Environmental Damage Function Research Articles

Research on Evolutionary Game Analysis of Spatial Cooperation for Social Governance of Basin Water Pollution

Given that the two institutional arrangements of government regulation and market allocation cannot effectively solve the conflict between individual and collective interests in the process of water pollution control, this work presents a useful attempt on the third institutional arrangement of environmental governance—social governance—to overcome the dilemma. Based on common pool resource theory and multi-person prisoner game analysis framework, it incorporates environmental damage function, spatial network structure, and strategy update based on a learning mechanism into the analysis framework. In addition, it constructs a set of spatial cooperative evolution game models of basin water pollution social governance, so as to test the guarantee effect of the spontaneous collective action conditions of basin polluters on the long-term survival of the new system. This work adopts the Monte Carlo numerical simulation method to conduct the simulation experiment research. The experimental results show it is possible to successfully form collective actions entirely dependent on emitters, which yet requires a large initial scale of cooperation, that is, a majority of the emitter group autonomously abides by credible commitments. In this process, transparent full information and active organizational mobilization have a positive effect on the collective action development. The organic combination can better guide emitters to abide by credible commitments to achieve the optimal collective interests. The study results can provide a theoretical and practical reference for the social governance mechanism at a large-scale basin.

International Environmental Agreements – The Impact of Heterogeneity Among Countries on Stability

The present paper examines the stability of self-enforcing International Environmental Agreements (IEAs) among heterogeneous countries in a two-stage emission game. In the first stage, each country decides whether or not to join the agreement, while in the second stage the quantity of emissions is chosen simultaneously by all countries. We use quadratic benefit and environmental damage functions and assume k types of countries that differ in their sensitivity to the global pollutant. We find that the introduction of heterogeneity does not yield larger stable coalitions. In particular, we show that, in the case of two types, when stable coalitions exist their size is very small, and, if the asymmetry is strong enough, they include only one type of countries. Moreover, heterogeneity can reduce the scope of cooperation relative to the homogeneous case. We demonstrated that introducing asymmetry into a stable, under symmetry, agreement can disturb stability.

International Environmental Agreements - Stability with Transfers Among Countries

The paper examines the stability of self-enforcing International Environmental Agreements (IEAs) among heterogeneous countries, allowing for transfers. We employ a two-stage, non-cooperative model of coalition formation. In the first stage each country decides whether or not to join the agreement, while in the second stage countries choose their emissions simultaneously. Coalition members agree also to share the gains from cooperation in the first stage. We use quadratic benefit and environmental damage functions and assume two types of countries differing in their sensitivity to the global pollutant. In examining the impact of transfers on the coalition size, we apply the notion of Potential Internal Stability (PIS). Results show that transfers can increase cooperation among heterogeneous countries. However, the increase in the coalition size, relative to the case without transfers, comes only from countries belonging to the type with the lower environmental damages, which are drawn into the coalition by the transfers offered. Furthermore, the level of cooperation increases with the degree of heterogeneity. However, the reduction in aggregate emissions achieved by the enlarged coalition is very small leading to dismal improvement in welfare, which confirms the paradox of cooperation.

Multi-equation modelling of desirable and undesirable outputs satisfying the materials balance

The key feature when modelling joint production of intended outputs and unintended residuals is that the latter stem from the use of material inputs. A multi-equation model building on the factorially determined multi-output model of classical production theory satisfies the materials balance that tells us that the mass contained in inputs cannot disappear, but must turn up in the desirable outputs or end up as residuals. In this model, potentially complex technical relationships are simplified to express each of the intended outputs and the residuals as functions of the same set of inputs. Serious problems with the single-equation models most often found in the literature are demonstrated. Abatement activity in the form of end of pipe is added, and an optimal planning solution is derived using the concept of an environmental damage function for the impact of discharge of residuals into the natural environment. It is shown that the traditional environmental policy instruments, like direct regulation restricting the amount of undesirable residuals discharged to the environment, a Pigou tax on pollutants, and cap and trade, all function well. Extending the multi-equation model to allow for inefficiency, three efficiency measures are introduced: desirable output efficiency, residuals efficiency, and abatement efficiency. It is conjectured that these measures can be estimated independently using the DEA model.

