Multi-regional Computable General Equilibrium Research Articles

Inter-metropolitan regional migration galvanized by high-speed rail: A simulation analysis of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen line in Japan

The development of transportation infrastructure impacts migration, production, and other economic activities along with it. In this study, we conducted a multiregional computable general equilibrium simulation analysis to assess the effects that the proposed 2027 high-speed railway, the Linear Chuo Shinkansen in Japan, will have on population migration. The 47 prefectures ordained by the Japanese administrative unit were considered, and the simulation potential workforce population was taken as 110 million. The population is concentrated in the Tokyo metropolitan area. As per our simulation, once the proposed high-speed railway opens, “travel costs” (comprising time and the monetary costs of traveling) will decrease. This situation will stimulate economic activities and lead people to migrate to the prefectures where the economic environment improves. The results show that this development will ease extreme population concentration while simultaneously increasing employment and production values. However, additional analysis indicates that further development of the Linear Shinkansen to strengthen the current high-speed rail on the route to Tokaido will increase population concentration.

Regional responses to macroeconomic and regional policy in Poland

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate regional impact of macroeconomic and regional policy impulses, using our newly developed multi-regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for three, structurally distinctive Polish macro-regions.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, we build an interregional social accounting matrix for Poland and use it to develop a small scale, three-region CGE model, reflecting the size of regional economies and cross-regional differences in industrial structures, while also explicitly accounting for the dynamics of main economic relationships across regions, such as interregional flows in commodities, labor and capital. The model is subsequently use to simulate regional effects of various policy impulses.FindingsWe demonstrate important cross-regional differences in the transmission mechanism of macro-level policies, which either affect regional output and its individual components (as in the case of imposing shocks to VAT or PIT rates) or are limited to the components, while preserving a rather uniform impact on output (as in the case of imposing shocks to wages). Furthermore, we contribute to the regional policy equity-efficiency trade-off debate, by illustrating quantitatively how, due to structural differences, spatially targeted expenditure measures might promote either regional convergence or aggregate output growth at the country-level.Originality/valuePrior to our study, regional CGE models have not been used to simulate spatial distribution of aggregate shocks in Poland or in any other CEE country. Another originality of our study lies in comprehensive evaluation of various policy impulses, from the perspective of their impact on the respective region, spillovers to the other regions and its overall, country-level effect.

Estimating the economic impact of large hydropower projects: a dynamic multi-regional computable general equilibrium analysis

Abstract In response to rapidly growing energy demands, Chinese authorities plan to invest more in hydropower development. However, there are concerns about the possible effects on macroeconomy. This paper uses SinoTERM, a dynamic multi-regional computable general equilibrium model (CGE) of the Chinese economy, to analyze the economic impact of large hydropower development projects. The model features regional labor market dynamics and an electricity subdivision module with substitutability between various types of electricity generation. The results suggest that hydropower development will boost economic growth in the project region. Most sectors in the project region will benefit from the hydropower development such as other services, health, and education, while some sectors will suffer a loss in output because of the substantial increase in real wages. For the national, every 10,000 yuan investment can drive the national GDP growth of 1,000 yuan, and the cost is expected to be recovered in ten years. By the end of 2040, the real national wage will be around 0.16% higher than the baseline scenario. The project could only be justified if net environmental benefits outweigh this loss.

The impact of Industry 4.0 on the Indonesian economy: A general equilibrium assessment

AbstractUsing a recursive‐dynamic multiregional computable general equilibrium (CGE) modelling approach, we introduced a set of sector‐specific labour productivity shocks representing the effect of Industry 4.0 on the Indonesian economy. The results suggest that Indonesia’s long‐term economic growth will increase from 5.2% per year to 5.7% per year. In terms of output expansion, the top gainer would be the machinery and motor vehicles sector, and to a lesser extent, finance, whereas low gainers include extractive and agricultural sectors and food processing industries. Region‐wise, Java, the already advanced region, will be the primary beneficiary of the growth, while other islands will not benefit as much. There is not much risk of unfavourable distributional effect. However, agriculture workers will lose out compared with workers in other sectors, particularly those with intermediate skill levels.

