the grand coalition. Using game theoretic analysis of a 〈em〉set〈/em〉 of games, this paper gives a set of sufficient conditions for this welfare result to hold in a one-shot negative externality coalition game and presents examples of when smaller agreements do, and do not, improve upon unanimity. Furthermore, this paper focuses on how the choice of negotiation rules affects the optimal set of signatories. By specifying equal treatment (e.g. a proportional reduction rule) in a treaty, gains to the “narrow but deep” approach may warrant a smaller coalition.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉We present the results of a series of economic laboratory experiments designed to study the compliance behavior of polluting firms when penalties are stochastic. The experiments consist of a regulatory environment in which university students faced emission standards and an enforcement mechanism composed of audit probabilities and penalties (conditional on detection of a violation). We examine how uncertainty about the penalty affects the compliance decision and the extent of violation with two levels of enforcement: one in which the regulator induces perfect compliance and another one in which it does not. Our results suggest that in the first case, uncertain penalties increase the extent of violations in firms with higher marginal benefits. When enforcement is not sufficient to induce compliance, the uncertain penalties do not have any statistically significant effect on compliance behavior. Overall, the results suggest that a cost-effective design of emission standards should include complete, public information on the penalties for violations.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This article offers a descriptive and normative economic analysis of international environmental rights. States, sovereignty, international negotiations, and international law resemble legal persons, property, the market, and private law, respectively. Just as the initial entitlement of persons’ property rights is important to increasing welfare when transaction costs are significant, so too is that of states’ sovereignty rights, including those regarding the environment. What is the initial entitlement of these rights? Is this relatively efficient? How are these rights protected? The article considers three possible initial entitlements. First, states’ right to cause transboundary environmental harm and, second, their right to be free therefrom are each rejected due to weak theoretical support and insufficient state practice. These initial entitlements would also be less efficient. In contrast, an initial entitlement consisting of both the prevention of transboundary harm and the equitable use of shared natural resources is supported by theory and practice. This entitlement appears relatively efficient, and the relevant legal instruments reveal an implicit underlying economic logic. These international environmental rights are generally protected by mechanisms that resemble liability.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The literature is abundant with studies analyzing inequality in carbon emissions at the macroeconomic level, but very limited at the household level. The issue of household carbon footprint inequality is relevant in mitigating climate change through curbing household emissions. This study investigates household carbon footprint inequality in the Philippines and decomposes it into consumption sources applying the standard method used in analyzing income inequality. Results show that the richest 20% of the population has an aggregate share of more than 50% in the total household emissions. Between 2000 and 2006, the Gini coefficient of carbon footprint increases from 0.455 to 0.475. This implies that there is a high and worsening carbon footprint disparity among Filipino households. This disparity in emissions is more pronounced among rich and poor households relative to the middle-income households depicting a non-monotonous kind of relationship between household income and carbon emissions. This suggests that variations in lifestyle and consumption preferences determine overall household emissions inequality. In addition, the decomposition analysis suggests that inequality in carbon footprint is mainly driven by energy-intensive consumption such as fuel, light and transportation. At any affluence level, promotion of less carbon-intensive or energy-efficient consumption allows for the reduction of not just the emissions level, but also the disparity in household carbon footprint.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉While Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) face many challenges in their pursuit of sustainable resource development, climate change is among the most pressing and least addressed. Research has identified a host of expected or ongoing physical, biological, ecological, and social impacts of climate change on the marine environment, creating a strong climate change adaptation imperative for RFMOs. Through a case study of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), we describe two serious limitations of current RFMO climate change adaptation strategies: (1) a weakened efficacy of resource management and conservation policies caused by viewing climate change as a general climate stressor rather than a unique environmental challenge, and (2) a reliance on incremental policy reform, problematic because it may not enable a pace or scale of policy change proportional to the sustainable development challenges created by a rapidly changing ocean. We discuss the benefits and drawbacks of incrementalism and outline potential solutions to the environmental and structural challenges facing the IATTC and other RFMOs, including the concept of adaptation pathways.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The Paris Agreement on climate change recognizes, reluctantly albeit, the importance of ‘climate justice’ in its Preamble. Despite a change from a top-down burden-sharing approach to a bottom-up pledge and review regime, concerns of distributive justice remain central to the evolution of climate research, regime, and policy. The Paris Agreement also proposes a new market-based mechanism to promote ambition. Reasserting the unavoidability of ‘climate justice’ concerns, and responding to the suggestion that the proposed new market-based mechanism could learn from the experience of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), this paper argues that such a recommendation should be tested against a comprehensive understanding of compatibility between justice and the market. This paper postulates that both justice and the market have institutional underpinnings, which embed them into deeper, and interconnected, layers of values and relations. Arguing that ‘climate justice’ is best understood as ‘an agreed ensemble of values,’ we propose that the architecture of the UNFCCC in which these values are articulated, negotiated, and agreed upon needs to be conceptualized as consisting of four distinct, but evolving, institutional spheres: ambition, obligations and entitlements, mechanisms, and deliberation. The approach is illustrated using the case of the CDM, and implications are suggested for the proposed market-based mechanism under the Paris Agreement. The paper argues that the concerns of ‘climate justice’ have multiple institutional dimensions, and the market-based mechanisms may contribute to realizing certain dimensions of ‘climate justice,’ while considerably subverting others. The extent of both outcomes depends greatly on the ‘agreed’ conception of justice, design of mechanisms, and capabilities of the participants. Our findings suggest a judicious combination of non-market mechanisms with the market-based mechanisms would better serve the desired goal.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The international debate about trade imbalances often puts the focus on the role of domestic GDP/foreign GDP and the role of real exchange rate changes – with respect to the latter adjustment channel, the standard question is whether or not the Marshall-Lerner condition is fulfilled. While recent trade literature has focused on exchange rate pass-through the role of FDI has not been much discussed. With outward foreign direct investment (FDI) and inward FDI becoming increasingly important, the question about the real exchange rate impact on the trade balance has to be restated as imports are proportionate to real gross national income and this indeed implies a new Marshall-Lerner condition. It is shown that with outward cumulated FDI, the modified condition is stricter than the traditional case and with both outward FDI and inward FDI, the elasticity requirement is ambiguous. “FDI globalization” might go along with unpleasant trade imbalance problems so that additional empirical research is needed as well as stronger international policy cooperation as high trade balance deficits/high trade balance surplus positions could be rather difficult to correct through exchange rate adjustments only. Looking at the import elasticities for all partner countries of the US – or country x – together is quite misleading for policymakers.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The prolific literature on the relationship between the trade and environmental regimes suffers from three shortcomings. First, it myopically focuses on multilateral institutions, while the vast majority of trade and environmental agreements are bilateral. Second, when studies consider preferential trade agreements’ (PTAs) environmental provisions, they are often limited to USA and EU agreements. Third, it examines how the trade and environmental regimes negatively affect each other, leaving aside their potential synergies. Conversely, this article assesses the potential contribution of PTAs to international environmental law. Several PTAs include a full-fledged chapter devoted to environmental protection and contain detailed commitments on various environmental issue areas. One possible scenario is that countries that are dissatisfied with traditional settings for environmental lawmaking engage in a process of “regime shifting” toward PTAs to move forward on their environmental agenda. The alternative is that PTAs’ environmental provisions are the result of “tactical linkages” and merely duplicate extant obligations from international environmental law to serve political goals. We shed light on this question by building on two datasets of 690 PTAs and 2343 environmental treaties. We investigate four potential contributions of PTAs to environmental law: the diffusion of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), the diffusion of existing environmental rules, the design of new environmental rules, and the legal prevalence of MEAs. The article concludes that the contribution of PTAs to the strengthening of states’ commitments under international environmental law is very modest on the four dimensions examined.