Transitions to renewable energy is vital in reducing greenhouse gases and building a sustainable future. As large-scale renewable energy development expands, more land use conflicts are arising. Such conflicts are especially difficult in Taiwan, where the renewable energy goal is ambitious and land availability is limited. In this study, we develop a Participatory Least Conflict Solar Siting Framework which uses place-based stakeholder engagement paired with Analytical Hierarchy Process and Geographic Information System based multi-criteria decision making to identify suitable solar development sites. We use a case study to demonstrate how the framework can be used. The results show that if only 12% of the land with medium to high suitability are developed for solar energy generation, Tainan City and Chiayi County alone could support the government’s solar development goal for the entirety of Taiwan by 2025. Our study also reveals that the use of participatory methods in site evaluation and final site design is important to ensure true suitability. We suggest this framework be used to address the spatial mismatch between national level policy and local implementation, promote a participatory approach that supports place-based renewable energy collocation, and develop policy and regulations to support a just transition toward carbon neutrality.
{"title":"Resolving the Conflict of Greens: A GIS-Based and Participatory Least-Conflict Sitting Framework for Solar Energy Development in Southwest Taiwan","authors":"Hsiao-Wen Wang, Adrienne Dodd, Yekang Ko","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3924314","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3924314","url":null,"abstract":"Transitions to renewable energy is vital in reducing greenhouse gases and building a sustainable future. As large-scale renewable energy development expands, more land use conflicts are arising. Such conflicts are especially difficult in Taiwan, where the renewable energy goal is ambitious and land availability is limited. In this study, we develop a Participatory Least Conflict Solar Siting Framework which uses place-based stakeholder engagement paired with Analytical Hierarchy Process and Geographic Information System based multi-criteria decision making to identify suitable solar development sites. We use a case study to demonstrate how the framework can be used. The results show that if only 12% of the land with medium to high suitability are developed for solar energy generation, Tainan City and Chiayi County alone could support the government’s solar development goal for the entirety of Taiwan by 2025. Our study also reveals that the use of participatory methods in site evaluation and final site design is important to ensure true suitability. We suggest this framework be used to address the spatial mismatch between national level policy and local implementation, promote a participatory approach that supports place-based renewable energy collocation, and develop policy and regulations to support a just transition toward carbon neutrality.","PeriodicalId":388441,"journal":{"name":"Political Economy - Development: Environment eJournal","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115471850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carbon pricing is increasingly used by governments to reduce emissions. The effect of carbon pricing on economic outcomes as well as mitigating factors has been studied extensively since the early 1990s. One mitigating factor that has received less attention is education quality. If technological change that reduces the reliance of production on emissions is skill-biased, then carbon pricing may increase the skill premium of earnings and subsequent wage inequality; however, a more elastic skill supply through better education quality may mitigate adverse economic outcomes, including wage inequality, and enhance the effect of carbon pricing on technological change and subsequently emissions. A general equilibrium, overlapping-generations model is proposed, with endogenous skill investment in which the average skill level of the workforce can affect the need for emissions in an aggregate production function. This study uses data on industrial emissions linked to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies dataset for European Union countries. The findings show that, within countries, cognitive skills are positively associated with employment in industries that rely less on emissions for production and in industries that, over time, have been able to reduce their reliance on emissions for production. In the estimated general equilibrium model, higher cognitive skills reduce an economy’s reliance on emissions for production. Having higher quality education—defined as the level of cognitive skills attained by workers per unit of cost—increases the elasticity of skill supply and, as a result, mitigates a carbon tax’s economic costs including output loss and wage inequity, and enhances its effect on emissions reduction. The implication is that investments in education quality are needed for better enabling green technological innovation and adaptation and reducing inequality that results from carbon pricing.
