Efficiency Of Policy Instruments Research Articles

Factors influencing farmers' preference for farmland consolidation in Nepal: Evidence from randomized conjoint experiment

CONTEXTIncreasing fragmentation of farmland remains a critical agriculture development challenge around the world, specifically in developing countries. Farmland consolidation is one of the most efficient policy instruments, extensively implemented across the world, to deal with the critical issues in agriculture sector associated with farmland fragmentation. Despite this prospect there is a vast gap in literature exploring factors influencing farmers' preference for farmland consolidation in developing countries like Nepal. OBJECTIVEThis research aims to identify the factors influencing farmers' preference for farmland consolidation through a randomized conjoint experiment. METHODSFor a randomized conjoint experiment, five attributes related to farmland consolidation, i.e., methods of consolidation, development of roads and irrigation, the expected increase in agricultural income, minimum area of farmland for consolidation, and provision of service, with 3–4 levels were identified through literature review, expert consultation, and pretesting. The average marginal component effects of each randomly assigned attribute's levels are estimated. Respondents' willingness to accept farmland consolidation is also assessed based on the choice led by the expected increase in agricultural income. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSSixty-five percent of respondent farmers preferred the alternative policy to consolidate farmland over the status quo. The expected increase in income and the development of roads and irrigation through a joint effort of the government and farmers influence farmers' preference for farmland consolidation positively. In contrast, farmers' preference for farmland consolidation is negatively affected by a bigger area of farmland consolidation. The method of farmland consolidation and provision of service does not have a significant impact on farmers' preference for farmland consolidation. Respondent farmers are willing to accept a yearly increase of USD 362 per hectare to consolidate their farmland. SIGNIFICANCEThis paper suggests any policy targeted for farmland consolidation to focus on ensuring the increased income for the participant farmers mainly through shared effort to develop a connection road and irrigation infrastructure contributing to efficient production practices in the consolidated farmland. The farmers would consolidate their land if their yearly farm income increased by USD 362. Since majority of Nepali farmers are smallholding farmers, they would not prefer the larger size for farmland consolidation as it involves many farmers or require high capital to procure land through buying/selling of land. These policy implications could be extended to other developing countries which are experiencing increasing farmland fragmentation and having the similar socioeconomic context.

Stakeholders’ role towards circular economy implementation: a scientometric review

Purpose This study aims to identify in literature the role of construction stakeholders in the implementation of circular economy (CE) in the construction industry (CI). This study also sought to identify the status quo and research trend, “hot themes”, areas requiring more research and future research direction of stakeholders’ role in CE implementation in the CI. Design/methodology/approach A literature search was conducted using the Scopus search engine, augmented by Google Scholar to produce 50 relevant articles for the identification of stakeholders’ roles using content analysis. The scientometric study was undertaken using VOSviewer on 42 articles obtained from Scopus search to identify the status quo, “hot themes”, knowledge gaps and future research direction of the role of stakeholders in CE implementation. Findings Through content analysis, the identified roles of government as a stakeholder are to develop efficient policy instruments, legislation support and financial investment in research and development activities that will promote the smooth implementation of CE. The role of academia/research is to engage in research aimed at investigating both the short-term behaviour and the durability of recycled materials and products. In addition, the roles of professionals in the consultant/design/procurement team are to design with life cycle assessment and reused materials, design for deconstruction and disassembly, etc. The role of the user/consumer is to ensure knowledge diffusion and awareness exchange that recognize the available opportunities for long-term material usage (including repair, reuse, refurbishment and recycling). The research status quo identified from the scientometric analysis include how stakeholders can come up with innovative ways in demolition that will ensure that more of the materials can be reused. Stakeholders should focus on enacting policies and laws that can promote the use of recycled materials in buildings, etc. Research that focuses on how to engage the various construction stakeholders to come up with specific public policy that will promote CE implementation, identifying the specific roles to be played by stakeholders during policy enactment as well as managing the environment, laws and legislations towards CE implementation. The role of stakeholders in the extension of the life span of projects, the use of strategies to minimize waste generation and standardization of building materials, components and connectors with the purpose of simplifying disassembly are the research gaps and areas for future research studies. Some of the research “hot themes” include “circular business models in the CI”, “environmental sustainability policy implementation”, “environmental, economic and social sustainability”, “policy, laws and legislations on waste management” and “environmental and industrial economics” towards CE implementation. Practical implications The findings from this study serve as a valuable reference for construction stakeholders to assess their specific roles as stakeholders and to identify the status quo and research trend, “hot themes”, areas requiring more research and future research directions on stakeholders’ roles in CE implementation in the CI. Originality/value Identifying the role of stakeholders for CE implementation is one bold step towards the achievement of CE implementation in the CI.

