A Hot Market for Carbon

On the outskirtosf Bangkok,generatorsfueledby methane fromswine manure make electric.i tyInChina’sInnerMongolia,wind farmsare sproutingup along the breezysteppe.s InIndia’s Andhra Pradeshstat,e villagerpsower theirtractorswitha cleaner-burnindgieselsubst-itutepressedfrom seedsofthemightyhongetree.What do thesefar-flunpgrojectshaveincommon?They’reallthedi-rectresultof the1997Kyoto Proto-col,a sprawlingglobalinitiatitvoereduceemissionsofgreenhousegas-eslinkedtoglobalwarming.TheU.S.and a …     

Who Pays a Price on Carbon?

We use the 2003 Consumer Expenditure Survey and emissions estimates from an input-output model based on the 1997 US economy to estimate the incidence of a price on carbon induced by a cap-and-trade program or carbon tax in the context of the US. We present results on how much different income deciles pay for a carbon tax as well as which industries see the largest increase in costs due to a carbon tax. We illustrate the main determinant of the regressivity: consumption patterns for energy-intensive goods. Furthermore, on a per-capita basis a carbon price is much more regressive than calculations at the household level. We discuss policy options to offset the adverse distributional effects of a carbon emissions policy.     

How Feasible is Carbon Sequestration in Korea? A Study on the Costs of Sequestering Carbon in Forest

In recent years, carbon sequestration has become a more attractive policy in Korea due to the increasing trend of marginal cropland and enhanced public awareness on adverse climate change phenomena. This study aims to calculate the unit costs of carbon sequestration programs through afforestation in Korea and examine the cost-effectiveness of programs. The basis of our simulation is an econometric land use share model, and province level of aggregated panel data are used for model estimation. Four scenarios are considered depending on whether the program includes the harvest and which tree species are planted. The approach of sequestration program is to pay the landowners to convert their lands to forest for a period of time in exchange of fixed annual payment in addition to tree establishment cost. Our results show that the unit cost varies from $122 to $486 per ton of carbon stored depending on the scenarios and payment levels. We found that the carbon sequestration can be a cost-effective mitigation policy in Korea although it is not the least cost option.     

Does Increased Extraction of Natural Gas Reduce Carbon Emissions?

Without an international climate agreement, extraction of more natural gas could reduce emissions of CO₂ as more clean natural gas may drive out dirty coal and oil. Using a computable equilibrium model for the Western European electricity and natural gas markets, we examine whether increased extraction of natural gas in Norway reduces global emissions of CO₂. We find that both in the short run and in the long run total emissions are reduced if the additional quantity of natural gas is used in gas power production in Norway. If instead the additional quantity is exported directly, total emissions increase both in the short run and in the long run. However, if modest CO₂-taxes are imposed, increased extraction of natural gas will reduce CO₂ emissions also when the additional natural gas is exported directed.earlier version of this paper was presented at the 25th Annual IAEE International Conference in Aberdeen June 2002.     

The fate of the tropical forest: Carbon or cattle?

Small-scale afforestation/reforestation projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol will sequester atmospheric carbon and facilitate carbon trading but they face significant implementation challenges among the rural poor households and communities that are meant to adopt and benefit from them. Avoiding deforestation - a controversial carbon reduction option now under climate policy discussion - shows promise though for both forest conservation and poverty alleviation among indigenous forest peoples.     

Should the Carbon Price Be the Same in All Countries?

International differences in fuel taxation are huge, and may be justified by different local negative externalities that taxes must correct, as well as by different preferences for public spending. In this context, should a worldwide uniform carbon tax be added to these local taxes to correct the global warming externality? We address this question in a second best framework à la Ramsey, where public goods have to be financed through distortionary taxation and the cost of public funds has to be weighted against the utility of public goods. We show that when lump‐sum transfers between countries are allowed for, the second best tax on the polluting good may be decomposed into three parts: one, country‐specific, dealing with the local negative externality, a second one, country‐specific, dealing with the cost of levying public funds, and a third one, global, dealing with the global externality and which can be interpreted as the carbon price. Our main contribution is to show that the uniformity of the carbon price should still hold in this second best framework. Nevertheless, if lump‐sum transfers between governments are impossible to implement, international differentiation of the carbon price is the only way to take care of equity concerns.     

An Analysis on China＇s Trade Structure and Carbon Emissions

通过投入产出SKYLINE分析法,探讨了中国进出口贸易在国际分工中的二氧化碳排放问题,研究结果显示2007年中国贸易结构在国际分工中具有污染逆差特征。分行业看,净出口二氧化碳排放比例排在前八位的产业部门分别是纺织业、纺织服装鞋帽皮革羽绒及其制品业、木材加工及家具制造业、通信设备计算机及其他电子设备制造业、金属制品业、工艺品及其他制造业、造纸印刷及文教体育用品制造业、电气机械及器材制造业。     

International Experience,China’s Development and Prospect of Carbon Market Construction

Carbon market, which is capable of scientific quantifying and marked-based pricing of carbon emission, is an important way for countries to achieve the target of carbon emission reduction. The global carbon market, after more than ten years of development, has developed a mature mechanism. China started the trial of carbon market in 2011. After ten years of exploration, the national carbon trading market was officially launched in mid-July 2021. Against the backdrop of carbon neutrality, the national carbon market will shoulder a greater mission of carbon emission reduction and speed up its financialization and internationalization. However, it should take a dialectical attitude toward the opportunities and risks of carbon market financialization. In the future, China can promote the development of carbon market through efforts to develop market participants, clarify the attributes of carbon finance, prevent potential risks of carbon finance, improve the connection mechanism with the international carbon market, and innovate carbon finance services.     

