Economists have long advocated the use of market mechanisms as a means to improve environmental q... more Economists have long advocated the use of market mechanisms as a means to improve environmental quality at minimum cost. Voluntary water purchase programs are an example of such a policy. This paper examines the structure and performance of two water right purchase programs operating in Nevada: the Truckee River Water Quality Agreement and the Lahontan Valley purchase program administered by
Ce texte resume l'experience de la taxe carbone en Suede : son efficacite environnementale, s... more Ce texte resume l'experience de la taxe carbone en Suede : son efficacite environnementale, ses effets distributifs, et les recettes generees par le dispositif.
While mitigation efforts in developed and emerging economies are necessary in order to meet ambit... more While mitigation efforts in developed and emerging economies are necessary in order to meet ambitious climate targets, the international community strives to explore strategies to help the most vulnerable populations to cope with the short-term and long-term impacts of climate change. In the perspective of the 21st COP of the UNFCCC (Paris, December 2015), this Special Issue on ‘Climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing and transition countries’ addresses two complementary topical issues. On the one hand, migration – international and internal – and remittances are analyzed as adaptation strategies for vulnerable households and individuals. On the other hand, climate policies in emerging economies are examined in light of their distributional impacts for households and of the strategic issues they may raise. This special issue introduces five papers with a diversity of approaches, e.g., game theory, econometric modeling and computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling.
We propose a method for estimating hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement... more We propose a method for estimating hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement technology, using ex post data. The method is based on a structural option value model where the future price of polluting fuel is the major source of uncertainty facing the firm. The econometric procedure is illustrated using a panel of firms from the Swedish pulp and
The concept of environmental migrants occurs frequently in the policy debate, in particular with ... more The concept of environmental migrants occurs frequently in the policy debate, in particular with regard to climate change and the incidence of such migration in low-income countries. This article reviews the economic studies of environmentally induced migration. It includes recent empirical analyses that try to link environmental change to migration flows and the spatial distribution of population. A consensus seems to emerge that there is little likelihood of large increases in international migration flows due to climate variability. The evidence to date shows that regional migration will be affected, however, either on the African continent or internally, within country borders. Theoretically, environmentally induced migration can be analyzed using different frameworks: the classical Harris-Todaro model of rural-urban migration, new economic geography models, models grounded in environmental economics of pollution externalities with free factor mobility, and the new economics of ...
Increased recognition of the limited assimilative capacity of the environment has led to stricter... more Increased recognition of the limited assimilative capacity of the environment has led to stricter environmental regulation of waste treatment. Recent policy attention has focussed on packaging, mainly because of its high visibility to consumers. This paper studies a Swedish proposal on producer responsibility and analyzes economic instruments as an alternative policy instrument. Recent research by Pearce and Turner (1992) and Brisson (1992) has proposed a particular form of product charge, and here, its application on Swedish packaging waste is analyzed in detail. A packaging charge is calculated for beverage containers and evaluated against the OECD criteria for economic instruments.
Nous estimons la disponibilité à payer pour la qualité de l'eau du robinet sur des données d'enqu... more Nous estimons la disponibilité à payer pour la qualité de l'eau du robinet sur des données d'enquête de 10 pays de l'OCDE. Nos résultats indiquent que les ménages sont prêts à accepter une augmentation de 7,5% de leur facture annuelle afin d'améliorer la qualité de l'eau. Les dispositions à payer (en pourcentage de la facture médiane dans le pays considéré) sont plus élevées dans les pays où les ménages craignent que la mauvaise qualité de l'eau potable ait un impact sur la santé. Ainsi, les ménages du Mexique, de Corée et d'Italie sont prêts à accepter une augmentation de 10,1%, 6,4% et 8,8% de leur facture annuelle pour améliorer la qualité de l'eau du robinet. Enfin, nos résultats montrent que la disponibilité à payer augmente avec le revenu, l'éducation, la sensibilité aux problèmes environnementaux, la confiance dans l'information fournie par le gouvernement et les autorités locales, et les inquiétudes exprimées vis-à-vis de la qualité de l'eau du robinet.
In many cases consumers cannot observe firms' investment in quality or safety, but have only beli... more In many cases consumers cannot observe firms' investment in quality or safety, but have only beliefs on the average quality of the industry. In addition, the outcome of the collective investment game of the firms may be stochastic since firms cannot control perfectly the technology or external factors that may affect production. In such situations, when only consumers' subjective perceptions of the industry level of quality matters, the regulator may make information available to firms or subsidize their information acquisition. Under what conditions is it desirable to make information available? We show how firms' overall level of investment in quality depends upon the parameters of the quality accumulation process, the cost of investment and the number of firms in the industry. We also show the potentially negative effects on the total level of quality from providing information on consumers' actual valuation.