Diffusion of electric vehicles in Beijing considering indirect network effects

Various policies on electric vehicles (EVs) have been implemented in Beijing to promote EV diffusion, but previous research has rarely considered the indirect network effects between EVs and EV charging infrastructures (EVCIs), and has not explored the impact of EVCI-related incentives on EV diffusion. This study aims to enrich the literature by incorporating EVCI development and indirect network effects in EV diffusion. A system dynamic model is proposed to systematically analyse the interactions among consumer, EV manufacturer and EVCI operator and simulate EV diffusion and ECVI investment in Beijing. Multiple scenarios are adopted to investigate the joint effects of the policy mix on EV diffusion. The results indicate that the oil-to-electricity subsidy promoted EVs and EVCIs to a greater extent than the license plate control policy. The EVCI maintenance policy outperformed EVCI construction and production subsidies on EV diffusion. Synergistic effects exist when the oil-to-electricity subsidy is mixed with EVCI-related incentives. This study provides implications for policymakers to promote EV diffusion with innovative and efficient policy instruments.

Unraveling the Knowledge Roadmap of Building Policy Mixes: A Scientometric Analysis

Improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions from buildings are crucial for achieving sustainable development. To realize these goals, it is essential to adopt a policy mix. However, despite much effort in this field, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding on building policy mixes (BPMs), which challenges building sustainability. To address this research gap, this study attempted to uncover the knowledge landscape of BPM through scientometric analysis. By employing methods such as keywords co-occurrence analysis, clustering analysis, co-citation analysis, and research trend analysis, this study systematically examined the current status, hot topics, underlying knowledge framework, knowledge domains, and frontiers of BPM research. The findings revealed that the existing BPM research primarily focuses on various aspects, including policy-related topics such as building energy efficiency policies and policy instruments, as well as topics like green affordable housing, hindering factors, carbon pricing, use obligation, construction waste reduction, and sustainable construction methods. Furthermore, the analysis identified research frontiers in BPM, encompassing policy considerations (e.g., building efficiency policy, split incentive, carbon tax, and carbon pricing), energy-related aspects (e.g., consumption, green transition), political dimensions (e.g., governance, management), building-related factors (e.g., green building, retrofitting), the innovation system, and the evolutionary game. Based on these findings, this study suggests that future research in BPM can deepen insight into interdisciplinary policy mixes by focusing on policy strategies, processes, and features. This study contributes to a holistic understanding of BPM and offers insightful guidance for both researchers and practitioners seeking to advance sustainable practices in the building sector.

Carbon Trading Pilots and Firms’ Green Innovation: Evidence from China’s Listed Company

Firms’ green innovation is important for their sustainable development. Determinants of firms’ green innovation has been discussed by social scientists, among which, carbon trading is a significant perspective. However, the current literature has not obtained consistent findings on this issue, possibly because causality has been challenged by the issue of endogeneity. This is not conducive to efficient policy instruments from existing findings. Using the carbon trading pilots in China in 2011 and 16 as quasi-experiment, we constructed dataset of 9,998 listed companies from 2000-2021 to empirically test the effect of carbon trading pilots on firms' green innovation by using the staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) method. The results show that carbon trading pilots increased the quantity of green innovation while had no effect on their quality, and remain robust after a series robustness tests. We also discuss the mechanism from the perspective of externalities. The paper thus highlights the necessity of piloting carbon trading and lowing externalities in fostering firms’ green innovation.

