Durable goods and long-run electricity demand: Evidence from air conditioner purchase behavior

I estimate a dynamic structural model of demand for air conditioners, the most energy-intensive home appliance in the US. The model explores the links between demand for durable goods and expected changes in key attributes: energy efficiency and price. I incorporate expectations explicitly as a feature of the choice setting, and use parameter estimates from the model to calculate durable good demand elasticities with respect to energy efficiency, electricity price, and price of the durable itself. These estimates fill a large gap in the literature, and also shed light on consumer behavior in this setting. Results indicate that consumers are forward-looking and value the stream of future savings derived from energy efficiency.     

Biomass fuel use,burning technique and reasons for the denial of improved cooking stoves by Forest User Groups of Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary,Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the structural linkages of product quality, corporate image, store image, and price on customer satisfaction and loyalty towards green products usage in Malaysia. The research used structural equation modelling technique via AMOS 21.0 computer program for data analysis across a sample of 200 university students who applies a green lifestyle, such as purchasing green products which are referring to only retail goods, using recyclable products, and ozone-free products. Empirical analysis divulged that product quality followed by corporate image, store image, and product price jointly affected customer satisfaction in using green products. They are highly concerned that the green store provides a variety of good quality products with good value for money. Marketers should aggressively promote the identification of green products and overcome the problem of just noticeable difference between green product and non-green product among consumers for business sustainability. Empirical findings provide valuable insights to put forth in outlining effective marketing strategies that widen the marketers’ understanding of consumer behaviour in using green products with regard to their satisfaction and loyalty levels from the perspective of product quality, corporate image, store image, and product prices in Malaysia markets.     

Income inequality and willingness to pay for environmental public goods

We study how the distribution of income among members of society, and income inequality in particular, affects social willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental public goods. We find that social WTP for environmental goods decreases (increases) with income inequality if and only if environmental goods and manufactured goods are substitutes (complements). We derive adjustment factors for benefit transfer to control for differences in income distributions between a study site and a policy site. For illustration, we quantify how social WTP for environmental public goods depends on the respective income distributions for empirical case studies in Sweden and the World at large. We find that the adjustment for income inequality can be substantial.     

The democratic provision of public and private goods from exhaustible resources

The problem of distributing exhaustible natural resources between consumption goods and environmental amenities through a voting process is analyzed. Assuming that individuals are endowed with an equal share of private goods, the method of majority decision does not always achieve a Pareto-optimal distribution. However, by means of side payments, the intensity of preferences is revealed. The voting procedure then leads to a Pareto-optimal solution which is more prone to environmental amenities than the simple method of majority decision.     

Aggregating goods and pollutants

The mathematical assumptions underlying the aggregation of goods and of pollutants in a class of environmental models are given some possible economic interpretations. The procedures for aggregation are illustrated graphically and with numerical examples. This paper was motivated by the definitive article of Forster (J. Environ. Econ. Manage.8, 118–133 (1981)) and is intended to complement that article.     

Measuring sustainable governance in the European Union

This paper examines the problem of measuring sustainable governance in the European Union (EU-27) through the use of duality and the Slutsky equation. The proposed methodology is based on the application of a three-dimensional optimisation model, where the arguments of the objective (sustainable social welfare) function are economic goods that contribute to sustainable economic growth; environmental goods that provide for sustainable environmental protection; and social goods through which sustainable social development is achieved. The dual problem, formulated through this three-dimensional theoretical model, is solved to find the optimal solution, indicating a certain sustainability level. We suggest that this solution can be used for calculating the value of what we define here as the sustainable governmental policy indicator, which is considered to provide quantitative measurement of government policies on sustainable development within the context of ‘good governance’. Furthermore, it is suggested that the Slutsky equation can be used as a reliable method for long-term monitoring and planning of national as well as international good governance with regard to sustainable development policies. In its empirical part, the paper applies the theoretical model in an analysis of the sustainable development indicators (as set out in the Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) of the EU) in Bulgaria for the period 2000–2010 and compares them to those of the EU-27.     

Green markets, eco-certification, and equilibrium fraud

Consumers voluntarily pay significant price premiums to acquire unobservable environmental attributes in green markets. This paper considers the performance of eco-certification policy under circumstances where consumers cannot discern environmental attributes in goods, but are able to form rational expectations regarding the extent of illicit activities in the green market. The main results are: (i) fraud is less prevalent in green markets when entry barriers limit the number of firms; (ii) conventional environmental policies on polluting techniques increase the incidence of fraud, and can even preclude the use of non-polluting techniques which would otherwise emerge in green markets; (iii) voluntary eco-certification policies can decrease fraud, increase output, and raise profits per firm; and (iv) in cases where the socially optimal resource allocation can be supported, the optimal policy involves negative unit certification fees, positive fixed certification fees and is revenue-generating for the certifying agent.     