Would carbon tax be an effective policy tool to reduce carbon emission in China? Policies simulation analysis based on a CGE model

ABSTRACT In China’s 2019 VAT reform, the VAT rate for manufacturing was adjusted from 16% to 13%. This inevitably promotes manufacturing production and triggers a substantial increase in carbon emissions. Would carbon tax be an effective policy tool to offset the negative externalities of the VAT reform on carbon emissions? We construct a multi-regional dynamic-recursive computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to evaluate this possibility and to investigate the potential impacts on the economy, energy, and environment arising from this reform. The scenarios set includes the VAT reform policy, a carbon tax, and three combined policies. The results show that while China’s VAT reform is a positive fiscal policy that can boost long-lasting macroeconomic development, it has a negative impact on environmental protection. A carbon tax can significantly curb traditional energy consumption and emissions, but it would hinder economic development. Combined policies yield ‘double dividends’, that is, a long-run increase in macroeconomy and emissions reductions will be achieved, helping China to attain its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions goal. The combination of VAT reform and a stepped carbon tax maintains a more stable economic growth while sustaining carbon emission abatement.

The impact of the Sino-US trade conflict on global shipping carbon emissions

The trade conflict between China and the United States will have a complex and far-reaching impact on international trade patterns. The significant change in regional trade will not only impact the global transportation industry, but also have an important impact on international shipping carbon emissions. However, there are few studies that explore this issue. Based on the global multi-regional computable general equilibrium model, this study sets up three scenarios according to the development trend of the Sino–US trade conflict to measure the changes in global shipping carbon emissions under different trade conflict scenarios. The results show that, compared with the no trade conflict scenario, the tariff increase will reduce international trade by 0.329%–0.345%, but global international shipping carbon emissions will rebound by 0.25%–0.33%. The main reason for this result is that the trade conflict caused notable trade diversion. The direct trade between China and the United States became indirect trade that must be undertaken by “third countries”, which will increase the global freight mileage by 0.23%–0.34%. This paper finds that Sino–US trade conflict will not only hinder international trade volume, but also increase the transportation distance of international trade of goods, which will have a negative impact on the control of carbon emissions from international shipping. This study will help to clarify the impact of the Sino–US trade conflict on international maritime carbon emissions and provide a new perspective to comprehensively identify the economic and environmental impacts of trade conflict.

Distributional effects of carbon pricing in Brazil under the Paris Agreement

This paper assesses the distributional effects of carbon pricing on Brazilian households. We apply a multi-regional Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model with representation of multiple households according to a family expenditure survey. Important questions for policy makers in Brazil are addressed. What are the economic effects of introducing carbon pricing in Brazil? Is there a double dividend, with economic and environmental benefits, when carbon revenue is recycled through tax rebates? Could carbon revenue contribute to the financing of social spending and to income distribution improvements in Brazil? Results show that carbon pricing avoids further carbon intensive infrastructure lock-in by further promoting biomass in electricity generation and biofuels in the transportation sector. Lump-sum transfers from carbon revenue help boosting income of lower deciles up to +4.5%, while targeting transfers to most vulnerable groups leads to an income growth of +42.2% by 2030. Brazil has a large gap in terms of effective carbon pricing when compared to other countries that could be addressed in the context of the ongoing tax reform debate, with carbon revenue contributing to the financing of social spending. Our analysis examines different policy design options and contribute to the debate about fiscal reform and socioeconomic effects of carbon pricing in Brazil.

Analyzing spillover effects of development of Asian highway on regional growth of Northeast Asian countries

AbstractWe develop a multinational multiregional computable general equilibrium (MMCGE) model to analyze the economic impacts of connecting two missing links on Asian Highway Route 1 (AH1) in 20 Northeast Asian regions. The major sources of economic benefits from the completion of two cross‐border transportation networks connecting Japan and China via the Korean peninsula are travel time (cost) reductions and decreased transportation rate. These variables are major shocks to the model, which identifies wider economic benefits through the supply and demand linkages among economic agents in these nations. In terms of the spillover effects on the 20 regions, the best alternative among the three proposed development projects is the redevelopment and operation of the North Korea Highway between South Korea and China. The development of the AH1 section from Tokyo, Japan to Dongbei, in Northeast China, has a synergy effect on the Chinese economy, generating 0.538% GDP growth. Our simulation of the model provides public agents and stockholders with analytical and strategic insights into the investment efficiency, effectiveness, and priority level of the proposed highway project in terms of national and regional economic goals.

