Carlo Carraro - Böcker

First published in 1997, this volume addressed the growing preoccupation of scientists at the time had in environmental phenomena, such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rains, fresh water and ocean pollution, desertification, deforestation and the loss of bio-diversity. The crucial and pressing nature of these issues spawned says the author a new wave of research in environmental economics. The volume provides broad surveys of the developments in the economics of the environment and reports on the developing set of environmental problems, analytical tools and economic policies. The importance of the developing approach was that environmental problems are no longer isolated from all other economic dimensions. Throughout the volume they are analysed in an open, generally non-competitive economy with transnational or global externalities. The first part deals with the relationship between the environment, economic growth and technological innovation. The second part analyses the optimal design of environmental taxation, while the third part considers the international dimension of environmental policy.

A critical issue in dealing with climate change is deciding who has a right to emit carbon dioxide. Allocation in the European Emissions Trading Scheme provided the first in-depth description and analysis of the process by which rights to emit carbon dioxide were created and distributed in the European Union. This was the world's first large-scale experiment with an emission trading system for carbon dioxide and was likely to be copied by others if there was to be a global regime for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. The book comprises contributions from those responsible for putting the allocation into practice in ten representative member states and at the European Commission. The problems encountered in this process, the solutions found, and the choices they made, will be of interest to all who are concerned with climate policy and the use of emissions trading to combat climate change.

First published in 1997, this volume addressed the growing preoccupation of scientists at the time had in environmental phenomena, such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rains, fresh water and ocean pollution, desertification, deforestation and the loss of bio-diversity. The crucial and pressing nature of these issues spawned says the author a new wave of research in environmental economics. The volume provides broad surveys of the developments in the economics of the environment and reports on the developing set of environmental problems, analytical tools and economic policies. The importance of the developing approach was that environmental problems are no longer isolated from all other economic dimensions. Throughout the volume they are analysed in an open, generally non-competitive economy with transnational or global externalities. The first part deals with the relationship between the environment, economic growth and technological innovation. The second part analyses the optimal design of environmental taxation, while the third part considers the international dimension of environmental policy.

A critical issue in dealing with climate change is deciding who has a right to emit carbon dioxide. Allocation in the European Emissions Trading Scheme provided the first in-depth description and analysis of the process by which rights to emit carbon dioxide were created and distributed in the European Union. This was the world's first large-scale experiment with an emission trading system for carbon dioxide and was likely to be copied by others if there was to be a global regime for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. The book comprises contributions from those responsible for putting the allocation into practice in ten representative member states and at the European Commission. The problems encountered in this process, the solutions found, and the choices they made, will be of interest to all who are concerned with climate policy and the use of emissions trading to combat climate change.

The possible introduction of a carbon tax in Europe is an issue which has attracted the attention of numerous economists and policy-makers. The problems under debate concern the effects of the tax at different levels: what costs, in terms of GDP growth, will be paid by each European country? Will the effects on income distribution be larger than those on income level? Should the carbon tax be co-ordinated among the European countries or would it be better to impose a uniform tax rate on carbon emissions? Can Europe introduce the tax unilaterally or should this be done jointly, with the other industrialized countries? This book provides answers to such questions. It analyses the effects of the European carbon tax on both a domestic and an international level.

This text covers some of the most relevant issues in the new environmental economics. Its main emphasis is on the international dimension of environmental phenomena, which implies the necessity of designing properly co-ordinated economic/environmental policies. The issue of policy co-ordination is analyzed both in the case where environmental externalities arise because of cross-country and global pollution flows, and in the case where trade and competitiveness effects induced by environmental regulation affect countries' relative economic performance. The context in which these issues are analyzed relies on recent developments of game theory, industrial economics and international trade where imperfect competition and governments' strategic interactions are accounted for. Recognizing that traditional environmental policy tools are not sufficient to regulate the present environment-economy interactions leads to appraising the effects of more sophisticated policy mixes. In particular, policies to stimulate technological innovation, to regulate industrial markets, to offset negative trade effects are examined. Attention is also given to the issue of economic growth.Under which conditions is endogenous growth consistent with environmental protection? Which policy mix can loosen the traditional trade-off between environment and growth?