A Review of WTA/WTP Studies

Willingness to accept (WTA) is usually substantially higher than willingness to pay (WTP). These constructs have been studied for roughly 30 years and with a wide variety of goods. This paper reviews those studies. We find that the less the good is like an “ordinary market good,” the higher is the ratio. The ratio is highest for non-market goods, next highest for ordinary private goods, and lowest for experiments involving forms of money. A generalization of this pattern holds even when we account for differences in survey design: ordinary goods have lower ratios than non-ordinary ones. We also find that ratios in real experiments are not significantly different from hypothetical experiments and that incentive-compatible elicitation yields higher ratios.     

Which hedonic models can we trust to recover the marginal willingness to pay for environmental amenities?

The hedonic property value model is among our foremost tools for evaluating the economic consequences of policies that target the supply of local public goods, environmental services, and urban amenities. We design a theoretically consistent and empirically realistic Monte Carlo study of whether omitted variables seriously undermine the method’s ability to accurately identify economic values. Our results suggest that large gains in accuracy can be realized by moving from the standard linear specifications for the price function to a more flexible framework that uses a combination of spatial fixed effects, quasi-experimental identification, and temporal controls for housing market adjustment.     

Separability,functional structure and aggregation for a class of models in environmental economics

The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical bridge between the many-commodity general equilibrium models and the simpler one good-one pollutant models used in environmental economics. The interest is in determining the conditions that will permit a vector of pollutants (or goods) to be treated as if it were only one quantity, the amount of environmental pollution (or consumption). A general equilibrium model is constructed and the concepts of separability and functional structure are applied to examine the requirements for consistent aggregation. It is shown that this aggregation process may in general produce two entirely different sets of aggregate measures of pollution and consumption. This result is of theoretical and empirical significance. Alternative criteria for aggregation suggest that the aggregation depends upon very stringent features of the economy concerned.     

基于不同评估方法的养殖池塘富营养化环境成本研究——以上海青浦地区常规鱼类养殖池塘为例

采用物料平衡法、置换成本法、条件价值评估法（CVM）和COD价格法对池塘养殖环境成本进行评估。结果显示,基于4种评估方法估算得到的池塘养殖环境成本由大到小依次为置换成本法（4 400元.a-1.hm-2）、COD价格法（4 191.99元.a-1.hm-2）、物料平衡法（3 925.76元.a-1.hm-2）和CVM法（2 007.8元.a-1.hm-2）,认为在不考虑时间和经济成本的前提下,基于COD价格法测算得到的结果可能最接近于环境成本的真实值。采用4种评估方法测得的环境成本占常规鱼类养殖经济总收益的6%～14%,表明采取相关措施防治水产养殖环境污染很有必要。     

Substitution and the control of pollution : A comparison of effluent charges and quantity standards under uncertainty

Single-valued price and quantity controls of a polluting activity are compared under uncertainty. The ability to substitute other inputs for the pollutant in the production of a positively valued final good, and the usual discrepancy between the amount of pollution actually consumed and the amount emitted are carefully incorporated. The first is found to influence the degree to which cost fluctuation is reflected in the output of the final good. The second concern alters the region of the benefit function into which output is inserted. Both change the welfare losses associated with random fluctuation in the costs of reducing pollution.     

环境物品的经济价值评估方法:条件价值法

系统地介绍了西方国家常用的１种评价环境物品（公共物品）的方法——条件价值法。在大量文献和作者已有研究的基础上,解释了环境物品的特征和价值含义,综述了条件价值法的概念、特点和总体框架内容,分析了该方法中出现的偏差类型,总结了该方法在国际国内的已有应用,提出其应用潜力和应用前景     

绿色食品生产补偿的理论机理与政策设计

制约我国绿色食品发展的重要因素之一是其生态环境成本难以通过市场来兑现。为解决这一问题,文章以生态补偿为突破口,首先从理论上明确绿色食品生产具有正外部性,政府对其生产企业或农户进行补偿具有合理性和必要性,然后进一步探讨其制度构建与政策设计。（1）构建一个包括政府、生产者、消费者三方的博弈模型,着重分析绿色食品供需过程中、政府影响下生产者和消费者的利益动机和博弈行为。模型结果显示,存在能够满足绿色食品供需平衡的1个纯战略纳什均衡解和1个混合战略纳什均衡解,这两个纳什均衡解的实现条件均要求政府对绿色食品生产者提供补偿和对消费者实施优惠政策。（2）利用C-D生产函数建构的利润函数和恢复费用法探讨绿色食品生产补偿标准范围,结果表明最低补偿标准应满足生产者生产绿色食品和生产普通食品利润相等,而最高补偿标准则应对绿色食品生产中创造的环境效益进行支付。（3）文章最后从“建立经济政策支持体系,构筑科技进步支撑体系,完善品牌质量保障体系,培育产业化生产体系”等4方面提出了现阶段我国绿色食品生产补偿的政策建议。     