Action‐ versus results‐based policy designs for agricultural climate change mitigation

AbstractReducing agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is key to achieve overall climate policy goals. Effective and efficient policy instruments are needed to incentivize farmers' adoption of on‐farm climate change mitigation practices. We compare action‐ and results‐based policy designs for GHG reduction in agriculture and account for farmers' heterogeneous behavioral characteristics such as individual farming preferences, reluctance to change and social interactions. An agent‐based bio‐economic modeling approach is used to simulate total GHG reduction, overall governmental spending and farm‐level marginal abatement cost of Swiss dairy and beef cattle farms under both action‐ and results‐based policy designs. We find that total governmental spending associated with the compared policy designs depends on the cost and benefits of the considered measures as well as behavioral characteristics of farmers. More precisely, if farmers are reluctant to change, additional incentives are needed to increase adoption of a win‐win measure. In such a case, targeting the payment on the cost of that particular measure (action‐based design) instead of paying a uniform amount for abated emissions (results‐based design) can lower governmental spending for agricultural climate change mitigation. Farm‐level marginal cost of reducing GHG emissions are lower with results‐based payments independent of the cost of measures. Moreover, we find that farmers' individual preferences and reluctance to change substantially lower the adoption of mitigation measures and hence overall GHG reduction potential of farms.

The trade effects of information provision about forced and child labor

The issue of child and forced labor employed in the production of goods has been at a forefront of public debate in recent decades with millions of victims and nearly all countries being affected. This paper examines whether information about the use of child and forced labor in the production of goods affects their imports to the United States. I investigate this question using the largest naming and shaming strategy ever implemented world-wide: inclusion on the U.S. government’s list of goods produced with child or forced labor. This list aims to provide impartial information to consumers and firms about a broad range of goods, in contrast to previously used measures in the literature which have tended to be more emotionally driven boycotts or labelling campaigns of specific goods. The paper finds that such information provision decreased United States imports of goods believed to be made using child and forced labor. The results are mainly driven by goods closer to the point of consumption, where consumers might reasonably be expected to penalize products that are thought to rely on such labor, while no effect was found for intermediate goods. Thus, public information strategies may be efficient policy instruments in disincentivizing the purchase of certain goods believed to be made with child and forced labor.

A meta-evaluation of climate policy evaluations: findings from the freight transport sector

ABSTRACT Knowledge about how implemented policy instruments have performed is important for designing effective and efficient policy instruments that contribute to reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. This paper carries out a meta-evaluation of ex-post evaluations of climate policy instruments in the freight transport sector. By analysing the outcomes and quality of evaluations, the aim is to identify whether estimated effects of policy instruments can be compared between evaluations and if the results are appropriate to use for evidence-based decision making. To analyse these aspects, commonly applied evaluation criteria are assessed and classified according to an assessment scale. We confirm that few ex-post evaluations are carried out and that there is a gap between evaluation theory and how ex-post policy evaluations are performed in practice, where evaluation criteria recommended in policy evaluation guidelines are found to often be neglected in evaluations. The result is a lack of systematic climate policy evaluation which hinders reliable conclusions about the effect of policy instruments. There is a need for more systematic monitoring and evaluation of implemented policy instruments and we suggest that evidence-based decision making can be improved by adjusting current policy evaluation guidelines and by introducing an evaluation obligation.

EU Taxonomy: Mission Impossible

Abstract The EU Taxonomy stands in sharp contrast to the principles of a market economy. It requires regulatory knowledge that cannot be expected to exist and hampers rather than stimulates entrepreneurial initiatives for coping with socially relevant scarcities. For all objectives addressed with his approach, more efficient policy instruments exist that play with and not against market forces. Apart from allocative inefficiencies, the Taxonomy-approach opens the door for all kinds of particularistic maneuvers and hidden political agendas. The Taxonomy absorbs high-skilled labor that is in high demand elsewhere in the economy and creates a massive extra bureaucratic burden without any expectable benefit for the total economy. Given the fundamental flaws in the overall concept, policy makers should stop it rather sooner than later.