{"title":"Education Quality, Green Technology, and the Economic Impact of Carbon Pricing","authors":"H. Patrinos, K. Macdonald","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3942927","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3942927","url":null,"abstract":"Carbon pricing is increasingly used by governments to reduce emissions. The effect of carbon pricing on economic outcomes as well as mitigating factors has been studied extensively since the early 1990s. One mitigating factor that has received less attention is education quality. If technological change that reduces the reliance of production on emissions is skill-biased, then carbon pricing may increase the skill premium of earnings and subsequent wage inequality; however, a more elastic skill supply through better education quality may mitigate adverse economic outcomes, including wage inequality, and enhance the effect of carbon pricing on technological change and subsequently emissions. A general equilibrium, overlapping-generations model is proposed, with endogenous skill investment in which the average skill level of the workforce can affect the need for emissions in an aggregate production function. This study uses data on industrial emissions linked to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies dataset for European Union countries. The findings show that, within countries, cognitive skills are positively associated with employment in industries that rely less on emissions for production and in industries that, over time, have been able to reduce their reliance on emissions for production. In the estimated general equilibrium model, higher cognitive skills reduce an economy’s reliance on emissions for production. Having higher quality education—defined as the level of cognitive skills attained by workers per unit of cost—increases the elasticity of skill supply and, as a result, mitigates a carbon tax’s economic costs including output loss and wage inequity, and enhances its effect on emissions reduction. The implication is that investments in education quality are needed for better enabling green technological innovation and adaptation and reducing inequality that results from carbon pricing.","PeriodicalId":388441,"journal":{"name":"Political Economy - Development: Environment eJournal","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115114108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas Broberg, E. Dijkgraaf, Sef Meens-Eriksson, Cere Center for Environmental and Resource Economics
In this study, a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) framework is applied to provide insights on policy issues relating to the cross-border trade in waste fuel. We estimate the net social cost of using imported waste fuel in a highly efficient combined heat and power plant (CHP) in a cold climate by considering both private costs and benefits as well as external costs related to energy production, alternative waste management and fuel transport. We conclude that using imported waste fuel under such circumstances is beneficial from a societal perspective given the wide range of assumptions regarding technical, economic and environmental characteristics. The net social cost is mainly determined by fuel cost advantages and the external cost of greenhouse gas emissions. External costs associated with transports only marginally impact the net social cost of waste imports for incineration. The results are robust to variation in the excess heat utilisation rate, which implies that importing waste for incineration would also be beneficial in countries with milder climates where district heating networks already exist.
{"title":"Burn it or let them bury it? The net social cost of producing district heating from imported waste","authors":"Thomas Broberg, E. Dijkgraaf, Sef Meens-Eriksson, Cere Center for Environmental and Resource Economics","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3942535","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3942535","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) framework is applied to provide insights on policy issues relating to the cross-border trade in waste fuel. We estimate the net social cost of using imported waste fuel in a highly efficient combined heat and power plant (CHP) in a cold climate by considering both private costs and benefits as well as external costs related to energy production, alternative waste management and fuel transport. We conclude that using imported waste fuel under such circumstances is beneficial from a societal perspective given the wide range of assumptions regarding technical, economic and environmental characteristics. The net social cost is mainly determined by fuel cost advantages and the external cost of greenhouse gas emissions. External costs associated with transports only marginally impact the net social cost of waste imports for incineration. The results are robust to variation in the excess heat utilisation rate, which implies that importing waste for incineration would also be beneficial in countries with milder climates where district heating networks already exist.","PeriodicalId":388441,"journal":{"name":"Political Economy - Development: Environment eJournal","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127802599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christoph Weisser, Friederike Lenel, Yao Lu, Krisztina Kis-Katos, T. Kneib
Access to electricity is typically the main benefit associated with solar panels, but in economically less developed countries, where access to electricity is still very limited, solar panel systems can also serve as means to generate additional income and to diversify income sources. We analyze high-frequency electricity usage and repayment data of around 70,000 households in Tanzania that purchased a solar panel system on credit, in order to (1) determine the extent to which solar panel systems are used for income generation, and (2) explore the link between the usage of the solar system for business purposes and the repayment of the customer credit that finances its purchase. Based on individual patterns of energy consumption within each day, we use XGBoost as a supervised machine learning model combined with labels from a customer survey on business usage to generate out-of-sample predictions of the daily likelihood that customers operate a business. We find a low average predicted business probability; yet there is considerable variation across households and over time. While the majority of households are predicted to use their system primarily for private consumption, our findings suggest that a substantial proportion uses it for income generation purposes occasionally. Our subsequent statistical analysis regresses the occurrence of individual credit delinquency within each month on the monthly average predicted probability of business-like electricity usage, relying on a time-dependent proportional hazards model. Our results show that customers with more business-like electricity usage patterns are significantly less likely to face repayment difficulties, suggesting that using the system to generate additional income can help to alleviate cash constraints and prevent default.