A Quantitative Relationship Analysis of Industry Shifts and Trade Restructuring in ASEAN Based on Multiregional Computable General Equilibrium Models

This paper provides an in-depth study and analysis of the quantitative relationship between ASEAN industry transfer and nuclear trade restructuring through the multiregional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and categorizes the ten major projects and 57 subprojects covered by the ASEAN Information Port project investment into construction, information technology, and telecommunications, according to the key directions of investment. We design and simulate the changes in production activities, trade activities, and the balance of payments behaviour of the national economy affected by the project’s investment under 10 types of investment amount scenarios and prepare the corresponding social accounting matrix (SAM). Increased trade openness increases external risks and instability of the economy and fiscal revenues. At the same time, it creates other potential problems for the country such as environmental pollution and leading to unfair competition. Under free trade conditions, some manufacturers may choose to produce inputs that are not environmentally friendly to reduce costs, thereby harming the environment. For infant industries, if the government does not provide them with short-term protection or supportive policies, these new or developing infant industries may not have strong international competitiveness and may be vulnerable to the attacks of mature industries in the world. Therefore, based on the study of the influence of tax policy on trade openness, this paper examines the impact of changes in trade openness on a country’s economic environment and takes tax revenue as an example to conduct an empirical analysis and improve the factors that need to be considered when adjusting tax policy.

Economic evaluation of transportation projects based on different financing methods: at the framework of financial computable general equilibrium model

Purpose- The purpose of this study is to develop a first fully functional Turkish Financial Computable General Equilibrium (FCGE) model that analyzes the economic impacts of infrastructure investment projects under different financing options. We examine three alterantive financing methods, i.e., public financing with tax revenues and government bonds, public financing with region specific tax policy and private financing. Methodology- The study employs Financial Computable General Equilibrium (FCGE) model. The FCGE model integrates the real economy with the financial one, and traces the flows of financial and real resources among economic agents at the same time. Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models typically are comparative static equilibrium models of interregional trade and location based in microeconomics, using utility and production functions with substitution between inputs. The transport system enters the spatial economy through the costs of transport services. Transport sub models are applied to feed CGE models with cost changes in the transport sector as a result of policy measures. Our model is composed of a multi-regional financial CGE model and a transport network model. Turkish Multi Regional Computable General Equilibrium model constitutes of 11 regions. The model includes ten producers, one regional household, one national (or central) government and the rest of the world. Findings- The model is designed to analyze the economic effects of fiscal policies such as the transportation investment expenditures and alternative financing approaches on economic growth and welfare. It is possible to estimate growth and distributional effects of each project based on the financing method once the information on the investment expenditures, the construction location and the changes in the accessibility generated by the project are injected into the FCGE model. As a first attempt, we builded a Financial Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Turkey that FCGE models need, containing the details of financial institutions and transaction of agents’ assets and liabilities. The model specifies the behaviours of ten different sectors, one household, a central government, and the rest of the world. The model is designed to analyze the impacts of highway development with different financing strategies. We examine three alterantive financing methods: it can (a) public financing with tax revenues and government bonds, (b) public financing with region specific tax policy or (c) private financing. Conclusion- The main contribution of this research is to develop a first fully functional FCGE model to analyze the economic impacts of the infrastructure investment projects and their financing options on growth and welfare in Turkish economy. We develop a first fully functional Turkish Financial Computable General Equilibrium (FCGE) model that analyzes the economic impacts of infrastructure investment projects under different financing options. There are a number of ways to finance highway infrastructure investment: fuel taxes, user fees, trust funds etc. This Financial CGE model is expected to assess the consistency of highway investment programs under different financing options, so the government can make a decision on an approval for the project based according to their benefits and costs on national level.