Pay to protect: Examining the factors of the use of market‐based instruments for local water sustainability

AbstractGiven the myriad of policy instruments aimed at enhancing water quantity conservation available to municipalities, what drives them to opt for a market‐based instrument (MBI)? MBIs can be effective and efficient policy instruments to enhance water quantity conservation, but there is little known about why municipalities utilize them. This study hypothesizes that three contextual elements influence a municipality's use of an MBI: the natural, political, and structural environment. The results from two logistic regression models suggest that in a municipality suffering a higher drought level, both a conservative political environment and operating under a council‐manager form of government (with the effect more pronounced under a non‐council‐manager form) will increase the likelihood that it will use an MBI to address water conservation.

Role of environmental regulations and eco-innovation in energy structure transition for green growth: Evidence from OECD

How to effectively tackle the gigantic issue of climate change with policy instruments like environmental regulations is a highly relevant and complicated question. The constant performance monitoring of said policy instruments is much essential to formulate effective green growth strategies. Therefore, this study empirically explore the nexus between environmental regulations and green growth while considering green patents, eco-taxations, human capital index, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth with extended proxies of pollution emissions. Advance panel data estimation techniques are employed to produce robust results by solving the issues of endogeneity, heteroskedasticity, serial correlation, and cross-sectional dependency for selected OECD countries covering the time horizon from 1994 to 2020. The empirical findings confirm the positive role of environmental regulations to push for eco-innovations and pull for green growth while endorsing the double divided (DD) hypothesis. The findings contribute to environmental economics literature that such ecotaxes not only promote eco-friendly innovations with economic benefits but promote sustainability practices among individuals and corporations, recommend that OECD countries should focus to promote ecotaxes and eco-innovations as an efficient and effective policy instrument and share with less developed countries as a social responsibility. Besides this other important strategic policy recommendations were suggested to policymakers for the promulgation of sustainable development.

Economic growth and labour market in the European Union: lessons from COVID-19

Research background: The world has been fighting the new pandemic caused by COVID-19 since March 2020. The subsequent restrictions on economic activity resulted in a supply shock, accompanied by a supply chain disruption, job layoffs, reduced work time and wages and decreased disposable incomes and taxes, which led to a demand shock. However, whether a close link exists between the number of confirmed cases, deaths and economic indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain. Purpose of the article: The current study aims to analyse the impact of the number of infections and deaths on economic growth and labour market indicators in the member states of the European Union. Methods: To achieve the main research goal, we conduct a panel data analysis on the quarterly data of 2020. Specifically, we developed three random-effects panel data econometric models to estimate the significance of infection and mortality rates for economic growth as well as employment and unemployment rates. Findings & value added: This study contributes to the existing literature by analysing the link between the infection and mortality rates of COVID-19 and selecting macro-economic indicators within the European Union. The results show that the infection rate is not a significant variable for economic growth and labour market indicators. However, an increase in the number of confirmed deaths has a significantly negative impact on the economy. Moreover, an increase in the mortality rate has a worse impact on the labour market than on economic growth in general. These results can serve as a theoretical basis for future research on the interconnections between pandemics and macro-economic indicators. The findings can also contribute to developing efficient policy instruments for mitigating the negative impact of pandemics in the future, thereby ensuring the cooperation of fiscal, monetary and health policy authorities.