Why Has Australian Wages Growth Been So Low? A Phillips Curve Perspective

Wages growth in Australia has recently been the lowest in two decades. One possible explanation is a decline in the non‐accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU). We examine this hypothesis by estimating a wage Phillips curve including a time‐varying NAIRU. Our findings are: (i) the NAIRU has recently been around 5.5 per cent; (ii) our approach increases the precision of the NAIRU estimates; (iii) low inflation expectations have been an important contributing factor; and (iv) the long‐run annual wages growth is nearly 3 per cent. We also find that the underutilisation rate suggests greater slack exists, but is less useful in explaining wage developments.     

Low prices cum selective distribution versus high prices: how best to signal quality?

We investigate the best signalling strategy for a monopoly introducing a new product with unobservable quality when second-period sales are linked to first-period ones and the firm may tailor its distribution network to exclude some consumers. When producing a high quality product rather than a low quality one is relatively costly with respect to the increase in quality, optimal signalling is by price alone. But when the cost differential is lower, it will be optimal to set a low first-period price, not to serve all would-be consumers at this price (selective distribution) and raise the price afterwards. Paradoxically, this strategy allows a larger customer base to be reached than in the case of pure price signalling.     

On the Construction of the Harmonious Ecosystem of Enterprises - Lessons from the Low Cost Competition of Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart＇s Darwinism deserves our attention Aiming a the problems caused by Wal-Mart. this article gives a profound analysis on the concept and model of the enterprise ecosystem and expounds basic characters （such as integrity, hierarchy, functionality, autoregalation etc.） with relevant theories and knowledge of systematology and ecology, and puts forward ecological principles for the construction of harmonious enterprises ecosystem （such as principle of interarcton, principle of co-evolution, principle of ecoflow, principle of ecological niche, principle of limiting factor and prlncipte of ecological equilibrium） in order to provide new ideas for enterpises＇operation decisions and to promote the whole enterprise ecosystem to develop more healthily, harmoniously and stcstainabty.     

The Correlations between Carbon Emission and Foreign Direct Investment in China： Based on Chinese Second Industry Pane] Data

外商直接投资（FDI）在推动中国经济发展中发挥了巨大作用,但也给中国带来了严重的碳排放量增加与环境污染问题。在统计分析中国第二产业分行业碳排放量和FDI分行业工业产值现状的基础上,检验了二者之间的相关性,并运用面板数据模型进行回归分析,结果表明,FDI工业产值的增长促进了中国第二产业的碳排放量增加。因此我国有必要对FDI进行有选择的吸收,从招商引资逐步转向招商选资,从而实现产业结构升级,减少碳排放量。     

A ‘Natural Experiment’ Approach to Contingent Valuation of Private and Public UV Health Risk Reduction Strategies in Low and High Risk Countries

We present the results of a natural experiment to test how variations in exogenous risk levels affect resultant willingness to pay (WTP) for risk reduction. The case study presented considers WTP for reductions in the skin cancer risks associated with exposure to solar UV radiation. A common design contingent valuation survey is conducted in four countries, across which variation in geographical latitude and genetic mix mean that exogenous risks differ substantially. Survey respondents were presented with both a private and public good route for affecting risk reduction. In both cases, results confirm that once adjustment had been made for expected relationships with other covariates (such as income and risk averting behaviour), valuation responses for both goods conformed to expectations with the ordering of values across countries reflecting the ordering of scientifically established health risks. This suggests that links between values and objective health risks may be observed within such situations and provides a justification for continuing research into more natural representations of risk and risk reductions in order to yield consistent and robust measures of associated values.     

Has Switzerland Really Been Marked by Low Productivity Growth? Hours Worked and Labor Productivity in Switzerland in a Long‐run Perspective

This paper shows that previous work has understated Switzerland's performance in terms of labor productivity growth. First, available data on hours worked are incoherent and overestimate growth in hours worked. The paper therefore establishes a consistent series of total hours worked and its components covering 1950–2010, showing that Swiss labor inputs actually were stable from 1964 to 2007. Second, long‐term improvements in Switzerland's Terms of Trade indicate that quality improvements in Swiss exports might not be fully mirrored in growth of GDP and, hence, productivity growth.     

Policy Forum: Designing a Carbon Price Policy: Is the Australian Climate Plan Fair to Australia's Energy‐Intensive,Trade‐Exposed Industries?

The implications of Australia's unilateral carbon‐pricing plan for its energy‐intensive, trade‐exposed industries are analysed. While a priori arguments for protecting such industries make good theoretical sense, empirically significant levels of support for such protection centre on the non‐ferrous metal industry alone.     

The Chinese earn low wages Is Low Wage an Advantage? If people are worth more,and if pay is higher,the proportion of labor in total production cost will be....

The Chinese earn low wages. In economics terminology, this is called low labor cost. Economists, the media and official documents all call this China's "competitive advantage."This cannot answer these two questions: First, in terms of investment environment, developed countries are better than developing countries; then where is the competitive advantage of low labor cost? Second, when an enterprise of a developing country invests in a developed country, say, when China's Haier