The Central and Eastern European countries significantly reduced their carbon dioxide (CO2) emiss... more The Central and Eastern European countries significantly reduced their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions between 1995 and 2003. Was this emission reduction just the fortuitous result of the major economic transformation undergone by countries in the transition? Or is it rather a result of more stringent environmental policy? The objective of the article is to answer this question through a simultaneous equation model of the demand (emissions) and supply (environmental stringency) of pollution. The supply equation takes into account the institutional quality of the country as well as consumer preferences for environmental quality. The results indicate that, all else equal, output growth would have increased industrial CO2 emissions in the Central and Eastern European countries in our sample by 31% between 1995 and 2003, and the composition effect corresponded to an increase of 8.4% of emissions. Nevertheless, the technique effect, induced by more stringent environmental policy, reduced industrial CO2 emissions by 58%, and allowed for a final beneficial result for the environment, i.e.,-18% of industrial CO2 emissions in 2003 compared to 1995. Finally, our study confirms the importance of institutional factors in the explanation and further prediction of pollution reduction in transition economies.
We propose a method for estimating hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement tec... more We propose a method for estimating hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement technology, using ex post data. The method is based on a structural option value model where the future price of polluting fuel is the major source of uncertainty facing the firm. The econometric procedure is illustrated using a panel of firms from the Swedish pulp and paper industry, and the energy and heating sector from 2000 to 2003. The results indicate a hurdle rate of investment of almost 3 in the pulp and paper industry and almost 4 in the energy and heating sector.
We estimate hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement technology, using ex post ... more We estimate hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement technology, using ex post data. The method is based on a structural option value model where the future price of polluting fuel is the major source of uncertainty facing the firm. The empirical procedure is illustrated using a panel of firms from the Swedish pulp and paper industry, and the energy and heating sector, and their sulfur dioxide emissions over the period 2000 to 2003. The results indicate that hurdle rates of investment vary from 2.7 to 3.1 in the pulp and paper industry and from 3.4 to 3.6 in the energy and heating sector depending on econometric specification.
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2002
The paper offers a new perspective on nonpoint source pollution by explicitly considering the cos... more The paper offers a new perspective on nonpoint source pollution by explicitly considering the cost of monitoring individual emissions. The distinction between point and nonpoint source pollution is shown to depend on the cost of monitoring, the environmental cost of pollution, and the impact of monitoring on profits. A regulatory scheme of differential taxation is proposed, wherein taxes are predicated on whether the agent has installed an emissions monitoring device. The optimal degree of monitoring as well as conditions for optimal regulation in the extreme cases of no monitoring and full monitoring, is identified.
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2012
With the development of modern information technologies, relying on nanotechnologies and remote s... more With the development of modern information technologies, relying on nanotechnologies and remote sensing, a number of systems can be envisaged that allow for monitoring of the negative externalities generated by producers, consumers or travelers-road pricing schemes or individual emission meters for automobiles are two examples. We analyze a dynamic model of stock pollution when the regulator has incomplete information on emissions generated by heterogeneous agents. Our contribution is to explicitly study a decentralized policy for adoption of monitoring equipment over time. We determine the second-best tax rates, the pattern of monitoring technology adoption, and identify conditions for the voluntary diffusion of monitoring technologies over time. Simulations show the welfare gains compared to alternative policies.
We investigate the organic food market in two selected European countries, Great Britain and Denm... more We investigate the organic food market in two selected European countries, Great Britain and Denmark, identifying main differences and similarities. We focus particularly on consumer preferences and priorities, labelling schemes, supply and sales channels, as a basis for assessing market stability and prospects for future growth. We employ a unique set of household panel data that includes information on stated values and concerns, as well as registered purchasing behaviour. Most organic food on both markets is produced and processed by large-scale industrialised units and distributed through concentrated mainstream sales channels, consumer confidence being sustained at present by organic labelling schemes that appear to function well. However, a parallel market, based on various types of direct sales to heavy users, prevails. We find that organic food purchase decisions are primarily motivated by 'private good' attributes such as freshness, taste and health benefits, attributes that may be perceived as being compatible with modern production and sales structure. More traditional 'public good' organic attributes, such as environmental and animal welfare attributes, small scale production and local supply, are less compatible with current market structure, but are also accorded less priority by the majority of consumers in practice. Mature markets for organic foods nevertheless may constitute a source of consumer dissatisfaction, particularly in the group of organic heavy users. Jörgensen (2001), who all use sales data or bar code scanner data from Marketing Research Institutes from Germany, USA and Sweden, respectively. Almost all other previous studies on organic foods are based solely on postulated behaviour, i.e. stated willingness to pay (see e.g.