Virtual water and its effect in Huaihe River basin: an analysis using a dynamic multi-region computable general equilibrium model

Abstract A dynamic multi-region computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is used to analyze virtual water and its effect in the Huaihe River basin, which includes Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong and Henan provinces. The baseline scenario was first constructed to describe the trade situation and virtual water among different regions and sectors from 2009–2020. Then two hypothetical policy scenarios were set to analyze the economic, water consumption and virtual water trade impacts under different policy shocks. The results show that (1) the Huaihe River basin was a net virtual water outflow region, with 13.977 × 109 m3 virtual water transferred outside the river basin in 2009, and 26.653 × 109 m3 VW transferred to outside in 2020. Jiangsu is the largest virtual water outflow province (mainly flows to outside), followed by Anhui. Anhui suffers from severe water shortage, but provides a net virtual water outflow to Henan, Jiangsu and Shandong and outside; (2) reducing Anhui's agricultural output (S1 scenario) and Anhui's agricultural virtual water outflow (S2 scenario) can not only reduce virtual water trade but also save water, but S1 scenario reduced net virtual water outflow by more, and saved more water. S1 had a positive effect on gross domestic product (GDP), but reduced the employment rate.

Global and National Environmental Impacts of the US-China Trade War.

The recent "US-China trade war" has aroused concern over trade-related environmental impacts. This study built a multiregional computable general equilibrium model to simulate environmental impacts of the "US-China trade war" under different scenarios of tariff and nontariff barriers and the battlefield spreading ranges. The present study found that although the trade war will cause a global economic downturn, which will seemingly reduce environmental pressure globally, global carbon emissions are expected to increase rather than decline. On the one hand, the CO2 emission increase caused by land-use changes in Brazil and Argentina will far exceed the emission reduction because of decreased global production. On the other hand, some countries/economies especially those developing countries such as Vietnam, Russia, and India will face emission increases driven by scale effects. Countries such as Korea, the UK, and France will enjoy a reduction in emissions driven by structural effects. China and the US will face a reduction in production and CO2 emissions, but their CO2 emission intensities will rise. The results remind us that as global production and supply chains are formed, it is important to closely monitor trade-related environmental impacts. Efforts should be made to balance the interests of trade and the environment.

Factor reallocation and structural transformation implications of grain subsidies in China

Since agriculture has contributed significantly to China’s economic growth miracle, it is important to understand the contributions and determinants of agriculture related to different agricultural policies in structural transformation in China. However, as one of the most important agricultural policies in China, the effects of the grain subsidy policy on factor reallocation, economic growth, as well as agricultural and non-agricultural production have not been investigated systematically and comprehensively. The absence of using an economy-wide model to estimate the impacts of the grain subsidy policy in China leaves a vacuum in the policy-advising space. This research develops a dynamic single-country, multi-regional computable general equilibrium model of the Chinese economy to evaluate the historical impacts of the grain subsidy policy. Our results reveal that grain subsidies impede the efficiency of factor reallocation and economic structural transformation in China. However, grain subsidies promote grain production growth and temporarily reduce rural-urban income disparity. In order to achieve the long-term sustainable increase in rural income and to mitigate the rural-urban income gap, China needs to further develop its labor-intensive industries (e.g., services) to accommodate the large number of rural labor transfers. Moreover, the large-scale agricultural production and technology improvement in agriculture are the effective measures to ensure food security in China.