The Environmental Conundrum of Rare Earth Elements

Clean technologies, such as solar panels and wind turbines, help to curb global emissions, but they require dirty inputs for their production—i.e., mining rare earth elements (REEs) pollutes local environments. REEs are also the object of rent-shifting strategic trade policies, as highlighted by a recent WTO ruling against China’s quotas and tariffs on exports of REEs. We construct a three-country trade model with an environmental damage function, in order to examine the effects of three policies with different implications for the equilibrium quantities of dirty inputs and clean technologies: a downstream subsidy, an upstream export tariff, and an upstream pollution tax. We relate the welfare implications of the policies to the parameters of the damage function and to the number of downstream competitors. The effects of a unilateral policy switch from an export tariff to a domestic pollution tax, as suggested by China’s reaction to the WTO challenge, are also examined.

Environmental policy with collective waste disposal

Centralized collection and disposal is an integral component of waste management strategies for many solid and liquid wastes, and carbon capture and storage is currently being considered for gaseous waste. In this paper we show how collective waste disposal systems introduce essential changes in the design of optimal environmental policy. Absent collective disposal, an optimal environmental policy imposes relatively stringent regulations on polluters in regions where local environmental damage functions are “high”; however, under collective waste disposal, the optimal environmental policy level increases monotonically over distance from the disposal site, and this is true irrespective of the degree of spatial heterogeneity in local environmental damage functions. We characterize the optimal spatial pattern of environmental policy levels under collective waste disposal and identify optimal membership size for waste disposal networks comprised of homogeneous producers.

Editors’ Note: Security, Safety, Safe

Editors’ Note: Security, Safety, Safe Talia Schaffer and Victoria Pitts-Taylor This issue is not primarily about safety as a state of being, but rather about safety as a rhetoric, and as a practice of power relations. This issue uncovers the discourses of safety—safety promised, safety precluded, safety guaranteed for some people by suppressing others. This “Safe” issue is about how the logics and technologies of safety can render human beings less secure. Safety is not the basic state to which we are restored when external threats are removed. Rather, it is a reward for compliance with cultural and political directives. It is a way of thinking about bodies and public spaces and identities that relies on separating the victim from the perpetrator, the normal from the perverse, the “us” from the “them.” Safety is a mesh through which only certain particles can fit. Meanwhile, if “safe” is a promise, “risk” is a tool. It works to mobilize people, as well as to separate them. Does vaccination endanger children by exposing them to toxins, or does nonvaccination endanger children by making them vulnerable to disease? Brown’s article shows that the rhetoric of danger in this debate spurs behavior on both sides; cross-accusations make everyone feel unsafe. Similarly, Dawson’s clever review argues that films warning about the dangers of global climate change and environmental damage function to express and then assuage anxieties, instead of arousing activism. Who is the most endangered? “Safe” presents three examinations of the iconic figure of victimhood, the young white woman alone in New York City. Hengehold, Hickey, and Johnson each demonstrate how media and advice manuals over the past century have demanded that women curtail their mobility and eradicate their options. The gendered rhetorics of safety can be devastating, teaching women that they are inherently [End Page 9] vulnerable and that whatever happens to them is their own fault. Perhaps Safe, the film reviewed by Jason Tougaw, can be read as a commentary on this iconic victimhood. If the idea of the white female victim has had disproportionate power, the body of the person of color has been legible only in terms of danger. In Levine’s “In His Own Home,” we hear the frightening repercussions of a cultural distrust of black masculinity in domestic space, the violence apparently required to enforce the man’s relation to the home. In Lugo-Lugo and Bloodsworth-Lugo’s dissection of the public image of Michelle Obama, we see that when an African American woman fails to be the “Mammy,” she has nowhere to go but the dangerously sexual “Jezebel.” The cultural scripts of blackness have no space for the safe. What about the people aligned with “danger” in public discourses of safety? In their unforgettable account of the individuals engaged in hazardous-waste cleanup, Casper and Moore restore the bodies glossed over by national alliances and state contracts. Meanwhile, in Jackson and Meiners’s exploration of prison policy, we see how the state mobilizes public feelings like disgust, anger, and fear in order to justify policing. Perhaps most chilling is Dagmar Herzog’s account of the Nazis’ murder of thousands of disabled subjects—and description of how impatience with the cognitively disabled continues today. In short, this issue makes it dismayingly clear that young white women in the city are almost always coded as victims, while black men and women are constantly affiliated with violence, and workers, prisoners, and the disabled continue, disturbingly, to be regarded as disposable. To this list of people denied the status of victimhood, or indeed of personhood, one might add those whose desires, bodies, loves, nationalities, and identifications are not recognized by the state. Winnubst’s review essay reminds us of the important difference between security and safety, and the critical work currently sharpening that distinction. In the innovative “Eruptions” section, our speakers turn the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority’s post-9/11 warning (“If You See Something, Say Something”) back on itself, addressing structural threats, particularly the economic and racial inequalities that threaten us profoundly. Does injustice count as “something”? And can we really “say something” to the forces engaged in enforcing that injustice? In the Alerts...