Using unique survey data of 10,000 households from 10 OECD countries, we identify the driving fac... more Using unique survey data of 10,000 households from 10 OECD countries, we identify the driving factors of household adoption of water-efficient equipment by estimating Probit models of a household's probability to invest in such equipment. The results indicate that the adoption of water-efficient equipment is the most strongly affected by ownership status, by being metered and charged a volumetric charge on water consumption, and by behavioural factors. Environmental attitudes are strong predictors of adoption of water-efficient equipment, with a marginal effect that exceeds ownership status in some cases. In terms of policy, we find that households that were both metered and charged for their water individually had a much higher probability to invest in water-efficient equipment compared to households that were not charged for their water.
In a model of nonpoint source pollution, we extend the theory of ambient taxes to the case when p... more In a model of nonpoint source pollution, we extend the theory of ambient taxes to the case when polluters might cooperate. We show that regulation through ambient taxes is severely constrained when the degree of cooperation among polluters is unknown to the regulator. On the other hand, if the regulator can invest in costly monitoring of emissions, then the optimal
Consumer demand for organic foods - attitudes, values and purchasing behaviour. Katrin MILLOCK 1 ... more Consumer demand for organic foods - attitudes, values and purchasing behaviour. Katrin MILLOCK 1 , Mette Wier 2 and Laura Mørch Andersen 3. Archived at http://orgprints.org/ 4754. Abstract. In this paper, we use a unique combination ...
With the development of modern information technologies, relying on nanotechnologies and remote s... more With the development of modern information technologies, relying on nanotechnologies and remote sensing, a number of systems can be envisaged that allow for monitoring of the negative externalities generated by producers, consumers or travelers-road pricing schemes or individual emission meters for automobiles are two examples. In the paper, we analyze a dynamic model of stock pollution when the regulator has incomplete information on emissions generated by heterogeneous agents. The paper's contribution is to explicitly study a decentralized policy for adoption of monitoring equipment over time. Each agent has to choose between paying a fixed fee or installing monitoring technology and paying a tax on actual emissions. We determine the second-best tax rates, the pattern of monitoring technology adoption, and identify conditions for the voluntary diffusion of monitoring technologies over time. Résumé : Les nouvelles technologies de mesure et le contrôle des externalités de stock Depuis longtemps, la régulation des externalités se heurte à des problèmes d'information. Avec le progrès technique il existe maintenant de nouvelles technologies qui se révèlent prometteuses pour la régulation des externalités : codes-barres digitaux (pouvant servir à tracer les lieux et méthodes de production), nanotechnologies permettant de tracer les molécules de produits chimiques dispersés dans l'eau ou de suivre des molécules transportés dans l'air, ou encore détecteurs de longue portée permettant de détecter les mouvements de voiture et de les faire payer selon leurs usages des routes en fonction de l'horaire et du flux de la circulation. Ce genre de technologies nécessite souvent un grand investissement dans l'infrastructure ainsi que des coûts variables afin de gérer chaque agent lié au système, comme c'est le cas pour les systèmes d'information géographique, par exemple. Le régulateur se trouve donc face au problème suivant : sous quelles conditions doit-il investir dans ces nouvelles technologies permettant une meilleure traçabilité des externalités, et, étant donné le progrès technique qui diminue les coûts d'investissements avec le temps, quand investir ? Comment la régulation doit-elle s'adapter pour prendre en compte ces nouvelles possibilités techniques ? Nous tentons de répondre à ces questions, en analysant un modèle d'optimisation dynamique d'un planificateur social face à un problème d'externalité de stock où le coût social augmente avec l'accumulation d'émissions. Nous utilisons des méthodes d'optimisation en deux étapes afin de résoudre le problème du planificateur : d'abord déterminer les émissions optimales selon les caractéristiques des agents, et ensuite déterminer la trajectoire optimale d'émissions dans le temps. Etant donné que le régulateur manque d'information sur les émissions des agents individuels nous proposons ensuite une politique volontaire de location de ce genre d'équipement une fois que l'investissement dans l'infrastructure aurait été effectué.