Environmental impact of national and subnational carbon policies in China based on a multi-regional dynamic CGE model

Carbon policies are important not only for mitigating global climate change, but also for controlling local and regional air pollution. The large regional disparities in economic development and air pollution across China calls for regionally differentiated policies. Previous studies have not systematically investigated the environmental impacts of regional carbon policies in China covering different spatial scales. This study constructs a multi-regional dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model covering 30 provinces of China to assess the impacts of national and subnational carbon polices on CO2 emissions and co-emitted air pollutants from 2020 to 2050. We consider one national carbon policy which aims to achieve China's 2030 national CO2 abatement target, as well as three regional policies with the same policy stringency as the national one but only applied to eastern China (EP), the Jiangsu-Shanghai-Zhejiang area (JSZP), and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area (BTHP), respectively. We find that regional policies (EP, JSZP, and BTHP) are as effective in reducing CO2 emissions in their targeted regions as the national policy. However, they lead to an increase in CO2 emissions in untargeted regions (the so-called “emissions leakage”). The CO2 leakage rates, which depend on the policy spatial coverage, are 4%, 13%, and 65% for EP, JSZP, and BTHP, respectively, in 2050. Compared with CO2, changes in air pollutant emissions, including sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOC), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), exhibit a similar pattern under all policy scenarios, but the magnitude of change is significantly smaller. Transportation, thermal power, and some energy intensive industries are the three largest contributors to CO2 and air pollutant emission reductions. Our results suggest that regional carbon policy is effective in reducing CO2 and air pollutant emissions in the targeted regions, and extending the spatial coverage or increasing policy stringency can largely inhibit emissions leakage.

Understanding the economic impact of interacting carbon pricing and renewable energy policy in China

Climate change is posing risks for human and natural systems, and one of the most important questions faced by policy makers is to reduce such risks and impacts through adaption and mitigation actions. As the country with the highest CO2 emissions, China is facing unprecedented challenges: climate change, energy structure transformation and socio-economic development all pose complex dilemmas for policy makers. The Chinese government has introduced energy policy and emission reduction measures to achieve its climate change mitigation targets. However, overlap between these measures may generate great uncertainty about their performance. By using a multi-regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, this study examines the economic impacts of implementing a nationwide carbon market and a renewable energy subsidy in the power sector in China. The study finds that a renewable energy policy would increase the economic cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lead to a lower carbon price level if a carbon pricing mechanism were in place. However, the combination of the two policies indeed shows advantages in achieving emission reduction targets and renewable energy promotion targets. While an emission trading scheme is necessary for reducing emissions effectively, a renewable energy policy could promote the large-scale use of renewable energy in the electricity sector. In addition, the adoption of a renewable energy policy could yield substantial inter-regional capital inflow to central and western regions. This would improve low-carbon investment in less developed regions, and thus an appropriately designed policy mix would be sensible.

Synergy effects of highway investments on the Turkish economy: An application of an integrated transport network with a multiregional CGE model

We develop a Multi-Regional Spatial Computable General Equilibrium (TurkSCGE) model for economic analysis of highway projects, estimating their impacts on regional welfare and economic outcomes in Turkey. The framework integrates a transport sub-model that estimates minimum distances with a multiregional Computable General Equilibrium model that estimates economic aggregates. TurkSCGE identifies eight sectors in each of 11 regions. Three experiments explore the impacts of decreases in transportation margins from ‘distance shortening’. The three highway projects involved are estimated to yield a combined increase in GDP of 1.6%. However, the new highways in eastern Turkey, connecting eastern regions to each other and the west are shown to be best options for improving welfare in poorer regions.

Disentangling environmental and economic contributions to hydro-economic model output uncertainty: An example in the context of land-use change impact assessment

This paper presents a framework to systematically compare the contributions to uncertainty in hydro-economic simulated outputs from the uncertainty surrounding input parameters employed by the hydrologic and economic models independently. We consider an illustrative case study example. An integrated modeling framework is adopted, involving a surface-water/groundwater nitrate-transport model, and a multi-regional Computable General Equilibrium model. Environmental uncertainty contributions are determined by optimizing nitrate-loading under ecologically-relevant constraint uncertainty at varying risk stances—the results of which are mapped to economic outputs. Economic uncertainty contributions are quantified through Monte-Carlo sampling of variables associated with social-accounting matrices and substitution and transformation elasticities. Results indicate that, at the study-area scale, the environmental contribution to Gross-Regional Product uncertainty is generally larger compared to that of economic uncertainty. Nevertheless, the reliability of hydro-economic outputs is shown to be highly dependent on environmental and economic sources of uncertainty. On the basis of our case study findings, we recommend that commensurate effort be focused toward enhanced assimilation of observation data in both types of models to reduce their respective uncertainties.

