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711. Economists, Value Judgments, and Climate Change: A View From Feminist Economics

Author:
Julie A. Nelson
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
A number of recent discussions about ethical issues in climate change, as engaged in by economists, have focused on the value of the parameter representing the rate of time preference within models of optimal growth. This essay examines many economists' antipathy to serious discussion of ethical matters, and suggests that the avoidance of questions of intergenerational equity is related to another set of value judgments concerning the quality and objectivity of economic practice. Using insights from feminist philosophy of science and research on high reliability organizations, this essay argues that a more ethically transparent, real-world-oriented, and flexible economic practice would lead to more strongly objective, reliable, and useful knowledge.
Topic:
International Relations, Climate Change, Economics, and Environment

712. A Marshall Plan for Energy, Water and Agriculture in Developing Countries

Author:
Richard L. Lawson and John R. Lyman
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Today, hunger, poverty, and desperation remain prevalent throughout much of the developing world. If we are to live in a 21st century more prone to peace than violence, the developed countries must move expeditiously to address the developing countries' requirements for energy, water, and agricultural production. The availability, accessibility and affordability of energy, water and food supplies are vital to the economic development that is required to alleviate global poverty, to reduce global tensions, and to address global environmental degradation.
Topic:
Development, Energy Policy, Environment, Globalization, and Poverty

713. Assessing Environmental Policies

Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Are policies to protect the environment giving value for money – and how can we know? Recognising that policy decisions should be based on a comparison of costs and benefits, a number of OECD governments have introduced legal provisions requiring a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of new environmental regulations or measures.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, Environment, and Government

714. The Political Economy of Environmentally Related Taxes

Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Preserving the environment is high on the agenda for both governments and society. Governments in OECD countries are using a variety of instruments to change environmentally harmful behaviour, and taxes have proved a useful string to their bow. Using taxes to achieve an environmental objective, such as reducing emissions of a particular pollutant, is efficient from an economic point of view and offers flexibility to adapt for those affected. Direct regulation of polluting activities, for example by setting legal limits on the emission level of certain pollutants, forces immediate compliance regardless of the comparative cost for different businesses and individuals, and can be more difficult and costly for some than for others. Environmental taxes leave more flexibility for those affected, because they can essentially “buy time” to make changes which will mean they do not have to pay the tax in the future. Thus, a tax on polluting activities or products allows those who can cut emissions cheaply to do so first, while allowing those with higher pollution control costs to pay the tax while taking time to make technological adjustments. This means that the economy as a whole will meet the same environmental objective more cheaply than by using direct regulation. While using taxes to achieve environmental objectives is clearly efficient for the economy as a whole, however, in practice individual businesses or sectors may resist because they will be “losers” in the equation. Governments need to address such concerns about the negative impacts of environmental taxes on sectoral competitiveness and on income distribution if environmentally related taxes are to be a useful tool. This Policy Brief looks at the political economy of environmental taxes and how governments can use them in conjunction with other policy instruments to achieve their environmental objectives.
Topic:
Civil Society, Environment, Government, and Political Economy

715. Peer Review: a Tool for Co-operation and Change

Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Democratic governments want policies that are in the best interest of their citizens. But how can they – and their voters – be sure they are making the right choices? One answer is by learning from the tried and tested experience of others. One of the OECD'score strengths is its ability to offer its 30 members a framework to examine and compare experiences and discuss “best practices” in a host of areas from economic policy to environmental protection or strategies to create jobs.
Topic:
Democratization, Environment, Government, and International Cooperation

716. A New Direction for Bush Administration Climate Policy

Author:
Samuel Thernstrom and Lee Lane
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
President George W. Bush was widely expected to propose ambitious new initiatives to control greenhouse gas emissions in the State of the Union address on January 23. The week before the speech, his top environmental advisor told a Washington Post columnist that a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system would be “the most elegant” solution to climate change, raising expectations that a proposal along those lines might be forthcoming. In the end, however, the president proposed a remarkably modest (and poorly conceived) initiative to cut gasoline consumption by 20 percent in the next ten years. This was an important lost opportunity for leadership at a crucial juncture.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Washington

717. Viable and Environment-Friendly Sources for Meeting South Asia's Growing Energy Needs

Author:
Toufiq Siddiqi
Publication Date:
08-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
South Asia's rapidly accelerating economic growth is accompanied by energy requirements that are increasing at a similar pace. The development of cleaner sources of electricity, such as hydropower; the establishment of reliable sources and transport of natural gas; and the linking of electrical systems within the region would help to ensure the continued supply of energy needed to fuel South Asia's expanding economy. Currently, most of South Asia's commercial energy demand is supplied by coal and oil. While the use of these fuels will continue, there is a need to reduce the rate at which coal and oil consumption is increasing and to expand the use of other energy sources that are environment-friendly, readily available, and reasonably priced. Much of the increasing demand can be met by natural gas and hydroelectricity, and while the necessary electricity can potentially be produced within the region, natural gas will need to come from both within South Asia and from neighboring countries. Regional cooperation among the countries of South Asia as well as with surrounding countries is essential for meeting the region's future energy needs.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Environment, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
South Asia

718. Indonesian Papua: A Local Perspective on the Conflict

Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Most outside observers see only one dimension of conflict in Papua – the Indonesian government vs. the independence movement – but it is much more complex. Tensions among tribal groups and between indigenous Papuans and non-Papuan settlers, as well as competition over political power and access to spoils at the district and sub-district levels, are also important. The issues vary substantially from one region to another. National and international attention has tended to focus on the northern coast and the central highlands, with relatively little on the districts in the south, which have long felt excluded from politics in the Papuan capital, Jayapura.
Topic:
Environment and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Asia, Papua, and Jayapura

719. Scenes from the Climate Inquisition

Author:
Kenneth P. Green and Steven F. Hayward
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
On February 2, an AEI research project on climate-change policy that we have been organizing was the target of a journalistic hit piece in Britain's largest left-wing newspaper, the Guardian. The article's allegation—that we tried to bribe scientists to criticize the work of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—is easy to refute. More troubling than the article is the growing worldwide effort to silence anyone with doubts about the catastrophic warming scenario that Al Gore and other climate extremists are putting forth.
Topic:
International Relations, Environment, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Britain and United States

720. Payments for Ecosystem Services – Issues and Pro-Poor Opportunities for Development Assistance

Author:
Helle Munk Ravnborg, Mette Gervin Damsgaard, and Kim Raben
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The emergence of the concept of payment for ecosystem services during the late 1990s has raised expectations among rural natural resource managers, local and national authorities, public utilities and donor organizations alike, that ecosystem conservation can be achieved through popular payments rather than through unpopular measures of command and control.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, and Environment