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Governance is a basic factor explaining the poor economic, social and environmental performance of many developing countries. Since good governance impacts the environment and management of carbon emissions, in this study, we examine the relationship between governance and economic performance and its impact on CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions, employing the World Bank’s Aggregate Governance Indicators. To this end, data from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries over 8 years (from 2006 to 2015) is analyzed through spatial econometric techniques for panel data. The results show that the governance index (with a negative sign) and GDP growth variable (with a positive sign) have the greatest impact on carbon dioxide emissions. The inflation rate, exports, imports, foreign investment, and employment also have an impact on CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions. The policy recommendations of this research are that governments can help protect the environment by adopting better governance practices, improving the governance structure, and implementing a clean technology strategy in production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Major new multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) have entered into force in 2016, including the Paris Agreement (PA) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, the Kigali Amendment (KA) to the Montreal Protocol with a phase-down schedule for HFC production and use in all countries as well as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) under the International Civil Aviation Organization, an offset mechanism for GHG emissions. Regarding climate change mitigation, these MEAs are implicitly and explicitly linked to each other. However, the interaction effects between them have not yet been studied. We apply document analysis to assess the following question: how does the MEA interplay impact the scope and effectiveness of international market-based climate policy instruments defined in Article 6 of the PA (Paris Mechanisms) regarding NDC achievement? The Paris Mechanisms can generate early reductions in HFCs that lower the KA baseline and thus the entire phase-down schedule, thereby generating long-term GHG mitigation. Reduction in HFC-23—a large, controversial source of carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)—is now mandated through the KA and thus no longer available for international market mechanisms. If it accepts CDM credits predating 2020, CORSIA will not generate demand for emission units generated by the Article 6 mechanisms and thus not impact their effectiveness. Otherwise, CORSIA demand for Article 6 credits enhances effectiveness, provided that ‘double counting’ of credits is prevented through corresponding adjustments.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Unilateralism remains an opaque concept associated with discriminatory or coercive policy implications. Legal controversies about unilateralism have not prevented a continuing proliferation of unilateral trade measures in domestic fishery management regimes to deter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The widespread application of trade leverage requires a refined study of the confluence of multilateral trade and environmental governance frameworks on novel state activism. This article probes the long-running trajectory of the US 〈em〉Tuna〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Shrimp〈/em〉 disputes within the cross-institutional context of the World Trade Organization, multilateral environmental agreements and regional fisheries management organizations. It aims to shed new light on the nexus between unilateral trade measures and multilateral environmental agreements as an evolving and mutually adaptive process. Inspired is the critical thinking on elevating trade and environmental partnerships to coherently monitor and discipline trade unilateralism in its indirect role to ameliorate global environmental problems.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉In the present paper, we investigate the effects of the disagreement in expectations about exchange rate on the disagreements in expectations about inflation and about monetary policy interest rate in Brazil. The analysis seeks to verify whether the uncertainty related to the future behavior of the exchange rate affects both the process of inflation expectation formation and the process of monetary policy interest rate expectation formation. Besides, the paper investigates the role of monetary policy credibility in mitigating the effects of the disagreement in expectations about exchange rate on the disagreements in expectations about inflation and about monetary policy interest rate. The results indicate that the disagreement in expectations about exchange rate impacts the disagreements in expectations about both inflation and monetary policy interest rate. In addition, the findings indicate that credibility is capable of mitigating the transmission of uncertainties about the exchange rate to uncertainties about the inflation rate and the monetary policy interest rate. Thus, our estimates reveal that (i) the marginal effect of disagreement in expectations about exchange rate on the disagreement in expectations about inflation decreases with the level of credibility and, (ii) the marginal effect of disagreement in expectations about exchange rate on the disagreement in expectations about monetary policy interest rate decreases as credibility increases.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper empirically investigates the three-way linkages amongst foreign direct investment (FDI), shadow economy and institutional quality by applying the panel dynamic simultaneous-equation modelling approach for a sample of 19 developing Asian countries over the period of 2002–2015. The empirical results by two-step System GMM show that institutional quality attracts inward FDI and FDI in its turn improves institutional quality, institutional quality is not only the cause but also the consequence of the shadow economy, and FDI inflows help reduce shadow economies though the channel of institutional improvement and lower shadow economies – which increase institutional quality – encourage FDI inflows. The empirical insights suggest helpful policy implications to deal with these dynamics simultaneously.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper investigates empirically the relationship between specialisation in the production of tradable output and the current account balance. According to the ‘tradability hypothesis’ that is examined, countries that specialise in highly tradable sectors tend to run current account surpluses while countries with dominant non-tradable sectors risk running current account deficits. In order to test this hypothesis empirically we develop a value-added based tradability index which captures the tradability of a country’s output. Applied to a large sample of European countries, our empirical model provides strong evidence in favour of the tradability hypothesis. The main policy implication is that the anxieties about ‘de-industrialisation’ in large parts of Europe seem justified with a view to growing external imbalances.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Using event-study techniques, we investigate the impact of Brexit-related events on the corporate bond yield spreads in the United Kingdom and Eurozone, respectively. We want to find out whether Brexit-related news, including the Brexit referendum itself, had an impact on the risk conditions in those two corporate bond markets. Our estimation results indicate that the announcement of the referendum result is associated with increasing credit spreads in the UK and EA. However, only the actual announcement of the UK referendum result itself had an influence on the credit spreads. Furthermore, we distinguish between the financial and the non-financial economic sectors in order to analyze more specific sector-related effects of the referendum event. Our estimation results suggest that UK credit spreads were more strongly influenced by the announcement of the results of the Brexit referendum than credit bond spreads in the Eurozone were. Finally, we split our sample into pre-referendum and post-referendum periods to consider the potential changing evaluation of the determinants of corporate bond spreads due to altering risk pricing triggered by the Brexit referendum result. We find that the effect of credit default risk is far stronger and plays a significant role in the post-referendum period in UK and EA, respectively.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper considers the implications of the UK leaving the European Union (EU) for ‘The City’ of London and the wider UK financial sector and for the EU’s Capital Markets Union (CMU) project. The extent of the impact of Brexit through job losses in London and gains in EU financial centres and the relocation of financial sector business will depend on the degree of ‘hardness’ or ‘softness’ of Brexit and indeed whether an exit treaty deal is struck or ‘no-Brexit’ follows a second referendum. At the time of writing (in November 2018) the likely denouement was far from clear. For the EU’s flagship CMU project, the loss of the core London capital markets will require the construction of a more fragmented system based in a number of cities within the EU. In this digital age, the various hubs can perhaps be fully networked whilst better serving distinct regional needs.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper uses a small and simple theoretical DSGE model in order to conduct some exercises in comparative dynamics of shocks that can be associated with Brexit. We do so by comparing two policy environments, one where a flexible macroprudential regulation (FMR) is in place and one, where this is not the case. This enables us to evaluate whether and to what extent FMR helps to mitigate the Brexit related shocks. We conclude that FMR would indeed be helpful, although in quantitative terms only slightly so.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Using event-study techniques, we investigate the impact of Brexit-related events on the spot exchange rate of the British pound against the euro and the US dollar. We want to find out whether Brexit-related news, including the Brexit referendum itself, has an impact on British pound exchange rates. By splitting our Brexit-related events into ‘good’ Brexit news and ‘bad’ Brexit news, we find that Brexit news has an impact on British pound exchange rates. Bad Brexit news is associated with a depreciation of the British pound against the euro and the US dollar whereas ‘good’ Brexit news appreciates the Pound against the euro. Furthermore, our empirical results suggest that market participants display a delayed reaction to bad Brexit news. As the referendum has clearly a significant impact on both British pound/euro and British pound/US dollar exchange rate volatility, the impact of Brexit news is only for the British pound/euro exchange rate volatility measurable. Besides the asymmetric volatility pattern towards positive and negative shocks in general, we find that the statistically significance and the magnitude of the impact of good Brexit news is higher than these of bad Brexit news. Concerning the British pound/US dollar exchange rate volatility, our results display a weak presence of volatility asymmetry in terms of shocks and good/bad Brexit news, respectively.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Interdisciplinary scholars and policymakers in the European Union (EU) claim that increasing material productivity improves the competitiveness of firms. However, the current evidence base has two main shortcomings. First, most studies fail to provide evidence beyond case studies, thus not considering dynamic effects and heterogeneity across firms, sectors, and countries. Second, they do not adequately take the endogeneity of changes in material productivity into account. In this paper, we investigate data from the Community Innovation Survey comprising over 52,000 firms across 23 sectors and 12 EU member states. Moreover, we take an instrumental variable approach to account for endogeneity. Our findings provide evidence for a positive and causal effect of material productivity improvements on microeconomic competitiveness for those firms that received targeted public financial support to realise eco-innovations. The effect tends to be limited to firms in certain material-intensive sectors and countries. We further show that such increases in material productivity reduce the firms’ carbon dioxide footprint, thus achieving both economic and environmental objectives. Therefore, our findings provide the important policy insight that tailoring the availability of public financial supports to sector and country specific circumstances and those eco-innovations that increase material productivity is most promising in reconciling competitiveness and climate change mitigation objectives.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper examines the interaction of different policies used to control two types of agricultural pollution. Pollution control policy is efficient when both pollution types are controlled by taxes, although a tax increase on one type of pollution can increase the quantity of another type of pollution if farm inputs are substitutes. However, if one of the pollutions is controlled by a local emissions trading scheme, and another pollution type is taxed, then the pollution type which is taxed becomes less responsive to a change in its own tax levels. This policy scenario results in inefficient levels of environmental pollution outcomes unless the cap for the local emissions trading scheme is constantly being shifted in response to the tax.