Assessing the Impact of the United States–People’s Republic of China Trade Dispute Using a Multiregional Computable General Equilibrium Model

Since the onset of the ongoing United States (US)–People’s Republic of China (PRC) trade dispute in 2017, stakeholders and experts alike have expressed deep concerns that the tensions would come at a cost for the countries involved and the global economy. In this paper, we endeavor to quantify this cost by using a computable general equilibrium model based on the 2017 Asian Development Bank Multi-regional Input-Output Tables. We construct three scenarios: the baseline or business-as-usual (BAU) scenario; scenario 1, based on the bilateral measures implemented as of May 2019; and scenario 2, corresponding to a full-scale tariff war where both countries impose an additional 25% tariff on all bilateral imports. We find that scenario 1 is associated with a contraction of gross domestic product (GDP) with respect to the baseline by 0.17% in the US and 0.36% in the PRC. Employment contracts by 0.24% in the US and 0.55% in the PRC. Similarly, consumption, and investment decrease by 0.14% and 0.45%, respectively in the US, and by 0.20% and 0.64% in the PRC. Scenario 2 is associated with an even larger contraction in trade flows, which leads to larger decreases in GDP, employment, consumption, and investment in both economies. We observe trade diversion to other Asian economies, with Japan, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Viet Nam benefiting the most, but sectoral analysis shows that export-competing sectors to the PRC in other Asian countries stand to benefit from the ongoing trade dispute, whereas sectors that supply to the PRC stand to suffer.

Long-Term Distributional Impacts of European Cap-and-Trade Climate Policies: A CGE Multi-Regional Analysis

Carbon pricing is a policy with the potential to reduce CO2 emissions in the household sector and support the European Union in achieving its environmental targets by 2050. However, the policy faces acceptance problems from the majority of the public. In the framework of the project Role of technologies in an energy efficient economy–model-based analysis of policy measures and transformation pathways to a sustainable energy system (REEEM), financed by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 program, we investigate the effects of such a policy in order to understand its challenges and opportunities. To that end, we use a recursive-dynamic multi-regional Computable General Equilibrium model to represent carbon pricing as a cap-and-trade system and calculate its impacts on consumption of energy goods, incidence of carbon prices, and gross income growth for different income groups. We compare one reference scenario and four scenario variations with distinct CO2 reduction targets inside and outside of the EU. The results demonstrate that higher emission reductions, compared to the reference scenario, lead to slower Gross Domestic Product growth, but also produce a more equitable increase of gross income and can help reduce income inequalities. In this case, considering that the revenues of carbon pricing are paid back to the households, the gross income of the poorest quintile grows as much as, or even more in some cases, than the gross income of the richest quintile.

Economic development, energy demand, and carbon emission prospects of China's provinces during the 14th Five-Year Plan period: Application of CMRCGE model

This study focuses on a national–regional coordinated development strategy and adopts China Multi-Regional Computable General Equilibrium model to analyze the economic and social development, energy demand, and carbon emissions of the provinces during the 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP, 2021–2025) period based on the economic development and energy demand since the New Normal. The main conclusions are the following: 1) Under the guidance of the regional coordinated development strategy, 13 provinces/municipalities are expected to have a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$15,000, and 16 provinces/municipalities will have a per capita GDP of US$10,000–15,000. All provincial economies are expected to achieve steady and rapid development by the end of the 14th FYP. 2) The total energy consumption of the provinces is expected to reach 5.45 Gtce (excluding Tibet) in 2025, and the average annual growth rate is approximately 1.5%. The growth of energy demand will remain in low speed. The key point of energy demand will gradually shift from the eastern to the middle area, while the proportion of energy use in the western provinces will remain stable, which is consistent with the economic development stage and regional coordinated development strategy. 3) The annual average carbon intensity (mainly considering carbon emissions from energy use) of the provinces will approximately with most provinces dropping by over 4.0%. The trend of a considerable decline in carbon intensity, as observed in recent years, is expected to continue.