Designing Smart Energy Systems in an Industry 4.0 Paradigm towards Sustainable Environment

Among the Sustainable Development Goals, ‘Green Issues’ have attracted significant research on sustainability transitions and regional diversification. The introduction of green environmental technologies within the frame of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is crucial for the diversification of local, sustainable activities to protect the environment against negative climate changes. The present paper provides evidence of the positive correlation among green activities if, and only if, green culture and capabilities are robust and exist. Close international coordination is needed. We point out that smart energy-designed systems are a real revolution in the post-industrial society dominated by the service sectors. Therefore, promoting ‘intelligent’ meters is a robust policy action in world energy-based economies. We investigate the policy effects for smart meter rollout in European countries by testing this green policy tool on different economic literature strands. A theoretical model is introduced, showing that a sustainable and efficient policy instrument will reinforce and develop local green culture. The spatial unit of investigation is the EU-28, and it verifies the effectiveness of smart meters as a valid post-industrial design tool toward more sustainable environmental policies.

Drawback Customs Regime as an Instrument to Stimulate Exports in the Brazilian Timber Sector

This paper aims to address the export incentive mechanisms through a case study exploring the advantages of the Integrated Drawback system, in a wood flooring company. A study was conducted indicating the inputs entered into the Integrated Drawback system in Suspension mode for the laminate flooring production process. The procedures required to acquire inputs using Drawback were described and the taxes that will be suspended were described. This is an efficient public policy instrument to export incentive. The Drawback regime can be applied by any exporting company, provided that the acquired inputs are used in the manufacturing process. In addition, it shows that tax reform is important measure to increase Brazilian competitiveness in different sectors, including the wood sector.

Enhancing policy realism in energy system optimization models: Politically feasible decarbonization pathways for the United States

In this paper, we adopt a novel approach to integrate political-organizational and techno-economic considerations to analyze decarbonization pathways for the United States. To do so, we first construct three portfolios of granular policies that target greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in the electricity, transportation, and buildings sectors, which we deem politically feasible under different federal political contexts. We then implement sectoral policy portfolios in the US-TIMES model and compare them to a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario and an 80% system-wide decarbonization scenario that uses stylized emissions constraints to produce the least-cost decarbonization pathway. Our findings reveal that greater political alignment enables electrification to play a more significant role as a central component of decarbonization. Renewable electricity generation and light-duty vehicle electrification both expand. Moreover, if the political environment allows more ambitious climate policies, deeper decarbonization can actually be achieved at a lower average abatement cost because more economically efficient policy instruments become politically feasible. However, our results indicate that none of our sectoral policy portfolios is sufficient to reduce system-wide GHG emissions by 80% by 2050. Major emissions sources for which new technologies and policies will be needed include heavy-duty vehicles, aviation, industrial production, and natural gas use in buildings.

MAINSTREAMING HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGH THE ENLARGEMENT POLICY: THE CASE OF THE WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES

The EU enlargement has been considered as the EU’s most efficient foreign policy instrument in terms of its ability to transform communist countries into functional democracies and open market countries. Since the beginning of 1990s, the promotion of human rights has become prominent topic either for the consolidation of human rights within the EU or outside. The argument of this paper is that the EU enlargement policy has influenced Western Balkan countries to improve their domestic legislation in the area of human rights. The paper demonstrates, firstly, how has evolved the EU human rights actorness from the establishment of the EE Community and secondly, discuss strategies and instruments used by the EU to export its norms and values in the Western Balkan countries. The paper addresses the following research question: how, whether and to what extent, the EU has promoted human rights in the Western Balkan countries. Throughout this paper, a doctrinal legal research has been used to analyze EU primary and secondary sources. The value of this paper lies in its comprehensiveness in drawing a complete picture of EU role in promoting human rights in Western Balkan countries through enlargement policy and to discuss the impact of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in the candidate countries.

Nitrogen Tax and Set-Aside as Greenhouse Gas Abatement Policies Under Global Change Scenarios: A Case Study for Germany