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper investigates the consumption tax and subsidy as an environmental policy instrument for environmentally aware consumers by applying the model of price discrimination. We discover that a higher rate of subsidy should be set for less eco-friendly consumers for the purpose of achieving socially optimal environmental qualities under positive externalities and this retrogressive subsidization differs from the current progressive subsidization in the Japanese automobile industry, and could alleviate crowding out effects on prosocial behavior. Moreover, it is revealed that the optimal policy instrument for eco-friendlier consumers shifts from a subsidy to a tax, as the level of negative externalities increases.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Switching to more energy-efficient appliances may lead to higher energy demand. This phenomenon is known as the rebound effect, which may lead to less power saving than expected prior to the switch. Using a combination of propensity score matching with the difference-in-differences method, we examine the change in household electricity consumption that may be caused by replacing air conditioners with more energy-efficient ones. Based on the results of our estimations, we calculate the magnitude of the rebound effect for summer and winter. We find that the rebound effect is positive in summer and winter, and the magnitude is higher in winter (7.87% versus almost 100%, respectively). The estimated rebound effect is small in summer, implying that the power-saving effect due to switching to energy-efficient air conditioners is sizable. On the other hand, no power-saving effect due to the switch was found in winter.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The US federal government spent 6 billion dollars to protect endangered species in 2013. The previous studies have shown that federal funding allocated under the Endangered Species Act is not necessarily based on the priority a species has been assigned by the Fish and Wildlife Service. This paper asks whether this continues to be the case using more recent data from 2013. It analyzes what factors affect total species funding by various federal agencies under the Endangered Species Act, and particularly examines the role of animal charisma using the number of Google results per species as a proxy. Results show that, while federal priority ranking had no effect on funding, charisma had a significant effect, suggesting biased funding for some species of animals.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Numerous recent studies project that ‘climate engineering’ technologies might need to play a major role in the future. Such technologies may carry major risks for developing countries that are often especially vulnerable to, and lack adaptive capacity to deal with, the impacts of such new technologies. In this situation, one would expect that developing countries—especially the least developed countries that are most vulnerable—should play a central role in the emerging discourse on climate engineering. And yet, as this article shows in detail, the discussion about whether and how to engage with these technologies is shaped by experts from just a small set of countries in the Global North. Knowledge production around climate engineering remains heavily dominated by the major research institutions in North America and Europe. Drawing on information from 70 climate engineering events between 2009 and 2017 along with extensive document analysis, the article maps a lack of involvement of developing countries and highlights the degree to which their concerns remain insufficiently represented in politically significant scientific assessment reports. The article concludes by sketching options that developing countries may have to influence the agenda on climate engineering, reflecting on earlier attempts to increase control over novel technologies and influence global agenda setting.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The “rational design approach” to studying international agreements holds that policy-makers evaluate costs and benefits of cooperation when designing treaties and subsequently deciding on participation. To influence this cost–benefit calculus, treaty designers sometimes include a fund from which financial assistance is provided to treaty members and to which treaty members contribute. We argue that the inclusion of a funding mechanism in a treaty can increase but also decrease the costs (benefits) of membership and can thus influence state choices on participation in both directions. Specifically, we argue that: (1) overall, states are more likely to join international agreements that include a fund; (2) the probability of joining is higher for agreements including a fund if contributions to the fund are voluntary; and (3) countries are more likely to join agreements including a fund that disburses assistance only to a select group of treaty members. We test these arguments using a new dataset with information on 154 countries’ ratification behavior toward 178 multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) from 1950 to 2011. Our findings are in line with these arguments. The main policy implication is that MEA designers interested in maximizing treaty participation should include a formal funding mechanism and, in an effort to balance out positive and negative effects this might have on participation, base this mechanism on voluntary contributions and selective entitlements.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper analyzes the international monetary and financial implications of the UK's potential exit from the European Union, focusing on the impact on cross-border capital flows, on London's status as an international financial center, on the roles of sterling and the euro as international and reserve currencies, and on the roles of the UK and EU in the institutions of global governance (the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Group of Seven, Group of Twenty, and Financial Stability Board. All such conclusions are necessarily speculative at this stage, but the implications are potentially farreaching.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉I examine the welfare effects of emission permit trading in an economy where the use of energy in production generates welfare-harming emissions, there is a regulator that sets industry-specific emission permits and the industries influence the regulator by paying political contributions. I show that policy with nontraded emission permits establishes aggregate production efficiency. Emission permit trading hampers efficiency and welfare by increasing the use of emitting inputs in dirty and decreasing that in clean industries.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Brexit has been and continues to be a huge economic burden for the UK economy and its partners. We estimate that the Eurozone as a whole missed around EUR60bn of potential outlets on the UK market since the Brexit vote. It may take a last minute decision to avoid the costs of a hard Brexit, which are significant and underestimated by many prominent proponents of Brexit. In our view, a “no deal Brexit” would trigger two consecutive years of recession in the UK and cut Eurozone growth by at least −0.5 pp. per year. A “no Brexit deal” would have strongly negative repercussions for the UK’s trading partners, especially for Germany. Exports in EUR terms fell by almost −6% in 2016–17 cumulated (or EUR5bn in value terms) and export losses should reach EUR8bn per year in a “no Brexit deal” scenario. The type of a Free Trade Agreement between the UK and the EU is most essential in the long run. We estimate UK growth to average 1.5% over the transition period, half of the 2000–07 average for example.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The City of London has been the global leader for the provision of international banking services since the 1980s when Thatcher-era deregulation, followed by the EU single market program, stimulated big international FDI inflows – mainly of US banks – into the UK. The “single passport” rule allowed international banks in the UK to serve the whole of the EU28 market from London whose supply-side dynamics contributed to economic growth in the UK and a rising output share of the UK banking system in British GDP. With the expected BREXIT, there are serious challenges for the City since the passporting of banks will end and the regulatory framework will be adjusted; EU equivalence rules for UK banks that might be valid after the implementation of BREXIT cannot be a substitute for passporting so that lower FDI inflows and higher FDI outflows in the banking sector should be expected; inflow dynamics should also be shaped by international M&A dynamics influenced by the real Pound depreciation in 2016, while the prospects of reduced EU market access post-BREXIT also became relevant in 2017/18 and should influence the FDI dynamics of the UK – a similar pattern might occur in the BREXIT implementation year (i.e. 2019) and the following adjustment period where the change in City banks’ access to the single market will matter; as regards the latter, quasi-tariff-jumping FDI outflows from the UK can be expected where the FDI of City of London banks could go primarily to the EU27/Eurozone or the US. The empirical findings confirm the expected FDI pattern for the UK banking sector – overall FDI inflows in the wake of the BREXIT referendum have increased, in line with the Froot-Stein effect, while FDI inflows to the UK banking sector have declined.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This study estimates health cost of salinity contamination in drinking water in the severe salinity affected three south-western districts of Bangladesh. We collected information on self-reported health status, household characteristics, and laboratory-tested salinity concentration in drinking water from randomly selected 266 households. Our findings show that an increase in the concentration of 100 mg sodium chloride per litre in the drinking water raises annual health cost BDT 262 (USD 3.28) per household, all other things being equal. For average salinity concentration (868.26 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉), we computed gross annual health cost per household BDT 2270 (USD 28.38). Limiting salt concentration at the safe level could save approximately BDT 1617 (USD 20) per household or BDT 170 (USD 2.12) million in aggregate annually, which accounts for almost 1% of their disposable income. A benefit–cost analysis shows that net present value of benefits from a 10-year project for supplying safe drinking water to the entire population is around USD 7.33 million, and thus, the study indicates financial viability of alternative supply system (pond sand filtering) to the concerned authorities.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The risk–risk trade-off method is a technique used to elicit the relative trade-off between changes in morbidity and mortality risks in stated preference surveys. The responses can be used to inform the (relative) values or weights that should be given to different accidents in cost–benefit analyses of road-safety projects that reduce the risk of death or injury. While the method has some distinct advantages over eliciting direct monetary measures of value, it is likely to suffer from similar problems that are found in other stated preference surveys, which might mitigate against its more widespread use. This study explores this issue, but shows that the estimates from a risk–risk trade-off study can be improved by employing a pre-survey learning experiment in which respondents make incentivised risky choices and also using a frame that focuses on the total risk or risks that respondents face, thereby broadening the toolkit available to measure preferences over road-safety interventions.