One of the central tenets of this book is that governmental policies must be designed to take into account market characteristics and environmental phenomena - simultaneously. This volume contains a research effort of the "Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei" and explores the theoretical underpinnings of environmental policy in a sub-optimal world. Topics considered link economic issues (olipolistic market structures, firm heterogeneity, and the strategic behaviour of governments) to environmental issues (emission abatements, cleaner technologies, and environmental taxation).

The European Union faces several interlinked challenges: how to protect the environment and foster sustainability; how to reduce unemployment and foster competitiveness in the context of growing globalization; and how to reduce regional disparities among and within member countries. The recent policy debate has revealed that such objectives are not a trade off, provided they are tackled in concert. In particular, win-win policy options are available to the EU, given an appropriate integration of regulation, macro-policy, social policy, fiscal policy and environmental policy. The evidence shows that an optimization of each single policy will not meet the needs of the EU. But an integrated approach would allow the implementation of a genuine sustainable development policy. This study discusses the most recent results available on the green tax reform and the double dividend hypothesis. The first part is devoted to theoretical analysis, and the second provides empirical results.

The book first offers a theoretical framework for understanding the features of international agreements on climate, then shows different integrated assessment modelling approaches designed to analyse the impact of possible agreements of emissions abatement and the related costs. Potential implications of the Kyoto agreement, institutional and legal issues and the political economy behind international agreements on climate are not neglected, thus providing a comprehensive, albeit preliminary, exploration of crucial aspects of current negotiations on climate.

An attempt at a detailed analysis of all main aspects characterising the design and implementation of voluntary approaches in environmental policy, this book contains both theoretical analyses and case studies. The chapters of this book therefore provide a useful assessment of the main features and of the potential implementation problems of a new, important and promising environmental policy instrument.

This assessment of the economic effects of climate change policy, addresses the issues with a quantitative modelling approach. The book goes beyond statements on the efficiency of economic instruments to identify the way gains and losses are distributed; who gains and who loses. Both the costs and benefits of climate change policies are analyzed. Most papers also provide useful information on the economic features of the Kyoto Protocol, its possible extensions, and the effect of different implementation strategies (such as the debate on emissions trading ceilings).

This work focuses on the application of dynamic game theory and control theory to analyze a number of important issues in the interaction between economic and environmental problems. The authors provide research results, mathematical models and prescriptions for public policy tools to prevent economic and natural systems from taking unsustainable development paths. The book should be of interest to research workers in industry and university, including engineers, mathematicians, economists and public policy-makers.

This book collects some recent works on the application of dynamic game and control theory to the analysis of environmental problems. This collec­ tion of papers is not the outcome of a conference or of a workshop. It is rather the result of a careful screening from among a number of contribu­ tions that we have solicited across the world. In particular, we have been able to attract the work of some of the most prominent scholars in the field of dynamic analyses of the environment. Engineers, mathematicians and economists provide their views and analytical tools to better interpret the interactions between economic and environmental phenomena, thus achiev­ ing, through this interdisciplinary effort, new and interesting results. The goal of the book is more normative than descriptive. All papers include careful modelling of the dynamics of the main variables involved in the game between nature and economic agents and among economic agents themselves, as well-described in Vrieze's introductory chapter. Fur­ thermore, all papers use this careful modelling framework to provide policy prescriptions to the public agencies authorized to regulate emission dy­ namics. Several diverse problems are addressed: from global issues, such as the greenhouse effect or deforestation, to international ones, such as the management of fisheries, to local ones, for example, the control of effluent discharges. Moreover, pollution problems are not the only concern of this book.

The Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the majority of industrialised countries is the first small step on the way to an effective climate policy. In the long-term, climate policy will call for greater GHG reductions and the full participation of the global community. The five integrated chapters of this book review theoretical findings and empirical evidence in the search for the right incentives which could induce firms and governments to undertake GHG abatement measures.This book analyses the policy mixes that provide the best possible incentives for firms and governments to act on climate change and sign up to international climate agreements. In doing so, the authors address a multitude of related issues including the linkages between flexible mechanisms and voluntary agreements; regulation and taxation; the opportunities and barriers of the Kyoto Protocol for industry; and the incentives for firms to undertake climate-related R&D and investments. As well as illustrating the environmental benefits and cost-effectiveness of alternative policy mixes in reducing GHG emissions, the authors also offer sensible policy prescriptions for increasing the numbers of countries that ratify and implement climate agreements.Environmental and resource economists, environmental scientists, climate analysts and policymakers should all read this book which offers an authoritative contribution to what is arguably the most critical contemporary environmental policy issue.