Economists have long advocated the use of market mechanisms as a means to improve environmental q... more Economists have long advocated the use of market mechanisms as a means to improve environmental quality at minimum cost. Voluntary water purchase programs are an example of such a policy. This paper examines the structure and performance of two water right purchase programs operating in Nevada: the Truckee River Water Quality Agreement and the Lahontan Valley purchase program administered by
Ce texte resume l'experience de la taxe carbone en Suede : son efficacite environnementale, s... more Ce texte resume l'experience de la taxe carbone en Suede : son efficacite environnementale, ses effets distributifs, et les recettes generees par le dispositif.
While mitigation efforts in developed and emerging economies are necessary in order to meet ambit... more While mitigation efforts in developed and emerging economies are necessary in order to meet ambitious climate targets, the international community strives to explore strategies to help the most vulnerable populations to cope with the short-term and long-term impacts of climate change. In the perspective of the 21st COP of the UNFCCC (Paris, December 2015), this Special Issue on ‘Climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing and transition countries’ addresses two complementary topical issues. On the one hand, migration – international and internal – and remittances are analyzed as adaptation strategies for vulnerable households and individuals. On the other hand, climate policies in emerging economies are examined in light of their distributional impacts for households and of the strategic issues they may raise. This special issue introduces five papers with a diversity of approaches, e.g., game theory, econometric modeling and computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling.
We propose a method for estimating hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement... more We propose a method for estimating hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement technology, using ex post data. The method is based on a structural option value model where the future price of polluting fuel is the major source of uncertainty facing the firm. The econometric procedure is illustrated using a panel of firms from the Swedish pulp and
The concept of environmental migrants occurs frequently in the policy debate, in particular with ... more The concept of environmental migrants occurs frequently in the policy debate, in particular with regard to climate change and the incidence of such migration in low-income countries. This article reviews the economic studies of environmentally induced migration. It includes recent empirical analyses that try to link environmental change to migration flows and the spatial distribution of population. A consensus seems to emerge that there is little likelihood of large increases in international migration flows due to climate variability. The evidence to date shows that regional migration will be affected, however, either on the African continent or internally, within country borders. Theoretically, environmentally induced migration can be analyzed using different frameworks: the classical Harris-Todaro model of rural-urban migration, new economic geography models, models grounded in environmental economics of pollution externalities with free factor mobility, and the new economics of ...
Increased recognition of the limited assimilative capacity of the environment has led to stricter... more Increased recognition of the limited assimilative capacity of the environment has led to stricter environmental regulation of waste treatment. Recent policy attention has focussed on packaging, mainly because of its high visibility to consumers. This paper studies a Swedish proposal on producer responsibility and analyzes economic instruments as an alternative policy instrument. Recent research by Pearce and Turner (1992) and Brisson (1992) has proposed a particular form of product charge, and here, its application on Swedish packaging waste is analyzed in detail. A packaging charge is calculated for beverage containers and evaluated against the OECD criteria for economic instruments.
Nous estimons la disponibilité à payer pour la qualité de l'eau du robinet sur des données d'enqu... more Nous estimons la disponibilité à payer pour la qualité de l'eau du robinet sur des données d'enquête de 10 pays de l'OCDE. Nos résultats indiquent que les ménages sont prêts à accepter une augmentation de 7,5% de leur facture annuelle afin d'améliorer la qualité de l'eau. Les dispositions à payer (en pourcentage de la facture médiane dans le pays considéré) sont plus élevées dans les pays où les ménages craignent que la mauvaise qualité de l'eau potable ait un impact sur la santé. Ainsi, les ménages du Mexique, de Corée et d'Italie sont prêts à accepter une augmentation de 10,1%, 6,4% et 8,8% de leur facture annuelle pour améliorer la qualité de l'eau du robinet. Enfin, nos résultats montrent que la disponibilité à payer augmente avec le revenu, l'éducation, la sensibilité aux problèmes environnementaux, la confiance dans l'information fournie par le gouvernement et les autorités locales, et les inquiétudes exprimées vis-à-vis de la qualité de l'eau du robinet.
In many cases consumers cannot observe firms' investment in quality or safety, but have only beli... more In many cases consumers cannot observe firms' investment in quality or safety, but have only beliefs on the average quality of the industry. In addition, the outcome of the collective investment game of the firms may be stochastic since firms cannot control perfectly the technology or external factors that may affect production. In such situations, when only consumers' subjective perceptions of the industry level of quality matters, the regulator may make information available to firms or subsidize their information acquisition. Under what conditions is it desirable to make information available? We show how firms' overall level of investment in quality depends upon the parameters of the quality accumulation process, the cost of investment and the number of firms in the industry. We also show the potentially negative effects on the total level of quality from providing information on consumers' actual valuation.