On the existence of the optimal fine for environmental crime

Classical theory states that the optimal fine equals the damage caused by the crime divided by the probability of detection. But does such an optimal fine exist? We focus on emissions from production, and, even if we assume that the damage function is perfectly known, we still show that the optimal fine typically does not exist. Non-existence occurs as the environmental damage function is non-linear in overall emissions, meaning that there are interactions between emissions, the economy and the environment. We argue that these interactions cannot be accurately reflected in the fine imposed by the regulator. Previous literature on optimal fines does not recognize the non-existence of the applicable optimal fine, basically since this literature uses discrete models where the damage caused by the crime is assumed constant. Our result reduces the attractiveness of fines and might thus help explain enforcement agencies’ inclination towards non-monetary enforcement instruments.

Pollution monitoring by dosimetry and passive diffusion sampling for evaluation of environmental conditions for paintings in microclimate frames

Pollutants and their potential degradation of paintings have been measured for the first time in microclimate frames (mc-frames), which are used to protect paintings. The pollutants that were measured include both inorganic pollutants, which originate mainly from external sources, and organic pollutants from mainly internal sources. Those originating from the outdoors enter rooms and subsequently mc-frames at a rate depending on the ventilation rates (air exchange rates) of the mc-frames. The concentration of gaseous pollutants emitted within the mc-frames will depend on net emission rates of the materials used to make the mc-frames, their design, and their ventilation rates. In the EU PROPAINT project measurements of gaseous air pollutants and climatic conditions were performed at various locations both inside and outside different state-of-the-art mc-frames. Diffusive passive pollution gas samplers were used together with different types of dosimeters. Results show that the dosimeters respond to either the photo-oxidizing conditions or the level of volatile organic acids in the environments both in the museums and within the mc-frames. Two dosimeters, the Early Warning Organic (EWO) made from a synthetic polymer and the Resin Mastic coated Piezo electric Quartz Crystals (RM-PQC) respond to photo-oxidation and showed higher values outside than inside the mc-frames. Two other dosimeters, the Glass Slide Dosimeter (GSD) and the Lead coated Piezo electric Quartz Crystals (L-PQC) respond to volatile organic acids and yielded higher values inside than outside the mc-frames. This study emphasizes the need for further work to determine environmental damage functions for paintings, in particular for the effects of organic acids. Such information is essential for the evaluation of the protective effects of mc-frames for paintings. The use of mc-frames is increasing and it is very important to know that this protective measure does not introduce new risks.