{"title":"Using Solar Panels for Business Purposes: Evidence Based on High-Frequency Power Usage Data","authors":"Christoph Weisser, Friederike Lenel, Yao Lu, Krisztina Kis-Katos, T. Kneib","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3918196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3918196","url":null,"abstract":"Access to electricity is typically the main benefit associated with solar panels, but in economically less developed countries, where access to electricity is still very limited, solar panel systems can also serve as means to generate additional income and to diversify income sources. We analyze high-frequency electricity usage and repayment data of around 70,000 households in Tanzania that purchased a solar panel system on credit, in order to (1) determine the extent to which solar panel systems are used for income generation, and (2) explore the link between the usage of the solar system for business purposes and the repayment of the customer credit that finances its purchase. Based on individual patterns of energy consumption within each day, we use XGBoost as a supervised machine learning model combined with labels from a customer survey on business usage to generate out-of-sample predictions of the daily likelihood that customers operate a business. We find a low average predicted business probability; yet there is considerable variation across households and over time. While the majority of households are predicted to use their system primarily for private consumption, our findings suggest that a substantial proportion uses it for income generation purposes occasionally. Our subsequent statistical analysis regresses the occurrence of individual credit delinquency within each month on the monthly average predicted probability of business-like electricity usage, relying on a time-dependent proportional hazards model. Our results show that customers with more business-like electricity usage patterns are significantly less likely to face repayment difficulties, suggesting that using the system to generate additional income can help to alleviate cash constraints and prevent default.","PeriodicalId":388441,"journal":{"name":"Political Economy - Development: Environment eJournal","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134532237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This research examines the emergence and evolution of foreign Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) subsidiaries, their strategies, contribution, and sustainability practices in Pakistan. Research argues that international business research has failed to answer some big questions regarding the emergence, evolution and strategies of foreign MNEs, and how MNEs from western economies respond to the pressures for sustainability in their international operations in emerging economies which are also referred to as pollution havens due to their cheaper land, resources and labor. Emerging economies are much relevant as the world economic center of gravity and the international business activity are now shifting from west to east, and in this regard, certain ignored contexts such as Pakistan, which is potentially a large and an important marketplace, and can play an important role for the multinational activity, are much interesting. Based on in-depth interviews from CEOs of 22 foreign subsidiaries in Pakistan, the study shows that foreign subsidiaries in Pakistan are well established having their presence in the country for quite some time, however, since the subsidiary entrepreneurial initiatives are mainly focused on the local market, and their innovativeness and contribution to the MNE in terms of knowledge and expertise are limited, they may be seen as rather less evolved in terms of roles and strategies. Furthermore, the foreign MNEs in Pakistan do adopt environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable practices, perhaps just like they do in their home (western) countries, although the foreign subsidiaries also experience pressures to adopt sustainability practices, as well as barriers in the adoption of such practices. Finally, the foreign subsidiaries in Pakistan do not at large have a broader role, although there is much potential for a broader role for subsidiaries. The lack of innovativeness of foreign subsidiaries suggests rather limited contribution on part of the competitiveness of the local industry and, hence, there is much scope for improvement.