The Central and Eastern European countries significantly reduced their carbon dioxide (CO2) emiss... more The Central and Eastern European countries significantly reduced their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions between 1995 and 2003. Was this emission reduction just the fortuitous result of the major economic transformation undergone by countries in the transition? Or is it rather a result of more stringent environmental policy? The objective of the article is to answer this question through a simultaneous equation model of the demand (emissions) and supply (environmental stringency) of pollution. The supply equation takes into account the institutional quality of the country as well as consumer preferences for environmental quality. The results indicate that, all else equal, output growth would have increased industrial CO2 emissions in the Central and Eastern European countries in our sample by 31% between 1995 and 2003, and the composition effect corresponded to an increase of 8.4% of emissions. Nevertheless, the technique effect, induced by more stringent environmental policy, reduced industrial CO2 emissions by 58%, and allowed for a final beneficial result for the environment, i.e.,-18% of industrial CO2 emissions in 2003 compared to 1995. Finally, our study confirms the importance of institutional factors in the explanation and further prediction of pollution reduction in transition economies.
We propose a method for estimating hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement tec... more We propose a method for estimating hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement technology, using ex post data. The method is based on a structural option value model where the future price of polluting fuel is the major source of uncertainty facing the firm. The econometric procedure is illustrated using a panel of firms from the Swedish pulp and paper industry, and the energy and heating sector from 2000 to 2003. The results indicate a hurdle rate of investment of almost 3 in the pulp and paper industry and almost 4 in the energy and heating sector.
We estimate hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement technology, using ex post ... more We estimate hurdle rates for firms' investments in pollution abatement technology, using ex post data. The method is based on a structural option value model where the future price of polluting fuel is the major source of uncertainty facing the firm. The empirical procedure is illustrated using a panel of firms from the Swedish pulp and paper industry, and the energy and heating sector, and their sulfur dioxide emissions over the period 2000 to 2003. The results indicate that hurdle rates of investment vary from 2.7 to 3.1 in the pulp and paper industry and from 3.4 to 3.6 in the energy and heating sector depending on econometric specification.
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2002
The paper offers a new perspective on nonpoint source pollution by explicitly considering the cos... more The paper offers a new perspective on nonpoint source pollution by explicitly considering the cost of monitoring individual emissions. The distinction between point and nonpoint source pollution is shown to depend on the cost of monitoring, the environmental cost of pollution, and the impact of monitoring on profits. A regulatory scheme of differential taxation is proposed, wherein taxes are predicated on whether the agent has installed an emissions monitoring device. The optimal degree of monitoring as well as conditions for optimal regulation in the extreme cases of no monitoring and full monitoring, is identified.
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2012
With the development of modern information technologies, relying on nanotechnologies and remote s... more With the development of modern information technologies, relying on nanotechnologies and remote sensing, a number of systems can be envisaged that allow for monitoring of the negative externalities generated by producers, consumers or travelers-road pricing schemes or individual emission meters for automobiles are two examples. We analyze a dynamic model of stock pollution when the regulator has incomplete information on emissions generated by heterogeneous agents. Our contribution is to explicitly study a decentralized policy for adoption of monitoring equipment over time. We determine the second-best tax rates, the pattern of monitoring technology adoption, and identify conditions for the voluntary diffusion of monitoring technologies over time. Simulations show the welfare gains compared to alternative policies.
We investigate the organic food market in two selected European countries, Great Britain and Denm... more We investigate the organic food market in two selected European countries, Great Britain and Denmark, identifying main differences and similarities. We focus particularly on consumer preferences and priorities, labelling schemes, supply and sales channels, as a basis for assessing market stability and prospects for future growth. We employ a unique set of household panel data that includes information on stated values and concerns, as well as registered purchasing behaviour. Most organic food on both markets is produced and processed by large-scale industrialised units and distributed through concentrated mainstream sales channels, consumer confidence being sustained at present by organic labelling schemes that appear to function well. However, a parallel market, based on various types of direct sales to heavy users, prevails. We find that organic food purchase decisions are primarily motivated by 'private good' attributes such as freshness, taste and health benefits, attributes that may be perceived as being compatible with modern production and sales structure. More traditional 'public good' organic attributes, such as environmental and animal welfare attributes, small scale production and local supply, are less compatible with current market structure, but are also accorded less priority by the majority of consumers in practice. Mature markets for organic foods nevertheless may constitute a source of consumer dissatisfaction, particularly in the group of organic heavy users. Jörgensen (2001), who all use sales data or bar code scanner data from Marketing Research Institutes from Germany, USA and Sweden, respectively. Almost all other previous studies on organic foods are based solely on postulated behaviour, i.e. stated willingness to pay (see e.g.