Fees for Reefs: Economic Instruments to Protect Mexico’s Marine Natural Areas

Stated preference methods can be used to estimate the demand function where no price variation has been observed before. This is the situation of the Mexican coral reef natural protected areas, where after the 2002 approval of a $20 pesos fee (US$1.80) the Ministry of the Environment is now considering increasing the amount of the fee, not only to raise more revenue for the park, but also to curb the number of visitors in the cases where there is excess demand. There are concerns that the very success of the reefs is bringing associated environmental damage that threatens its sustainable use. To estimate the reaction of visitors to different fee levels, we carried out a contingent valuation survey, and constructed with its results an aggregate demand for each park. This demand was then divided by seasons and nationalities, to explore the benefits and costs of differentiating fees, looking at both the revenue maximising and the welfare maximising fees. Finally we discuss how these fees would change when environmental damage functions are taken into account. The recommendation is that increasing fees up to the point where they cover both private and environmental costs would bring the highest amount of economic benefit compatible with the sustainable use of these complex and wondrous marine ecosystems.

Decision support for optimal emission reduction

In this paper, a problem related to the optimal allocation of financial means for reduction of air pollutants concentration in a given region is considered. The implementation is sulfur oxides oriented. The problem is formally stated as the cost‐constrained minimization of the environmental damage function by the optimal choice of desulfurization technologies, within the predefined set of controlled (power and heating) plants. Optimization methods have been implemented and tested on the real data for the selected region. The case study relates to the set of major power plants in the region of Silesia (Poland) and the basic desulfurization technologies, which are to be allocated.

Decision Analysis Utilizing Data from Multiple Life‐Cycle Impact Assessment Methods Part I: A Theoretical Basis

Numerous methodologies for the life‐cycle impact assessment (LCIA) step of life‐cycle assessment (LCA) are currently in popular use. These methods, which are based on a single method or level of analysis, are limited to the environmental fates, impact categories, damage functions, and stressors included in the method or model. Because of this, it has been suggested within the LCA community that LCIA data from multiple methods and/or levels of analysis, that is, end‐point and midpoint indicators, be used in LCA‐based decision analysis to facilitate better or, at least more informed, decision making. In this (two‐part) series of articles, we develop and present a series of LCA‐based decision analysis models, based on multiattribute value theory (MAVT), which utilize data from multiple LCIA methods and/or levels of analysis. The key to accomplishing this is the recognition of what LCIA damage indicators represent with respect to decision analysis, namely, decision attributes and, in most cases, proxy attributes. The use of proxy attributes in a decision model, however, poses certain challenges, such as the assessment of decision‐maker preferences for actual consequences that are only known imprecisely because of inherent limits of both LCA and scientific knowledge. In this article (part I), we provide a brief overview of MAVT and examine some of the decision‐theoretic issues and implications of current LCIA methods. We illustrate the application of MAVT to develop a decision model utilizing damage indicators from a single LCIA methodology; and, we identify the decision‐theoretic issues that arise when attempting to combine LCIA indicators from multiple methods and/or levels of analysis in a single decision model. Finally, we introduce the use in our methodology of constructed attributes to combine related end‐point damage indicators into single decision attributes and the concept and evaluation of proxy attributes.

Game theoretic analyses of nitrate emission reduction strategies in the Rhine river basin

Pollution of transboundary rivers requires cooperation between the countries involved in order to alleviate the consequences. This paper applies game theoretic analyses to nitrate emissions in the Rhine river basin. It assumes that the 50% emission reduction policy agreed upon by the International Rhine Committee is individually rational for each source. This enables the estimation of a revealed preference of the benefits involved. These are described by environmental damage functions. Emission reduction thus results in abatement costs, but also reduces environmental damage. The objective function is to minimise total costs, i.e. abatement costs and environmental damage. A number of different specifications for the environmental damage function are analysed to answer the question whether cooperation is individually rational for the negotiating partners in the International Rhine Committee. The analyses show that depending on the way the environmental damage function is derived, free riding is often, but not always, an interesting option.