Ease vs. noise: Long-run changes in the value of transport (dis)amenities

For a complete cost-benefit analysis of durable infrastructures, it is important to understand how the value of non-market goods such as transit time and environmental quality changes as incomes rise in the long-run. We use difference-in-differences and spatial differencing to estimate the land price capitalization effects of metro rail in Berlin, Germany today and a century ago. Over this period, the negative implicit hedonic price of rail noise tripled. Our results imply income elasticities of the value of noise reduction and transport access of 2.2 and 1.4, substantially exceeding cross-sectional contingent valuation estimates.     

Intra-industry trade in intermediate products, pollution and internationally increasing returns

This paper examines the relationship between intra-industry trade in intermediate products, pollution and increasing returns. We develop a two-country model in which production occurs in two stages, final and intermediate good production. Intermediate goods are produced under monopolistic competition and final good production exhibits increasing returns with respect to the number of varieties of intermediates. Pollution occurs in the production of the final good when polluting intermediates are used. We analyze the effects of international trade in intermediate products on pollution, output and welfare under an endogenous tax scenario and with two types of pollution functions. The results show that, because of increasing returns, international trade either leads to lower total pollution in each country or lower pollution per unit of output in at least one country. In addition, intra-industry trade causes countries to import the environmental quality of their trading partners.     

Intra-industry trade in intermediate products,pollution and internationally increasing returns

This paper examines the relationship between intra-industry trade in intermediate products, pollution and increasing returns. We develop a two-country model in which production occurs in two stages, final and intermediate good production. Intermediate goods are produced under monopolistic competition and final good production exhibits increasing returns with respect to the number of varieties of intermediates. Pollution occurs in the production of the final good when polluting intermediates are used. We analyze the effects of international trade in intermediate products on pollution, output and welfare under an endogenous tax scenario and with two types of pollution functions. The results show that, because of increasing returns, international trade either leads to lower total pollution in each country or lower pollution per unit of output in at least one country. In addition, intra-industry trade causes countries to import the environmental quality of their trading partners.     

The Context for Substitutes in CVM Studies: Some Empirical Observations

The purpose of this paper is to report results from a set of experiments that provide data to test the NOAA [13] Panel recommendation that subjects be reminded of budgetary substitutes when providing values. The results suggest that simply reminding subjects of alternative environmental goods does not affect the distribution of values for a specific good. Such values are affected, however, whenever subjects simultaneously value alternative goods.     

Alternative Non-market Value-Elicitation Methods: Are the Underlying Preferences the Same?

We advocate a more formal structural approach for comparing WTP for non-market or pre-test-market goods conveyed by fundamentally different preference elicitation mechanisms. Seven independent samples of respondents were asked to value the identical good. Elicitation methods include one actual purchase and six widely used hypothetical choice formats. Using a common underlying indirect utility function (and stochastic structure) allows data for different elicitation methods to be used independently, compared pair-wise (as in much of the earlier literature) or pooled across all samples in one unified model with heteroscedasticity across elicitation methods. Our differences in estimated WTP for the individual models are typical of earlier findings. However, pooled-data models that allow for heteroscedasticity reveal that while there are substantial differences in the amount of noise in the different samples, a common underlying systematic component of the preference structure cannot be rejected for at least four (and possibly five) of these seven elicitation methods.     

Green clubs

This paper treats programs in which firms voluntarily agree to meet environmental standards as “green clubs”: clubs, because they provide non-rival but excludable reputation benefits to participating firms; green, because they also generate environmental public goods. The model illuminates a central tension between the congestion externality familiar from conventional club theory and the free-riding externality familiar from the theory on private provision of public goods. We compare three common program sponsors—governments, industry, and environmental groups. We find that if monitoring of the club standard is perfect, a government constrained from regulating club size may prefer to leave sponsorship to industry if public-good benefits are sufficiently low, or to environmentalists if public-good benefits are sufficiently high. If monitoring is imperfect, an important question is whether consumers can infer that a club is too large for its standard to be credible. If they can then the government may deliberately choose an imperfect monitoring mechanism as a way of regulating club size indirectly. If they cannot then this reinforces the government's preference for delegating sponsorship.