Using unique survey data of 10,000 households from 10 OECD countries, we identify the driving fac... more Using unique survey data of 10,000 households from 10 OECD countries, we identify the driving factors of household adoption of water-efficient equipment by estimating Probit models of a household's probability to invest in such equipment. The results indicate that the adoption of water-efficient equipment is the most strongly affected by ownership status, by being metered and charged a volumetric charge on water consumption, and by behavioural factors. Environmental attitudes are strong predictors of adoption of water-efficient equipment, with a marginal effect that exceeds ownership status in some cases. In terms of policy, we find that households that were both metered and charged for their water individually had a much higher probability to invest in water-efficient equipment compared to households that were not charged for their water.
In a model of nonpoint source pollution, we extend the theory of ambient taxes to the case when p... more In a model of nonpoint source pollution, we extend the theory of ambient taxes to the case when polluters might cooperate. We show that regulation through ambient taxes is severely constrained when the degree of cooperation among polluters is unknown to the regulator. On the other hand, if the regulator can invest in costly monitoring of emissions, then the optimal
Consumer demand for organic foods - attitudes, values and purchasing behaviour. Katrin MILLOCK 1 ... more Consumer demand for organic foods - attitudes, values and purchasing behaviour. Katrin MILLOCK 1 , Mette Wier 2 and Laura Mørch Andersen 3. Archived at http://orgprints.org/ 4754. Abstract. In this paper, we use a unique combination ...
With the development of modern information technologies, relying on nanotechnologies and remote s... more With the development of modern information technologies, relying on nanotechnologies and remote sensing, a number of systems can be envisaged that allow for monitoring of the negative externalities generated by producers, consumers or travelers-road pricing schemes or individual emission meters for automobiles are two examples. In the paper, we analyze a dynamic model of stock pollution when the regulator has incomplete information on emissions generated by heterogeneous agents. The paper's contribution is to explicitly study a decentralized policy for adoption of monitoring equipment over time. Each agent has to choose between paying a fixed fee or installing monitoring technology and paying a tax on actual emissions. We determine the second-best tax rates, the pattern of monitoring technology adoption, and identify conditions for the voluntary diffusion of monitoring technologies over time. Résumé : Les nouvelles technologies de mesure et le contrôle des externalités de stock Depuis longtemps, la régulation des externalités se heurte à des problèmes d'information. Avec le progrès technique il existe maintenant de nouvelles technologies qui se révèlent prometteuses pour la régulation des externalités : codes-barres digitaux (pouvant servir à tracer les lieux et méthodes de production), nanotechnologies permettant de tracer les molécules de produits chimiques dispersés dans l'eau ou de suivre des molécules transportés dans l'air, ou encore détecteurs de longue portée permettant de détecter les mouvements de voiture et de les faire payer selon leurs usages des routes en fonction de l'horaire et du flux de la circulation. Ce genre de technologies nécessite souvent un grand investissement dans l'infrastructure ainsi que des coûts variables afin de gérer chaque agent lié au système, comme c'est le cas pour les systèmes d'information géographique, par exemple. Le régulateur se trouve donc face au problème suivant : sous quelles conditions doit-il investir dans ces nouvelles technologies permettant une meilleure traçabilité des externalités, et, étant donné le progrès technique qui diminue les coûts d'investissements avec le temps, quand investir ? Comment la régulation doit-elle s'adapter pour prendre en compte ces nouvelles possibilités techniques ? Nous tentons de répondre à ces questions, en analysant un modèle d'optimisation dynamique d'un planificateur social face à un problème d'externalité de stock où le coût social augmente avec l'accumulation d'émissions. Nous utilisons des méthodes d'optimisation en deux étapes afin de résoudre le problème du planificateur : d'abord déterminer les émissions optimales selon les caractéristiques des agents, et ensuite déterminer la trajectoire optimale d'émissions dans le temps. Etant donné que le régulateur manque d'information sur les émissions des agents individuels nous proposons ensuite une politique volontaire de location de ce genre d'équipement une fois que l'investissement dans l'infrastructure aurait été effectué.
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Papers by Katrin Millock