Strategic Environmental Policy and International Trade in Asymmetric Oligopoly Markets

This paper examines optimal cooperative and non-cooperative environmental taxes for the case in which a polluting input is used to produce an internationally-traded finished product. The model allows for terms-of-trade effects under oligopoly and employs a general specification of the environmental damage function that encompasses special cases of local, global, and transboundary externalities. The model has several implications for public finance. For example, inefficiently high environmental taxes may be optimal for a net exporting country in non-cooperative circumstances, as the motive to shift rent by selecting an inefficiently low tax rate is countervailed by the incentive to shift the burden of the tax to foreign consumers. The findings identify the important role of asymmetric trade flows (denominated in both goods and pollution exchange) in determining optimal cooperative and non-cooperative tax policy under oligopoly.

Decision support method for cost-effective emission control on a regional scale

In the paper an implementation of a decision support algorithm for selection of emission abatement strategy on a regional scale is presented. The approach refers to optimal allocation of financial means for emission reduction in a given set of power and heating plants. The implementation considered is sulfur-oriented. The problem is formally stated as cost-constrained minimization of environmental damage function by the optimal choice of desulfurization technologies, within the set of the controlled plants. The receptor-oriented objective function utilizes air pollution forecast preprocessed by a regional scale dispersion model. An heuristic algorithm is implemented to solve the optimization problem. This is the improved and more general version of the method discussed earlier in [1]. Compared with that version, the cost constraints are considered in a more realistic form; two components of the total costs – investment and operational – are considered individually for each power plant and for the selected emission abatement technology. This requires a special construction of the optimization algorithm. Computational test results are presented for the set of the major power plants in the Silesia Region.

Tourism impact modeling for resource extraction regions

A simple two sector and two factor general equilibrium model is developed to study the interactions among tourism, other economic sectors, and the environment. Tourism is considered an endogenous activity and modeled as a function of prices and environmental damage. Two types of the latter functions are considered. It is assumed that the damage occurs from activities related to the resource sector and that activities from both the resource and the composite tourism sector affect the environment. Simulation results suggest that impacts of policy changes differ with the type of environmental damage function but that the integration of environmental linkages into economic impacts models may reveal significant differences in results.

Taxes Versus Quotas for a Stock Pollutant

We compare the effects of taxes and quotas for an environmental problem in which the regulator and polluter have asymmetric information about abatement costs, and the environmental damage depends on the stock of pollution. We thus extend to a dynamic framework previous studies in which environmental damages depend on the flow of pollution. As with the static analysis, taxes are more likely to dominate quotas the greater is the curvature of the abatement cost function relative to the environmental damage function. However, in the dynamic model, an increase in the discount rate, the stock decay rate, or either the regulator?s or the firms? ability to make adjustments, all increase the likelihood that taxes dominate quotas. An empirical illustration of these results suggests that taxes dominate quotas for the control of greenhouse gasses.

Organizing For Risk Oriented Climate Alteration Research

The ubiquity in effects and complexity of modern environmental issues requires careful consideration of focused research to insure that answers to key policy oriented questions are obtained. Broad-based, unstructured research programs have proven to be inefficient instruments for characterizing risks from environmental stress. Both the expense and the importance of timeliness of information preclude a traditional “bottom-up” approach to research. Instead, a more “top-down” organized approach that links the natural and socioeconomic sciences has advantages to support environmental risk assessment and research prioritization of climate alteration. Early examples of analysis using an integrating framework for risk assessment focus on the need for research on human interactions and the environmental damage function in addition to the basic earth sciences. Nonlinearities in environmental impact of climate change, and uncertainties in the extent of growth of energy efficiencies, are seen to be key unknowns in the risk assessment of climate alternatives. To date, earth science research has not been structured well for environmental risk assessment of the climate change question. The U.S. national research program aimed at risk assessment of climate alteration is examined as an example. The examination suggests that the present conceptual plan falls short of an optimum structure derived from exploitation of an integrating framework, even though it is rich in scientific strength and diversity. To strengthen its public value and accessibility, the research program could account in its planning for prioritized needs defined by an integrating analysis for risk assessment and management.