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉A number of researchers have found that imports by pollution heavy industries do not increase in response to tighter pollution policy. We empirically evaluate the impact of an sudden and unexpected increase in Swedish electricity prices in the 2000s on the imports of intermediate inputs by Swedish manufacturers. We find that imports declined as domestic electricity prices rose for firms with the most electricity-intense in-house production. We rationalize these findings by developing a simple model of trade in intermediate inputs, which illustrates that energy-intense firms may decrease imports if it is sufficiently difficult to substitute between domestic- and foreign-sourced inputs as domestic energy prices rise. The offshoring mechanism which we identify can help to reconcile conflicting empirical results in the carbon leakage and pollution haven literature, and also has implications for determining the extent to which energy intense trade-exposed sectors should be exempt from domestic climate change policy.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper addresses voluntary donations in Bangladesh with a specific eye on natural disaster mitigation. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 1000 respondents in which labor and money donations to collective disaster mitigation were elicited. We characterize labor and money donations in relation to socioeconomic variables such as income, education, family structure, and occupation using bivariate probit and Tobit regressions. The analysis finds that age, family structure, education, income and occupation are important determinants for Bangladeshi people to decide between labor and money donations as well as their respective amount. The poor and less educated households with high natural resource dependence are identified to significantly contribute to overall donations via labor. The rich and more educated people with low natural resource dependence are willing to donate money and little labor, but the magnitude of donations is small. Labor and money donations exhibit the relation of substitutability with respect to most socioeconomic variables. Education and income do not positively affect overall donations in Bangladesh. This finding is in sharp contrast with the studies in USA or Europe, and illustrates that labor donation is an important channel to natural disaster mitigation that should be utilized for public betterment in developing countries.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Recurring themes in the literature on European environmental policy-making is the leader–laggard spectrum and regulatory competition. European environmental policy is driven towards expansion because certain states take up leadership roles and manage to have their preferred regulatory solution adopted by the relevant European policy-making institution. During the policy process, leaders face ‘laggards’, states that do not favour ambitious regulation and drag their feet. The leader–laggard spectrum is volatile. States play different roles depending on the issue of interest, and over time their roles shift as well. This article investigates the role of relatively small-scale national events on the position of states on the spectrum. The regulatory competition involved in the leader–laggard spectrum may create an amplification effect of national problems: Through the efforts of the state afflicted by it, they acquire a European dimension they might otherwise not have had. They can cause member states to exhibit an extraordinary interest in a certain policy field and certain type of regulation for a brief period of time, shaping it considerably. After that, specific national problem has been solved or has blown over though they withdraw, leaving a gap for new contenders to fill. Yesterday’s champions may be the laggards of tomorrow and vice versa. New champions bring their specific regulatory styles, their favourite solutions and their policy-making philosophy to bear on EU environmental regulation, exacerbating the already patchy character of this policy field.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉A trinity composed of legally binding regulations, an independent financial mechanism, and a compliance mechanism characterizes the institutional design of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Meanwhile, few existing environmental treaties feature an independent financial mechanism as well as a compliance mechanism. Why did the Minamata Convention acquire two mechanisms? There are two rival hypotheses on uncertainty about institutional consequences and international agreements. The rational design school posits that countries can predict institutional consequences by acquiring all pieces of relevant information and views the trinity as a rational design to enhance developing countries’ regulatory capabilities under strict compliance. In contrast, the institutional diffusion school assumes that countries have limited information-processing abilities and use cognitive heuristics in designing institutions and argues that countries designed the trinity by learning from existing cases. In this paper, I compare the negotiations process of the Minamata Convention with that of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). To test the hypotheses, I examine how countries resolved informational uncertainty in both negotiations by utilizing negotiations records and personal interviews with key officials as data. The analytical results support the institutional diffusion hypothesis by indicating that the trinity within the Minamata Convention is a product of countries’ heuristic and incremental learning from existing treaties.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The architecture of global carbon markets has changed significantly since the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals were both agreed in 2015. Voluntary, international cooperative approaches established in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement allow Parties to work together to achieve the targets set out in their respective Nationally Determined Contributions to limit global warming to an increase below 1.5–2 °C. In Article 6.4, a sustainable mitigation mechanism is established for which rules, modalities and procedures will be developed internationally considering the experience and lessons learned from existing mechanisms, such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and its Sustainable Development (SD) Tool. Historically the issue of making integrated assessments of sustainable development and mitigation actions has been politically and methodologically controversial for many reasons: developing countries fear that an international definition of SD will interfere with their sovereignty and therefore their ability to define their own development pathways; players in the carbon market fear that markets can only handle one objective, namely mitigation outcomes; and sustainable development is regarded as too complex and costly to be measured and quantified. In an effort to address these concerns, the article proposes a new methodology for the sustainability labelling of climate mitigation actions relevant to Article 6 approaches. The article draws on an application of the CDM SD tool to analyse 2098 Component Programme Activities that had entered the CDM Pipeline by January 2017. The article demonstrates that assessment of the sustainable development benefits of climate actions can be graded and labelled based on the analysis of qualitative data, which is less costly than applying a quantitative approach.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The advent of ‘Peace Parks’ on the African continent is puzzling from the perspective of institutional theory. We focus on the world’s largest transfrontier conservation cooperation that exists to date, the Kavango–Zambezi Treaty, which was ratified by Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in 2011. The collaboration seeks to foster sustainable governance of resources in the region. The paper asks two questions: What were the main factors facilitating the establishment of the Kavango–Zambezi Treaty? What potential challenges for the treaty remain on the operational level? Analysing interviews with key informants, we contribute by providing insights regarding the emergence and existing challenges of the treaty. Factors reducing coordination problems during the treaty’s establishment included that it did not compete with existing institutions at the international level, the important role played by moral authorities such as Nelson Mandela, and that consensus rather than conflict prevailed between respective political actors as they realized the function of this cooperation. The treaty is challenged by differences in macro-institutional factors amongst participating nations and a variation in the extent to which communities trust in and comply with these institutions. There are significant remaining obstacles with regard to harmonizing policies in the five partner countries.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The pledge-and-review architecture of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change has been praised as a new model of global environmental governance. Instead of internationally agreed-upon emission reduction targets, the agreement relies on countries’ repeated, voluntary pledges and actions. A key mechanism for monitoring progress toward shared global goals, putting pressure on countries to live up to their promises, and increasing ambition over time is the global stocktake. The stocktake’s twin-purposes to act simultaneously as a review and ambition mechanism render it a global governance innovation. Absent a clear institutional precedent, the global stocktake presents a design challenge for the climate negotiation community. This paper develops a number of lessons for designing the stocktaking process based on a review of relevant scholarship and an analysis of the 2013–2015 Periodic Review as a limited precedent within the climate regime. While we cannot predict what will make the stocktake successful, these design principles could increase the chances for its effectiveness. These lessons offer potential guidance for decision-makers with implications for the future effectiveness of the Paris Agreement.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Recent scholarly work on the European Union (EU) in international environmental agreements has thus far lacked a focus on explaining variation in EU performance/effectiveness in different negotiation processes within one agreement, especially when it comes to less prominent issue areas such as biodiversity. To fill that gap, this article seeks to explain the EU’s effectiveness (goal achievement—GA) as a negotiator in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in three key negotiation processes: (1) the negotiations on the coming into being of the CBD (1990–1992); (2) the negotiations towards a Cartagena Protocol on biosafety (1995–2000); and (3) the negotiations towards a Nagoya Protocol on the access to and benefit-sharing of genetic resources (2004–2010). For each case, the article measures EU effectiveness/GA by comparing the EU’s objectives for the international negotiations at the early stages of the process with the outcome of these negotiations. It tries to explain the degree of EU GA by considering EU diplomatic engagement and the EU’s position in the constellation of all negotiating parties in terms of issue-specific bargaining power and interests. It highlights the EU’s successful performance as a mediator and bridge builder in the negotiations on the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols. This diplomatic engagement resulted in a high degree of EU GA as it was well adapted to the EU’s position in the constellation of all negotiating parties in terms of bargaining power and interests. This article emphasises the need to adapt EU diplomatic engagement to this position to boost EU GA.