{"title":"Foreign MNE Subsidiary Emergence, Strategy, Contribution, and Sustainability Practices in Pakistan","authors":"Muhammad Mustafa Raziq, Anees Wajid","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3916796","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3916796","url":null,"abstract":"This research examines the emergence and evolution of foreign Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) subsidiaries, their strategies, contribution, and sustainability practices in Pakistan. Research argues that international business research has failed to answer some big questions regarding the emergence, evolution and strategies of foreign MNEs, and how MNEs from western economies respond to the pressures for sustainability in their international operations in emerging economies which are also referred to as pollution havens due to their cheaper land, resources and labor. Emerging economies are much relevant as the world economic center of gravity and the international business activity are now shifting from west to east, and in this regard, certain ignored contexts such as Pakistan, which is potentially a large and an important marketplace, and can play an important role for the multinational activity, are much interesting. Based on in-depth interviews from CEOs of 22 foreign subsidiaries in Pakistan, the study shows that foreign subsidiaries in Pakistan are well established having their presence in the country for quite some time, however, since the subsidiary entrepreneurial initiatives are mainly focused on the local market, and their innovativeness and contribution to the MNE in terms of knowledge and expertise are limited, they may be seen as rather less evolved in terms of roles and strategies. Furthermore, the foreign MNEs in Pakistan do adopt environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable practices, perhaps just like they do in their home (western) countries, although the foreign subsidiaries also experience pressures to adopt sustainability practices, as well as barriers in the adoption of such practices. Finally, the foreign subsidiaries in Pakistan do not at large have a broader role, although there is much potential for a broader role for subsidiaries. The lack of innovativeness of foreign subsidiaries suggests rather limited contribution on part of the competitiveness of the local industry and, hence, there is much scope for improvement.","PeriodicalId":388441,"journal":{"name":"Political Economy - Development: Environment eJournal","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125424494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study examines the impact of non-executive employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) on corporate environmental engagement. We show that granting ESOPs to non-executive employees promotes greater corporate environmental engagement in terms of environmental protection expenditures, environmental information disclosure, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings. We adopt the two-way fixed-effects model, the propensity score matching (PSM) method, and the instrumental variable approach to alleviate endogeneity concerns. The positive effect of ESOPs is mainly attributable to high-intensity, broad-based, and long-term plans where the incentive effect of ESOPs is sufficiently large to offset the free-rider effect. Furthermore, our findings are particularly pronounced in companies with more intense labor market competition, companies with greater media exposure, and companies in heavy-polluting industries. Overall, this study reveals new evidence of the incentive effect of ESOPs on corporate environmental engagement.
{"title":"Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Corporate Environmental Engagement","authors":"Dongmin Kong, Yanan Wang","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3915366","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3915366","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the impact of non-executive employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) on corporate environmental engagement. We show that granting ESOPs to non-executive employees promotes greater corporate environmental engagement in terms of environmental protection expenditures, environmental information disclosure, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings. We adopt the two-way fixed-effects model, the propensity score matching (PSM) method, and the instrumental variable approach to alleviate endogeneity concerns. The positive effect of ESOPs is mainly attributable to high-intensity, broad-based, and long-term plans where the incentive effect of ESOPs is sufficiently large to offset the free-rider effect. Furthermore, our findings are particularly pronounced in companies with more intense labor market competition, companies with greater media exposure, and companies in heavy-polluting industries. Overall, this study reveals new evidence of the incentive effect of ESOPs on corporate environmental engagement.","PeriodicalId":388441,"journal":{"name":"Political Economy - Development: Environment eJournal","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116882924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-08-31DOI: 10.15587/1729-4061.2021.239195
O. Bugrov, O. Bugrova
A conceptual model for analyzing the dynamics of the value of the project, achieved as a result of engineering, under conditions of uncertainty has been developed. In the methodological context, the proposed approach is based on an array of isovalues, each of which corresponds to its own level of optimism in forecasting the cash flow for the project. With the increase in the efficiency of the project due to engineering, the entire array of iso-value lines’ changes its geometrical position, moving further from the origin (in the four-dimensional space "time-benefit-cost-risk"). The proposed model includes three stages. At the first stage, input information is collected and the corresponding analysis is initiated. The result of the second stage is a multivariate cash flow forecast and calculation of the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) and its changes for each scenario. The third stage provides the calculation of the expected BCR and its change, an assessment of the risk of making an erroneous decision and changing this risk as a result of the engineering session. The model makes it possible to calculate the achieved proportion of the static and dynamic vectors of change in the value of the project, which is one of the key manifestations of the scientific novelty of the work. In the example considered, the share of the dynamic vector of growth in the value of the project was found to be 35.47 %. The model has an environmental property - the assessment of the success of value engineering under conditions of uncertainty is carried out on the basis of the annual total benefits and the annual total costs throughout the project cycle. Thus, the analysis takes into account the impact of the project on the environment, which is reflected in the risk assessment. The given case testifies to the feasibility of applying the model in the practice of engineering the value of construction projects.