This important book, written by some of the leading scholars in the field, provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in coalition theory and presents both the latest theoretical developments and novel applications in the field of economics. The authors demonstrate the many uses of coalition theory and its ability to address a whole host of complex economic problems, such as the provision of global public goods, the adoption of co-operative R&D strategies and the emergence of sovereign states. By highlighting important game-theoretic results they are able to compare and contrast the effectiveness of different approaches. Some of the specific topics addressed include: advances in the theory of large co-operative gamesnon co-operative models of coalition formationa survey of the partition function in the formation of coalitionsfarsightedness in coalition formationcoalition stabilitycoalition formation in industrial economics, trade theory, environmental economics, public finance.This essential study of recent theories of coalition and group formation will arm the reader with a new set of tools with which to analyse a variety of problematic economic issues. It will prove invaluable to economists, ecologists, and political and social scientists.

Game theory is one of the most powerful tools that economists can use to deal with complex economic and policy problems. At the same time, environmental issues are at the heart of many domestic and international policy processes, where interactions among different stakeholders play a crucial role. It is therefore natural to adopt game theory as one of the analytical instruments to enhance our understanding of the interrelations between the economy and the environment, and provide practical suggestions for policy interventions. This book summarises the latest achievements of researchers involved in the application of game theory to the analysis of environmental matters. It provides an overview of different methods and applications, and gives the reader new insights on the solutions to complex environmental problems. The authors investigate various game theoretic approaches, including cooperative and non-cooperative game theory, and analyse both dynamic and static games. They illustrate the application of these approaches to global and local environmental problems, and present novel but effective tools to support environmental policy making. In particular, they focus on three important issues; climate negotiations and policy, the sharing of environmental costs, and environmental management and pollution control.This book presents ground-breaking applications of game theory to deal with today's pressing environmental problems. It will become a valuable source of reference for academics and researchers interested in environmental economics and management, game theory and international relations.

The difficulty of achieving and implementing a global climate change agreement has stimulated a wide range of policy proposals designed to favour the participation of a large number of countries in a global cooperative effort to control greenhouse gas emissions. This significant book analyses the viability of controlling climate change through a set of regional or sub-global climate agreements rather than via a global treaty.The authors argue that the principal challenge in devising a truly global architecture is in providing sufficient incentives for all party participation whilst also ensuring compliance, which raises global governance issues. The main purpose of this study is not to trace in detail the process of negotiation and implementation of international regimes, but rather to evaluate whether a series of regional or sub-global agreements is more likely to achieve climate change control than a global agreement attempted from the outset. From a political science perspective, the focus centres on institution building and governance. From an economic perspective it concentrates on incentives used to encourage participation in a global and non-fragmented agreement. Lessons from EU integration and actual global and regional trade agreements are employed in order to analyse the future prospects of climate change negotiations.The focus on climate change and more generally the management of environmental and resource problems will make this book essential reading for participants, observers and analysts of the public policy process as it concerns climate change and more generally the management of environmental and resource problems. In addition the rich combination of international relations theory and economic literature with findings from the policy process will appeal to both general readers and the academic community.

This book presents provides a rigorous yet accessible treatment of the main topics in climate change policy using a large body of research generated using WITCH (World Induced Technical Change Hybrid), an innovative and path-breaking integrated assessment model.The authors give a particular emphasis to the analysis of technological change necessary to build low-carbon economies. The WITCH model can track all of the actions which impact the level of mitigation - such as R&D expenditures, investments in carbon-free technologies and adaptation, purchases of emission permits, or expenditures for carbon taxes - thus allowing for the evaluation of equilibrium responses stimulated by different climate policy tools. The chapters examine various questions to explore the future of climate change policy. Why is it so hard to achieve a global agreement that paves the way to widespread reductions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions? What are the technologies that would deliver clean energy without harming economic growth? And finally, how does uncertainty about future policies and future technologies affect choices in the present?This innovative book will appeal to researchers, policy makers and academics interested in climate change policy.Contributors; V. Bosetti, C. Carraro, E. De Cian, T. Longden, E. Massetti, L. Nicita, F. Sferra, A. Sgobbi, M. Tavoni