The ambitious climate policy objectives of the COP21 agreement require the design and the implementation of effective and efficient policy instruments. The effectiveness and efficiency of agricultural abatement options depend on regional climate and natural conditions, changes in the global economy, global agricultural markets and regional agricultural production. Thus, the assessment of abatement options requires consideration of the global scale, the market scale and the regional producer scale. We investigate two abatement options discussed controversially in literature. Both have been partially applied to reduce environmental pollution from agriculture: a tax on nitrogen and the obligatory set-aside of agricultural land. Our study provides an assessment of the ecological effectiveness and the economic efficiency of both abatement options under different global scenarios. In our policy analysis we combine three applied policy simulation models to develop an integrated economic model framework. This model framework considers the global, the national and the regional scale and consists of the global general equilibrium model DART-BIO, the partial-equilibrium model CAPRI and the regional supply model RAUMIS. In the different global scenarios, the results show that both abatement options create relatively high marginal abatement costs and that the maximally reached abated greenhouse gas emissions represent only 15% of the quantity required to fulfill the policy targets. Compared to the obligatory set-aside option, the nitrogen tax is in both scenarios the more efficient policy. With respect to impacts on production and environment, a nitrogen tax is less forecastable than the obligatory set-aside option. Our study illustrates the relevance of considering global economic and market change in the assessment of producer-targeting environmental policies.

Industrial clusters in the developing economies: Insights from the Iranian carpet industry

AbstractIndustrial clusters are perceived as potential drivers of small and medium‐sized enterprises development and efficient policy instruments to lead national and regional innovation and growth. However, these clusters in developing economies are typically placed in complex environments that impose a mix of serious challenges that adversely affect their overall performance. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the nature of these challenges and understand their dynamics using a case study of a carpet industry cluster in Iran. Using multiple sources of evidence, the study reveals two distinct, yet interrelated, levels of challenges: micro and macro. Under each level, a number of key dimensions were identified and theoretically linked which helped to conceptualize the structure of these challenges and model their dynamics.

Policy Instrument Choice with Coasean Provision of Public Goods

We examine the interplay between environmental policy instrument choice (i.e., prices vs. quantities) and private provision of public goods, which in this context we denote provision. Coasean provision captures private provision of environmental public goods due to consumer preferences for environmentally friendly goods and services, incentives for corporate environmental management, environmental philanthropy, and even overlapping jurisdictions of policy. We show theoretically that even in a world of perfect certainty, the presence of Coasean provision distinctly affects instrument choice, based on both the efficiency criterion and distributional consequences. We also generalize the analysis to account for uncertainty using the classic Weitzman (1974) framework. Our findings suggest that the increasing prevalence of Coasean provision motivates a need to rethink the design of effective and efficient environmental policy instruments. This arises because policy instrument choice can have a significant impact on the environmental commitments of individuals, companies, and states, and vice-versa, with clear implications for overall economic welfare and policy preferences among polluters, citizens, and government revenue. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

Key Factors for Successful Implementation of Energy Efficiency Policy Instruments: A Theoretical Study and the Case of Latvia

Abstract The success of energy efficiency policy depends on a number of factors, however, simultaneous application of more than just one policy instrument, coordination of multiple different policy instruments and a correct sequence of application of policy instruments are identified in research as three key factors related directly to policy making. Energy efficiency policy instruments are about the most appropriate ways of overcoming barriers to energy efficiency. The study adopts a policy analysis approach from social sciences to illustrate the relevance of a correct policy-making process in making energy efficiency policy effective. Analysis of interaction between the modules of decision-making matrix looks at the genesis of the faulty choice of energy efficiency policies. Studies of energy efficiency policy instruments indicate that implementation of a single separate policy instrument will most likely fail to achieve the expected results of overcoming barriers to energy efficiency and simultaneous implementation or combination of several policy instruments is preferable. If more than just one separate policy instrument aiming at improving energy efficiency is employed, then coordination in between two or more policy instruments as well as correct sequence of implementation of policy instruments is essential for achieving success. Lack of or insufficient attention to a full cycle of policy analysis leads to absence of one or more of the three key factors. Decision-making about energy efficiency policy instruments becomes faulty and is based on or influenced by ad hoc decisions and random circumstances, like, for example, availability or unavailability of EU financing. Such an approach contributes to maintaining or amplifying existing or creating new barriers to energy efficiency and leads to a new cycle of faulty decisions unless a proper process of policy analysis is applied in preparing and making decisions.