{"title":"Development of Conceptual Model of Project Value Dynamics Analysis in Conditions of Uncertainty","authors":"O. Bugrov, O. Bugrova","doi":"10.15587/1729-4061.2021.239195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2021.239195","url":null,"abstract":"A conceptual model for analyzing the dynamics of the value of the project, achieved as a result of engineering, under conditions of uncertainty has been developed. In the methodological context, the proposed approach is based on an array of isovalues, each of which corresponds to its own level of optimism in forecasting the cash flow for the project. With the increase in the efficiency of the project due to engineering, the entire array of iso-value lines’ changes its geometrical position, moving further from the origin (in the four-dimensional space \"time-benefit-cost-risk\"). The proposed model includes three stages. At the first stage, input information is collected and the corresponding analysis is initiated. The result of the second stage is a multivariate cash flow forecast and calculation of the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) and its changes for each scenario. The third stage provides the calculation of the expected BCR and its change, an assessment of the risk of making an erroneous decision and changing this risk as a result of the engineering session. The model makes it possible to calculate the achieved proportion of the static and dynamic vectors of change in the value of the project, which is one of the key manifestations of the scientific novelty of the work. In the example considered, the share of the dynamic vector of growth in the value of the project was found to be 35.47 %. The model has an environmental property - the assessment of the success of value engineering under conditions of uncertainty is carried out on the basis of the annual total benefits and the annual total costs throughout the project cycle. Thus, the analysis takes into account the impact of the project on the environment, which is reflected in the risk assessment. The given case testifies to the feasibility of applying the model in the practice of engineering the value of construction projects.","PeriodicalId":388441,"journal":{"name":"Political Economy - Development: Environment eJournal","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115458021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Waste is built into modern culture. Yet the problem of what to do with all that waste remains unresolved. The Western over-consumptive lifestyle relies on the highly racialized transfer of the burdens associated with managing waste away from certain communities and onto others. Indeed, our entire way of life hinges on overburdening some communities, so that other communities may be underburdened, and thereby enjoy the benefits of clean air, water, and land. Perhaps the most striking thing about the relationship between overburdened communities, and underburdened communities is that underburdened is not even an English word. By its very absence, the word underburdened encapsulates the way that environmental privilege is invisible, unproblematized, and unconsidered. This article draws back the curtain and shows how communities are systematically either overburdened or underburdened, largely along racial and socio-economic lines. By making visible the way that polluted neighborhoods subsidize clean air and water elsewhere, this article offers suggestions for the kinds of structural change that will be needed to achieve environmental justice.