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉International environmental governance by global and, especially, regional regimes is gaining attention in both political practice and academia. We study the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s (SAARC) regime for economic integration. Based on qualitative data for 1985–2017 from key regime and policy documents and interviews, we propose the following. Besides issue-related institutional design and the resulting regime 〈em〉structures〈/em〉, the 〈em〉policies〈/em〉 and 〈em〉policy capacities〈/em〉 developed within a particular regime make the regime an environmental one. We analyze the environmental policy SAARC developed within the formal institutional framework between 1985 and 2017. The results show that 〈em〉institutional design〈/em〉, particularly membership and control issues, is a highly political affair, given China’s ambition to join the agreement as well as the struggle between Pakistan and India for hegemony. In 2010, the SAARC Convention on Cooperation on Environment formally extended the regime’s scope. The preceding environmental policy and its related capacities were fragmented and strongly built on decentralized, issue-specific environmental SAARC centers in different member states. The 2010 Convention on Cooperation on Environment streamlined this environmental policy but reduced the issue-specific policy capacities of the regime. We conclude that the formalization of environmental regimes into stronger institutional designs does not necessarily lead to stronger environmental regime policies and capacities. The proposed conceptual distinction between regime 〈em〉structure〈/em〉 and regime 〈em〉policy〈/em〉 will enable future regime studies to combine international relations, policy analysis, and comparative government methodologies when examining the policies of regimes and their dynamics.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The Paris Agreement on climate change recognises the central role of forests in achieving the well-below 2 °C goal through mitigation options covered by the REDD+ mechanism. Moreover, the actions that a country intends to take to address climate change under the new treaty are translated through the implementation of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). In this context, Brazil included REDD+ in its NDC submitted to the UNFCCC. Here, an overview of Brazil’s NDC is provided; focusing on its relation to the forest scope. Likewise, a discussion on the implications for the REDD+ governance framework in supporting the NDC compliance process is presented. Ultimately, it is argued that the goals announced in the country’s NDC can be considered unpretentious, and a paradox to the conservation approach. Brazil is not keeping up the momentum of accepting the importance of the driving role of forests along with other sectors for the accomplishment of its NDC. For instance, this can be clearly noticed by the flexibilisation of the forest national legislation adopted in 2012. On the other hand, the country has the potential to contribute more than the announced targets in the attempt to limit expected global warming. However, even to achieve the current established targets, the government must better engage in public policies to leverage and change the country’s course of development, which is still characterised by the dichotomy ‘development 〈em〉versus〈/em〉 environmental conservation’.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Since the UNFCCC 1992 mandated technology transfer commitments, how to fulfil the commitments and effectively facilitate the international transfer of climate-friendly technology in reality has been the subject of debate. In theory, climate change policymakers provide a broad framework for technology transfer through the UNFCCC regime. The 2015 Paris Agreement commits the Parties to strengthening cooperation on climate technology. In practice, however, the dynamic transfer of these technologies on an international scale does not take place fast enough to reach the full potential required by the UNFCCC. This shortcoming is partly due to intellectual property rights, which pose a significant obstacle to quick and efficient technology transfer. This article examines the kinds of changes in intellectual property laws needed to promote accessible, affordable and adaptable technology transfers and to help prepare host countries for potentially mandatory emission reductions in the post-Paris era.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉The Article had been published accidentally in an uncorrected and unapproved state and therefore had to be updated.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉The original article can be found online.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉China’s 11th Five-Year Plan introduced various policy instruments to address carbon mitigation; however, the ex-post-policy impacts need to be investigated in a scientific and systematic way to guide future policy design. In this paper, we estimate the impacts of the heat metering and energy efficiency retrofitting policy (HMEER) on residential energy consumption in Chinese provinces using a difference-in-differences approach. Our results suggest that the HMEER policy reduces energy consumption in the treated regions by 10% per year on average, with an annual reduction in CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 of approximately 50 Mt. We conclude that the HMEER policy contributes to household energy conservation.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The impact of financial openness on environmental degradation, mainly via carbon dioxide emissions, was investigated for a panel of 21 Latin American and Caribbean countries, throughout 35 years (from 1980 to 2014). An autoregressive distributed lag model was used to decompose the total effects of the variables into their short- and long-run components. The results show that financial openness, economic growth, and primary energy consumption increased environmental degradation, both in the short and long run, while renewable energy consumption decreased it. These findings suggest that policymakers should carry out financial reforms focused on sustainable development, as well as support renewable energy projects. Moreover, the results also lead one to believe that these countries’ economic growth strategies should be integrated with the carbon dioxide emissions regulation.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉BREXIT is a historical step for the UK and the EU27 which could bring a strong Pound deprecation, an increase in risk premiums for British bonds and a transitory rise of financial market volatility plus a long-term reduction of economic growth in the UK; but also risks for the EU27. New BREXIT aspects are considered in an enhanced Branson model. Macroprudential supervision is a crucial policy challenge for EU28 in the context of BREXIT and the European Systemic Risk Board thus should have a critical role in 2019 and the following years. The ESRB should timely analyze the potential risk of BREXIT and consider adequate policy options to reduce or eliminate risks. Contract continuity as well as cooperation in prudential supervision between the EU27 and the UK stand for BREXIT-related problems that could create financial market stability – as is the BREXIT-induced UK deregulation pressure. EU prudential supervision post-BREXIT faces problems since a very large part of EU27 wholesale banking markets in the UK and thus not regulated by the EU after March 29, 2019. The EU Commission’s competence for EU trade policy as well as international investment treaties gives the EU the opportunity to offer the UK not only a – limited – Free Trade Agreement but an international investment treaty as well, including options for global cooperation. Several policy innovations are proposed which could help to limit risk associated with instability.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This study investigates the factors influencing the diffusion of residential photovoltaic systems. Factors examined are related to social attributes, such as population structure and living environment within neighborhoods and those close by, together with a neighbor effect revealed as a positive spatial dependency of the diffusion. To examine these factors simultaneously, the study applies a spatial econometric analysis, taking advantage of the availability of cumulative data on installed residential photovoltaic systems and census-based social attributes in about 4000 census blocks in Kyoto City, which include 1.47 million people. Results include: (1) an observed neighbor effect, especially between census blocks within a radius of 1000 m; (2) evidence that diffusion is positively influenced in a census block by lower population density and higher number of household members, as well as by lower ratios of detached houses and lower population densities in nearby census blocks; and (3) indication that diffusion is positively influenced by a higher proportion of young people through various mechanisms. To further facilitate the diffusion, implementing non-economic measures designed in light of the observed neighborhood influences is recommended, in addition to conventional economic support measures.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉In December 2017, the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene an intergovernmental conference to elaborate an international legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This legally binding instrument would address four elements, namely marine protected areas, marine genetic resources, environmental impact assessments and capacity building and technology transfer. One of the indicators for the success of the legally binding instrument will be an institutional mechanism that is both effective and that can co-exist with existing mechanisms. There is already a proposal for an institutional mechanism under the implementing agreement. However, the proposed institutional mechanism was developed largely with marine protected areas in mind. The purpose of this article is to determine whether this proposed mechanism could work also for the marine genetic resources element of the proposed treaty. This is necessitated by the fact that the marine genetic resources element of the proposed treaty is far more complex and raises issues that are more intractable.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Previous studies that assessed the impact of exchange rate changes on a country’s inpayments and outpayments assumed that such effects are symmetric. The evidence from the literature reveals that import and export prices react to exchange rate changes in an asymmetric manner. This implies that export earnings and payments for imports should also react to exchange rate changes in an asymmetric manner. We demonstrate this by using Shin et al.’s (〈span〉2014〈/span〉) nonlinear ARDL approach and inpayments and outpayments of the U.S. with her 15 trading partners. We find evidence of short-run as well as long-run asymmetric effects in more than half of the models, though the findings are found to be partner specific.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper examines both theoretically and empirically the link between pro-social behaviours, individual attitudes regarding waste prevention and disposal, and individual recycling behaviour in Italy at the end of the 1990s, in a period in which policy makers started to make the population aware of the importance of waste prevention, disposal and recycling. In the theoretical framework, following Czajkowski et al. (Environ Resour Econ 66:647–670, 2017), we develop a utility function that represents the individual level of satisfaction, which is influenced by certain aspects related to environmental quality. In the empirical analysis, using the 1998 wave of the multipurpose household survey (MHS) conducted by the Italian Central Statistical Office and probit models, we show a positive relationship between pro-social behaviours, waste concern and recycling behaviour that is robust to the inclusion of social capital variables.