Much environmental deterioration - the greenhouse effect, deleption of the ozone layer and acid rain - has an intrinsic international dimension. The lack of a supra-national authority requires that countries agree on the decision to co-operate for pollution control. Hence, negotiations on international environmental issues need to be approached through appropriate policy strategies. This book presents new and important papers which examine international environmental negotiations and agreements seeking to protect the global environment. Policy analysis is performed within a game-theoretic strategic framework. Issues discussed include: existence, size and environmental impacts of self-enforcing agreements, the role of an arbitrator in environmental negotiations, the problems of interactions between environmental and trade and industrial polices, the influence of uncertainty on negotiations and agreements, the role of myopia of negotiators and of asymmetric interests between developed and less developed countries. This book not only presents current debates but also provides stimuli for further research.International Environmental Negotiations will be of special interest to students, academics and professional environmentalists as well as policymakers.

This is the first English translation of Benedetto Cotrugli's The Book of the Art of Trade, a lively account of the life of a Mediterranean merchant in the Early Renaissance, written in 1458.

This is the first English translation of Benedetto Cotrugli's The Book of the Art of Trade, a lively account of the life of a Mediterranean merchant in the Early Renaissance, written in 1458.

Giovanni Castellani Rector of the University of Venice This book contains the Proceedings of the Conference on "Economic Policy and Control Theory" which was held at the University of Venice (Italy) on 27 January-l February 1985. The goal of the Conference was to survey the main developments of control theory in economics, by emphasizing particularly new achievements in the analysis of dynamic economic models by con­ trol methods. The development of control theory is strictly related to the development of science and technology in the last forty years. Control theory was indeed applied mainly in engineering, and only in the sixties economists started using control methods for analys­ ing economic problems, even if some preliminary economic applica­ tions of calculus of variations, from which control theory was then developed, date back to the twenties. Applications of control theory in economics also had to solve new, complicated, problems, like those encountered in optimal growth models, or like the determination of the appropriate inter­ temporal social welfare function, of the policy horizon and the relative final state of the system, of the appropriate discount factor. Furthermore, the uncertainty characterizing economic models had to be taken into account, thus giving rise to the development of stochastic control theory in economics.

One of the central tenets of this book is that governmental policies must be designed to take into account market characteristics and environmental phenomena - simultaneously. This volume contains a new research effort of the `Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei' and explores the theoretical underpinnings of environmental policy in a sub-optimal world. Topics considered link economic issues (oligopolistic market structures, firm heterogeneity, and the strategic behavior of governments) to environmental issues (emission abatements, cleaner technologies, and environmental taxation). The articles in this volume were chosen to achieve a balance between breadth and depth and were written by leading experts in the field. In short, this book is rich in policy implications and raises new issues and questions for future research.

The European Union faces several interlinked challenges: how to protect the environment and enhance sustainability; how to reduce unemployment and enhance competitiveness in the context of growing globalization; how to reduce regional disparities among and within member countries. The recent policy debate has revealed that such objectives are not a trade off, provided they are tackled in concert. In particular, win-win policy options are available to the EU, given an appropriate integration of regulation, macro-policy, social policy, fiscal policy and environmental policy. The evidence shows that an optimization of each single policy will not meet the needs of the EU. But an integrated approach would allow the implementation of a genuine sustainable development policy. This book discusses the most recent results available on the green tax reform and the double dividend hypothesis. The first part is devoted to theoretical analysis, and the second provides empirical results.

This book provides an updated overview of the current research on analysis and modelling of international agreements on climate change. The book first offers a theoretical framework for understanding the features of international agreements on climate, then shows different integrated assessment modelling approaches designed to analyse the impact of possible agreements of emissions abatement and the related costs. In the book, which is the outcome of cooperation between the Stanford Energy Modelling Forum and the Fondazione ENI E. Mattei, most economic/climate modellers provide their own assessment of climate policies and in particular of the potential implications of the Kyoto agreement. Institutional and legal issues and the political economy behind international agreements on climate are not neglected, thus providing a comprehensive, albeit preliminary, exploration of crucial aspects of current negotiations on climate. In view of the beginning of the new IPCC process that should lead to the 2000 IPCC report, this book constitutes an important basis of knowledge and a good example of fruitful interactions amongst different experts.The complexity which characterises climate issues and the uncertainty surrounding the causes and effects of climate changes makes this interdisciplinary effort vital for a careful design of future policy actions.