{"title":"Underburdened Communities","authors":"Rebecca M. Bratspies","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3909318","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3909318","url":null,"abstract":"Waste is built into modern culture. Yet the problem of what to do with all that waste remains unresolved. The Western over-consumptive lifestyle relies on the highly racialized transfer of the burdens associated with managing waste away from certain communities and onto others. Indeed, our entire way of life hinges on overburdening some communities, so that other communities may be underburdened, and thereby enjoy the benefits of clean air, water, and land. Perhaps the most striking thing about the relationship between overburdened communities, and underburdened communities is that underburdened is not even an English word. By its very absence, the word underburdened encapsulates the way that environmental privilege is invisible, unproblematized, and unconsidered. This article draws back the curtain and shows how communities are systematically either overburdened or underburdened, largely along racial and socio-economic lines. By making visible the way that polluted neighborhoods subsidize clean air and water elsewhere, this article offers suggestions for the kinds of structural change that will be needed to achieve environmental justice.","PeriodicalId":388441,"journal":{"name":"Political Economy - Development: Environment eJournal","volume":"282 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116085172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We develop a dynamic competitive equilibrium model of battery adoption and operations to evaluate the social value and adoption trajectory of utility-scale batteries and examine policy counterfactuals. The first battery unit breaks even in 2027 when renewable energy share reaches 52% and expected capital costs are $259/kWh. While the competitive market will install 10 MWh by 2030, competitive adoption does not reach 5,000 MWh until 2043 because the marginal value of investment sharply declines in aggregate capacity. California's 1,300 MW battery mandate implies subsidies of 49% and creates deadweight losses of $433 million relative to a competitive battery market. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.
{"title":"Soaking Up the Sun: Battery Investment, Renewable Energy, and Market Equilibrium","authors":"R. Butters, J. Dorsey, Gautam Gowrisankaran","doi":"10.3386/w29133","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3386/w29133","url":null,"abstract":"We develop a dynamic competitive equilibrium model of battery adoption and operations to evaluate the social value and adoption trajectory of utility-scale batteries and examine policy counterfactuals. The first battery unit breaks even in 2027 when renewable energy share reaches 52% and expected capital costs are $259/kWh. While the competitive market will install 10 MWh by 2030, competitive adoption does not reach 5,000 MWh until 2043 because the marginal value of investment sharply declines in aggregate capacity. California's 1,300 MW battery mandate implies subsidies of 49% and creates deadweight losses of $433 million relative to a competitive battery market. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.","PeriodicalId":388441,"journal":{"name":"Political Economy - Development: Environment eJournal","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130840831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Should nonhuman animals possess cost-benefit analysis (CBA) standing, and if so, to what extent? A lack of standing for animals does not mean that their interests are ignored; rather, it implies that their interests are only accounted for to the extent that those with standing – humans – feel some regard for animal welfare. This paper addresses farm animal policy in the United States and looks at how CBAs are altered as animal interests range from “no standing” to “human-equivalent” standing. Even with no standing for animals, the degree of animal welfare offered by current animal agricultural practices is inefficiently low: human preferences for animal welfare are less than fully reflected in the economic and political marketplaces. Policies that counter existing shortcomings in the markets for animal welfare could be paired with transparency measures that would help ensure that consumers and voters are better informed about the conditions under which farmed animals are raised. Uncertainty concerning the appropriate degree of animal standing counsels for the avoidance of policies that would be highly undesirable if the proper extent of standing turns out to be significantly smaller or larger than expected.
{"title":"The Economic Standing of Animals","authors":"Jim Leitzel, S. Shaikh","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3891184","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3891184","url":null,"abstract":"Should nonhuman animals possess cost-benefit analysis (CBA) standing, and if so, to what extent? A lack of standing for animals does not mean that their interests are ignored; rather, it implies that their interests are only accounted for to the extent that those with standing – humans – feel some regard for animal welfare. This paper addresses farm animal policy in the United States and looks at how CBAs are altered as animal interests range from “no standing” to “human-equivalent” standing. Even with no standing for animals, the degree of animal welfare offered by current animal agricultural practices is inefficiently low: human preferences for animal welfare are less than fully reflected in the economic and political marketplaces. Policies that counter existing shortcomings in the markets for animal welfare could be paired with transparency measures that would help ensure that consumers and voters are better informed about the conditions under which farmed animals are raised. Uncertainty concerning the appropriate degree of animal standing counsels for the avoidance of policies that would be highly undesirable if the proper extent of standing turns out to be significantly smaller or larger than expected.","PeriodicalId":388441,"journal":{"name":"Political Economy - Development: Environment eJournal","volume":"116 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123163950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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