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The financial cycle can play a decisive role in the transmission of monetary policy decisions. The impact of these decisions is amplified when the financial cycle is booming, and it is compressed when this cycle is busting. Considering this amplifier/divider mechanism in a semi-structural NKM, estimated for the US economy using Bayesian techniques, confirms this conclusion and improves the decision of raising or lowering the interest rate.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper aims to investigate the relationship between renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and economic growth in the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy and the United States) for the period of 1990–2015. The study used the Pesaran CADF panel second generation unit root test to verify the stationary properties of the variables. To examine the short-run and long-run dynamics the study employed panel autoregressive distributed lag (P-ARDL) model. The empirical findings suggest that there is a presence of cross-sectional dependency among the variables. The panel ARDL model confirms that energy price, labor force, and capital stock have positive and statistically significant long-run impact on economic growth in the G7 countries. The short run dynamics of the result recommend that there is a short run causality between non-renewable energy consumption and economic growth and capital stock to economic growth. The Hausman test found that PMG is more efficient than MG and DFE.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Previous research that investigated asymmetric effects of exchange rate changes on the bilateral trade balance of the U.S. with Canada using their aggregate bilateral trade flows did not find support for such effects. In this paper we disaggregate the trade flows of the two countries by commodity and consider experiences of 161 industry that trade between them. After estimating the linear and nonlinear ARDL models we find support for the asymmetric short-run effects in all industries, short-run adjustment asymmetry in 69 industries, significant short-run cumulative or impact asymmetry in 37 industries and significant long-run asymmetric effects in 62 industries. Small as well as large industries were in the list.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper analyses the existence of convergence in residential water consumption across geographical regions using econometric methods taken from the economic growth literature and a panel of water consumption of 348 Chilean localities from 2010 to 2015. Convergence was found, and the main causes were factors related to economic and climate variables.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, states should inspect each of their major water polluters at least once a year. However, studies have shown that the frequency and stringency of inspections depend on factors such as state budgets, state employee costs, and Congressional voting patterns and committee memberships. This paper adds to this literature by examining the effect of gubernatorial political party affiliation on Clean Water Act monitoring and enforcement. Using a regression discontinuity design approach, we find evidence that states with Democratic governors inspect a smaller percentage of their major water polluters, and that they inspect less stringently, compared to states with Republican governors; enforcement actions, however, are similar across states. We find no evidence that these differences in inspections lead to differences in compliance, suggesting that Democratic and Republican governors use different methods to generate compliance with the Clean Water Act.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Although many megacities in developing countries experience floods annually that affect a large number of people, relatively few empirical studies have evaluated the associated costs. This paper estimates such costs by conducting a hedonic price analysis—providing evidence regarding the impacts of floods on the housing market. A robust regression technique on a simple linear transformation model, and a maximum likelihood estimation technique on the spatial lag version of the simple linear transformation model, are utilised to estimate the correlation between the level of the 2007 floods and monthly housing rental prices in Jakarta, Indonesia. This paper sheds light on the fact that in developing countries’ megacities, the total cost of floods among households is significantly lower compared to the total amount of funding needed to permanently eliminate floods in these megacities. Hence, a constant exposure of the urban areas in developing countries to flood damage will most likely keep happening.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉In the field of global environmental governance, a plethora of international regimes have emerged over the past decades. In some issue areas, multiple regimes aim to govern the issue, sometimes reinforcing, oftentimes conflicting with each other. Consequently, international regime complexes are an empirical phenomenon, which are inherently characterized by specific degrees of fragmentation. For any given issue area, one of the key questions is whether the institutional fragmentation encountered in such regime complexes is synergistic or conflictive in nature. Scrutinizing this question poses methodological challenges of how to delineate a regime complex and how to assess its fragmentation. Drawing on the highly fragmented case of the international forest regime complex, this paper aims to map its institutional fragmentation and to analyse the degrees to which it is conflictive or synergistic. For this we conceptualize the notion of institutional elements and develop a novel method for mapping regime complexes based on their core institutional elements. We then employ tools from the sub-discipline of policy analysis on the complex’s institutional elements for analysing in detail, which of the elements are mutually synergistic and conflictive with other elements of the regime complex. Our results indicate that synergistic relations mostly exist among rather vague elements, often built around sustainability as a core principle. On the contrary, conflictive relations prevail as soon as the elements are designed in more concrete and substantial ways. We conclude that the forest regime complex displays only degree of seemingly synergistic fragmentation through a number of non-decisions and the use of “sustainability” as an empty formula. De facto, conflictive fragmentation prevails among elements of concrete subject matter. This raises questions on whether vast parts of regime complexes merely serve symbolic functions, while conflicts on substance are being camouflaged.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This study focuses on the effects of changes in material and energy input structure on the consumption-based CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions. Previous studies demonstrated the connection between domestic structural changes including the shift toward a service economy and the increase in greenhouse gas emissions embodied in consumptions of a specific country. This study is an important follow-up research that examines the environmental effects across countries and evaluates whether or not the development levels of countries can explain those environmental effects. Specifically, we employed a multiplicative structural decomposition analysis based on the World Input–Output Database during 1995–2008 and decomposed consumption-based CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions of 40 nations into the following four inducement sources: (1) inputs from material goods (including energy) to material goods, (2) inputs from material goods to services, (3) inputs from services to material goods, and (4) inputs from services to services. The results from this paper is helpful for policymakers to identify the target segment of supply chain to reduce the domestic CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions without lowering the level of the country’s production activities.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Has the Portuguese economy benefited from tertiarization in terms of aggregate productivity performance? Did human capital availability play a role in this expansion of the services sector? To answer these two research questions, we investigate the existence of causality among services sector expansion, human capital, and aggregate productivity for the period 1970–2006 in the Portuguese economy based on the estimation of VAR models and impulse response analysis. We distinguish between the contributions of five different services sub-sectors that can be broadly classified as either traditional personal services or modern progressive services. The evidence suggests bi-directional causality between services sub-sectors employment shares and aggregate productivity. Across services sub-sectors, community social and personal services, that include health care and education activities, seem to be the most influential sector, followed by finance, insurance, real estate and business services, making both a positive and lasting contribution to aggregate productivity. Although only indicative, this evidence points to the relatively low weight of modern progressive services sectors in Portugal, together with a relatively less important role for some traditional personal services sub-sectors that can be sources of human capital, as candidate explanations for the slowdown in aggregate productivity growth over the period under analysis. The causality analysis did not allow us to confirm the role of human capital in driving the expansion of services subsectors, although the impulse response analysis points to a positive impact on aggregate productivity and the expansion of finance, insurance, real estate and business services and community social and personal services.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This article assesses the synergies and conflicts between the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), and the potential role of the CBD principles and rights perspective in improving coherence across these diverse forest-related agreements. We find that both the EUTR, which aims to eliminate illegal wood from EU supply chains, and the CBD, with its core focus on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, share the stated goals of safeguarding biodiversity and local livelihoods. However, the principle of inclusive governance and sustainable use embedded in the CBD conflicts with the EUTR. The EUTR focus on law enforcement asserts the primacy of state laws independently of their sustainability content and alignment with international human rights law. We find that the EUTR risks reinforcing legal frameworks that preference large-scale export production over local forest access, use and benefits. Better aligning the EUTR with CBD safeguards firstly requires opening-up the EUTR rule-making process to broader engagement with affected groups. Secondly, our analysis of both the procedural and substantive dimensions of the EUTR and the CBD safeguards, suggests that opportunities for better alignment lie in the nexus between procedural rights, of which law enforcement forms part of a broader vision of rule of law and conflict resolution, and the strengthening of substantive rights that benefit local forest use and conservation.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The role of developing countries in climate negotiations has been changing over time, evolving from spectators to main actors. Accordingly, this paper provides a descriptive analysis of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the formal documents containing mitigation and adaptation efforts voluntarily set by each country, submitted by developing countries. In particular, the purpose of the paper is to analyse the contents of NDCs moving from the regional analyses provided by most of literature to the examination of NDCs among countries that are similar and that might share common negotiating positions. The analysis of the documents focuses on both mitigation and adaptation actions, together with an evaluation of the financial efforts required. From the descriptive analysis, specific needs and priorities emerge, as well as the need for external support in the form of technology transfer, capacity-building and financial support. In this respect, the analysis identifies a gap between supply and demand for climate funding. Trying to fill this gap would represent one of the main challenges in future.