In recent years, voluntary approaches to emission reductions have increasingly been adopted by major companies all over the world and have increasingly been supported by regulatory bodies and public administrations. Despite this world-wide effort to achieve a better environmental performance through voluntary approaches, economic analysis has somehow neglected the importance of voluntary approaches as an environmental policy instrument. This book is a first attempt to fill this gap by gathering together all major experts in the fields and by providing a detailed analysis of all main aspects characterising the design and implementation of voluntary approaches in environmental policy. The book, which is the outcome of cooperation between the Aecole des Mines of Paris and the Fondazione ENI E. Mattei, within the EU Concerted Action on Market Based Policy Instruments for Environmental Protection, contains both theoretical analyses and case studies. The chapters of this book therefore provide a useful assessment of the main features and of the potential implementation problems of a new, important and promising environmental policy instrument.

Efficiency and Equity of Climate Change Policy is a comprehensive assessment of the economic effects of climate change policy, addressing the issues with a quantitative modelling approach. The book thus goes beyond the usual statements on the efficiency of economic instruments to identify the way gains and losses are distributed; who gains and who loses. Both the costs and benefits of climate change policies are analyzed. Most papers also provide useful information on the economic features of the Kyoto Protocol, its possible extensions, and the effect of different implementation strategies (such as the debate on emissions trading ceilings). Readership: Scientists and policy makers, students and specialists in climate related industries, members of NGOs, and policy advisors.

The research projects at Fondazione Mattei have for some time now been dealing with the international dimension of environmental policy. Indeed, most environ­ mental phenomena have international implications, which stem from a number of factors: physical ones, such as the transnational or global consequences of pollution and resource conservation; technological factors, such as technological cooperation and diffusion; and economic factors, such as trad~, plant localiza­ tion and migrations. Even in the absence of transnational pollution, therefore, the environmental issues involve substantial interdependence among countries. This volume, edited by Carlo Carraro, presents some of the research which we carried out in international environmental policy, focusing on the relationship between trade, innovation and the environment. The papers in part one discuss the impact of international trade and institu­ tions on environmental resources. Those in part two deal with the importance of innovation when attempting to solve the major environmental problems. The papers in part three, finally, focus on specific policy issues stressing the impor­ tance of institutions and property rights. The whole set of contributions can be seen as progress in environmental economics. The different chapters highlight the close relationship between envi­ ronmental issues and economic development and they merge the literature on the environment with the literature on innovation, economic growth, trade, plant localization, institutions, etc.

CARLO CARRARO* AND DOMENICO SINISCALCO** * University ofUdine, Greta and Fondazione Mattei; ** University of Turin and Fondazione Mattei 1. THE GLOBAL WARMING DEBATE The 1980s have seen an unprecedented growth in awareness ofthe problem of (man-induced) climate change. Scientific studies to assess the extent to which emissions resulting from human activities are increasing the atmos- pheric concentration ofgreenhouse gases (GHGs: carbon dioxide, methane, man-made chloro-fluorocarbons, nitrous oxide), thus contributing to raise the global mean temperature, have been carried out since the beginning of the decade. In 1990, a comprehensive report assessing the nature and the effects of global wanning was presented by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), jointly established by the World Meteorological Organisa- tion and the United Nations Environmental Programme. According to the Report, emissions resulting from human activities are substantially increas- ing the atmospheric concentration of GHGs. This is true, in particular, for carbon dioxide emissions, which result mainly from the burning of fossil fuels.The IPCC estimates that, in the last thirty years, the increase in the at- mospheric concentration of C02 has been substantially higher than in the last two centuries and the actual level is the highest among those registered in 160,000 years. The increasing atmospheric concentration of GHGs will enhance the greenhouse effect, resulting on average in an additional wann- ing of the earth's surface. The main greenhouse gas, water vapour, will in- crease in response to global wanning, and will further enhance it.