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper uses agency theory to analyse the incentives that a donor (principal) and recipient (agent) face as actors in an accountability regime for the financing of international climate change projects in developing countries. We address the following question: What accountability measures serve to align the incentives of the donor with those of the recipient in climate change financing? We focus on the relationship between the Green Climate Fund as a donor and one of its Accredited Entities as a recipient. We examine the consequences of misaligned incentives and asymmetric information, looking at a specific set of accountability measures, including performance indicators, penalties for poor performance, as well as the role of pressure exerted by civil society organisations (CSOs). We find that the use of imperfect performance indicators can reduce the risk of project failure if they are strongly correlated with adaptation and mitigation impacts. Penalties can have a positive impact on project outcomes, but impose risks upon the agent, which could lead him to refuse the contract for the implementation of the climate change project. The pressure of CSOs was found to have the potential to motivate donors and recipients to become more efficient and effective in their delivery of projects but could also lead to the donor choosing to finance lower-risk projects with fewer climate change benefits. We suggest that accountability requirements need to be carefully balanced with other objectives, including having a diverse set of entities willing to bid for the delivery of projects.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The literature on climate adaptation has so far conceptualized it as a domestic issue, to be governed somewhere between the local and the national scale. By contrast, scholars have shown little interest in exploring the case of cross-boundary adaptation spillovers, where adaptation by one country affects other countries. Two decades of the economic literature on climate mitigation may contribute to bridge this research gap because the problem structure of climate mitigation resembles that of adaptation with cross-boundary spillovers. With this in mind, we ask the following research question: Are there lessons to be learned by applying a mitigation perspective to the governance of adaptation with cross-boundary spillovers? After reviewing the relevant adaptation and mitigation literature, the paper applies mitigation insights to an adaptation case with cross-boundary spillovers: climate change-induced eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. Insights on coalition structures, side-payments, issue-linkage, and trade sanctions provide novel perspectives on the governance structures in place. To improve cooperation on providing adaptation as a public good, smaller regional governance arrangements could be more effective, European subsidies for pollution control might be redirected, and progress on eutrophication could be made a precondition for cooperation on other areas. These perspectives depart both from the way the Baltic Sea eutrophication problem is addressed at present, and from the way public goods are addressed in the adaptation literature. They show that some lessons can indeed be learned, calling for further research.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Despite the increasing relevance of cross-border flows of goods, capital and people in shaping risks and opportunities today, we still live in a “bordered” world, where the nation state plays a key role in planning and governance. Yet, climate change impacts will not be contained within country borders, meaning that climate change adaptation governance should also consider “borderless climate risks” that cascade through the international system, in relatively simple or highly complex ways. In this paper, we demonstrate how the notion of borderless climate risks challenges the dominant territorial framing of adaptation and its problem structure. To advance knowledge, we ask: why has a territorial framing and the national and sub-national scales dominated adaptation governance? How do borderless climate risks challenge this framing and what are possible governance responses? We draw on constructivist international relations theory and propose that the epistemic community that developed to interpret climate change adaptation for decision-makers had certain features (e.g. strong environmental sciences foundation, reliance on place-based case study research) that established and subsequently reinforced the territorial framing. This framing was then reinforced by an international norm that adaptation was primarily a national or local responsibility, which has paradoxically also informed calls for international responsibility for funding adaptation. We conclude by identifying types of governance responses at three different scales—national and bilateral; transnational; international and regional—and invite more systematic evaluation by the IR community.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This note argues that basically all strands of available empirical and quantitative evidence on the economic effects of Brexit arrive at the conclusion that the economic burden for Britain will be substantial. Furthermore, there are good reasons to expect that these costs are currently even underestimated as dynamic effects of Brexit are insufficiently captured by existing methods. Furthermore, all scenarios assume an orderly Brexit which looks increasingly unlikely. The best way forward is an exit from Brexit and to call for a second referendum on the concrete two policy alternatives which are now on the table.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉There is an urgent need for the development of environmentally sustainable products market in developing economies, particularly in South Africa due to increasing ecological externalities and risk. We use a stated preference method to examine the heterogeneous demand for ecologically sustainable products. A hybrid latent class model was employed to account for the inclusion of attitudinal information, potential endogeneity and measurement errors. The empirical estimates demonstrate that majority of the respondents attach significant monetary values to meat products with minimal environmental impacts in terms of water and carbon footprint values. We found three heterogeneous consumer segments, with distinct utilities and monetary values attached to water and carbon footprint attributes. Furthermore, the findings show that consumers’ choice and valuation of the sustainability attributes significantly relate to their fundamental attitudes towards the environment and sustainable practices, as well as their knowledge towards environmental sustainability. The use of economic incentives as a mechanism to ensure environmental sustainability is feasible in South Africa. The empirical framework used offered a theoretical advantage in terms of endogeneity bias and measurement error, relative to the traditional latent class model.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Few studies have examined transnational actors involved in global adaptation governance, despite their growing influence. This paper focuses on 100 Resilient Cities (100RC), a transnational municipal network (TMN) that has created governance instruments with potential for contributing to global adaptation governance. Despite their different nature from international actors (states and intergovernmental organizations), the distinct practices of TMNs and how they might influence global adaptation governance are uncertain. Vague claims suggest that TMNs are innovative, but what this innovation consists of remains unclear. Therefore, the research question here is: how do TMNs innovate in global adaptation governance? This paper strives to answer this question, by building an analytical framework to identify types and features of governance instruments, based on the literature on policy instruments, global environmental governance and global climate governance. It presents a case study of 100RC, based on an in-depth documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The results suggest that TMNs can be innovative, if they, like 100RC, create original governance instruments instead of using the existing tools of international or other transnational actors. While some of 100RC’s tools favour a more recent, soft and indirect approach, its considerable use of hard practices with significant obligation is particularly interesting considering the general characterization of TMNs as voluntary and soft. The governance practices of 100RC are thus not in stark contrast with those of international actors. Their diversity could provide inspiration for future action to improve the effectiveness of global climate adaptation governance, and the analytical framework developed here could be applied in further studies.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The presence of a stigmatized property due to undesirable mortality incidents, such as homicide and suicide, may affect people’s willingness to pay to live in that particular neighborhood. The Japanese property transactional law states that a stigmatizing incident that could affect a potential buyer’s/renter’s decision needs to be disclosed prior to the contract phase. However, such disclosure does not occur in most cases when the transactional property is not the property at which the incident occurred by tacit agreement that the stigma does not extend beyond the property. This paper applies a hedonic approach to examine the externality of stigmatized property using data from Tokyo, Japan. By carefully considering detailed regional fixed effects, the estimation results reveal that an incident of homicide occurring in an apartment unit lowers the rents of nearby units in the same building by approximately 10% immediately after the incident, but the impact is ameliorated gradually over time and disappears after approximately 7–8 years. We do not find any evidence of a negative externality in cases of suicide or death by fire. These results suggest that under the current legal system, a recent homicide occurring at a property in an apartment building should be disclosed to potential buyers/renters of different units in the building.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Against the background of the (at least partially) successfully overcome structural change in the Ruhrgebiet, this project analyses whether and to what extent Northern Greece, especially Central Macedonia with the city of Thessaloniki, can learn from the Ruhrgebiet when conducting the required structural reforms and coping with structural change. In the Ruhrgebiet, the process of structural change seems to be almost complete. More than half of the workforce is now employed in the service sector – and that proportion continues to increase. But some problems such as a high proportion of educationally disadvantaged households with a migration background remain due to the missed structural change in the 1960s. This study thus analyses the structural characteristics of the Greek economy and workforce with particular emphasis on the northern regions in Greece and compares them to the Ruhrgebiet and NRW.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Climate change adaptation is increasingly seen as a question that involves globally connected vulnerabilities and impacts which necessitate transboundary action by non-state and subnational (transnational) actors. Traditional actors such as governments and international organizations leave deficits in norm development, enforcement, capacity building, and financing. Orchestration has been suggested under the functionalist assumption that transnational actors can make up for these deficits, through optimizing complementarity between the realms of international and transnational governance and through eliciting more action toward the achievement of globally agreed climate goals. In the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), orchestration has taken the form of an evolving Global Climate Action Agenda (GCAA). Few studies have examined the role of orchestration in bolstering transnational adaptation. This article therefore asks: Has the GCAA effectively mobilized and prioritized transnational adaptation action? Further, has it effectively addressed functional, participatory, and geographic deficits? Analyzing a unique dataset of a hundred cooperative climate actions, this study finds that current patterns are incongruent with some functionalist expectations. GCAA orchestration has featured a political prioritization of both adaptation and mitigation and a focus on building a positive narrative of climate action. This combination of priorities has led to neglect of underperforming actions—many of them adaptation actions in developing countries. Subsequent iterations of the GCAA failed to recognize these actions and did not identify support needed for them. This has strengthened the bias toward mitigation aspects of climate change and exacerbated imbalances in the geography of transnational action under the GCAA.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The IPCC has predicted that the Amazon rainforest will suffer strong consequences from a changing climate in the near future. The Amazon countries still have limited national policies on how to adapt and have failed to cooperate to promote adaptation plans at the regional level. Most studies have focused on adaptation policies at a local or national level, but overlook how these interact with the necessary regional cooperation required in transboundary ecosystems. This article assesses regional and national plans for climate adaptation in Amazonia, asking whether these provide a basis for regional adaptation policies. Have countries addressed climate adaptation in their NDCs and are there any synergies between countries? Are the Amazon countries currently implementing adaptation policies through the regional framework Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, and if so how? The analysis is then contrasted with the regional adaptation policies promoted in Central America, a region that faces similar challenges. The analysis finds that regional adaptation governance in the Amazon region is still incipient, and requires a holistic view that integrates a multi-stakeholder approach to climate adaptation. This article makes a vital contribution to the impact and contribution of Amazonia to climate governance, which is still poorly understood.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The UK parliament on 29 January endorsed by 317 to 301 votes a government-backed amendment proposing to renegotiate the Brexit deal with the European Union, specifically demanding major changes to the so-called backstop on future border management between the UK region of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. EU negotiators, as well as leaders from the remaining 27 EU member states, have repeatedly stated that they reject such a move. While still failing to approve viable alternative routes, the UK parliament also confirmed in a nonbinding vote with a majority of 318 to 310 that it is opposed to leaving the EU without a deal. The easiest route is for the UK to secure an orderly Brexit on 29 March would require major EU concessions to the backstop, such as agreeing to a time limit or providing a unilateral exit clause for the UK. But, the EU continues to rule out a renegotiation, suggesting May could struggle to win some concessions to win over support from hardline Brexiteers. Should the EC refuse to budge on the backstop agreement, parliament could demand a legally binding vote to remove a “no deal” option from the table, increasing the likelihood of the UK edging closer to a softer Brexit instead. This could entail the establishment of a permanent UK-EU customs union, which could attract sufficient number of votes from the opposition as well as an array of pro-EU MPs from the governing Conservative Party. However, May has so far refrained from offering such an option as it would significantly increase the risk of splitting her party. Without either EU concessions or a cross-party alliance supporting a softer Brexit, the risk of exiting without a deal on 29 March increases. At this point in time (4 February), IHS Markit's assessment that the risk of a “no-deal” Brexit is more elevated, and sits uncomfortably around a 25–30% probability range.〈/p〉 〈p〉Even before we examine the impact of a “no deal” outcome on the UK economy, the continued Brexit uncertainty represents a significant hit on business sentiment, with many firms bemoaning the continued lack of clarity and expressing deep shock that the no-deal option remains on the table. Business groups continue to highlight the lack of contingency planning for a disorderly Brexit. Specifically, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Colin Stanbridge reports, “75 per cent of London businesses that we surveyed still haven't made any provisions in preparation for Brexit. Furthermore, the survey also reveals that 86% of businesses in London employing under 10 people have made no preparations at all due to lack of resources and time.” More encouragingly, some have welcomed the fact that parliament has indicated that it is against leaving the EU without a deal, although it is not legally binding. Indeed, Huw Evans, the director-general of the Association of British Insurers, noted that it was “encouraging to see Parliament saying it won't support a no-deal outcome”. Overall, parliament's indecisive vote on the Brexit path signifies that there has been no progress towards how the UK will leave the EU, with many UK firms angry that the point of departure is getting ever close. They highlight that the continued uncertainty is damaging business sentiment and economic activity. Indeed, the latest survey data suggest that the UK economy was close to stagnation in the final month of 2018 and point to limited growth in the first half of 2019. At this stage, we continue to advocate a cautious near-term growth outlook, with the UK economy set to expand by 1.1% (the January consensus is 1.4%) in 2019 and 1.3% (consensus at 1.6%) in 2020 from an estimated 1.3% gain in 2018.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉In this paper, we consider a Southern economy consisting of an upstream duopoly market for recycled materials and a downstream perfectly competitive market for final goods. In our model, the Northern and Southern recyclers can form a joint venture (JV) if bargaining is successful. Then, if we assume that the marginal cost of the Southern recycler is higher than that of the Northern recycler, we obtain the following main results in the case where the JV is established. First, a stricter recycling standard decreases the Southern recycler’s share of profits from the JV, even though it increases its overall profit. Second, the recycling standard lowers the price of recycled materials and thus decreases the price of final goods. Third, if the Southern government sets the recycling standard optimally, the optimal standard in the JV may be lower than that in the monopoly of the Northern recycler. The optimal standard in the JV then falls lower with an increase in the marginal cost of the Southern recycler. Finally, if the Southern government sets the excise duty optimally, a stricter recycling standard might increase or decrease the optimal duty level. However, in the case of the JV, it will decrease the amount of waste even when the ex-ante recycling standard is low, as long as the market for final goods is large.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper investigates the role of social capital in influencing individuals’ willingness to contribute to environmental protection in Sweden. Four indices of social capital comprising social trust, institutional trust, civic participation and a composite index comprising all considered elements of social capital were constructed to analyse their respective association with individual decisions to contribute. Using data from the environment module of the 2010 International Social Survey Programme, we empirically show that all four social capital parameters are significant and robust drivers of Swedish public’s willingness to contribute when the payment vehicles are increased higher prices or taxes or through lifestyle changes to protect the environment. Statistically, a significant association was observed for social trust and civic participation. Institutional trust is not significant when the payment vehicle is a reduction in the standard of living. Overall, however, the composite index of social capital is a robust predictor of likelihood to contribute irrespective of the payment vehicle.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉In this analysis, BREXIT is considered with regard to the main consequences for financial markets; and real economic implications are taken into account while policy options are also highlighted. The role of the interest elasticity of the demand for money is emphasized for both welfare analysis of BREXIT and overshooting – assuming that that elasticity will fall post-BREXIT. Key insights emerge from aspects related to Dornbusch-type exchange rate overshooting problems and insights from the Branson model: This medium-term perspective is used to derive some short-term and long-term BREXIT implications. As regards overall welfare effects, the BREXIT welfare effect related to a lower holding of real money balances – due to a lower gross domestic product post-BREXIT in the long run – is rather high, so that adding this to the HM Treasury finding of a 10% income loss from BREXIT suggests that the long run welfare loss of the UK could be high. Moreover, the quality of financial market integration in the EU countries is highlighted: For the first time, financial services trade restrictiveness indices are empirically analyzed. This leads – on the basis of a restrictiveness index regarding international financial services and additional information about prudential supervision quality – to an assessment of the quality of financial markets. Policy conclusions take into account the new protectionist challenges and use insights from the Welfens enhanced growth model with trade and foreign direct investment.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉The aim of this paper is to design a new index for obtaining a measure of sustainable performance in the industrial sector (SIPI). This approach allows to evaluate the green policy implemented by both government and enterprises and to underline the differences between their actions concerning the environmental, economic, political and social issues. The SIPI main structure has been created by using multi-criteria method in accordance with OECD procedure (2008). The methodology has been built for application to EU-28 countries. The findings produce both the acknowledgement of the success and the identification of the weaknesses of the subjects involved in the policymaking process, providing a support for future planning. Nevertheless, the methodology was formulated in such a way that it could be readapted in other countries or regions.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper studies the impact of European regional trade agreements on European export patterns. Using a simple fixed effects estimation method, it appears that only the extensive margin is positively affected by trade agreements, while the impact on total exports and on the intensive margin is insignificant. This finding breaks down, however, if one distinguishes between individual European countries. There appears to be substantial heterogeneity across European Union member states. Moreover, the impact on the extensive margin can be explained by the inclusion of various trade-related aspects in trade agreements, which deepen the effective trade integration between the European Union and its trading partners. Finally, using a composite indicator capturing the intensity of trade integration across twelve recent European trade agreements, we cannot conclude that more comprehensive trade agreements enhance exports more.〈/p〉