Shared Renewable Resources: Gains from Trade and Trade Policy

This paper examines the effects of international trade and trade policy in a two‐country, two‐good model with an open‐access renewable resource that is internationally shared. We show that both countries may still benefit from trade when they specialize in the production of their comparative advantage good, although the shared resource is reduced by trade. In addition, we demonstrate that the steady state utility of a resource‐good importing country may be reduced by trade, even if it specializes in the production of a non‐resource good. Import tariffs and export taxes on a resource good may increase or decrease the shared stock level depending on the production patterns in a trading steady state. The trade policy is likely to be Pareto‐improving when the shared stock rises, while both countries may be made worse off by the trade policy when the shared stock falls.     

Trade and Renewable Resources in a Second Best World: An Overview

We provide an overview and introduction to the emerging field of trade and renewable resources, and discuss the potential impact of trade liberalization on welfare and resource conservation. A key factor determining the effect of trade reform is the institutional context or property rights regime, and our survey is organized such that it loosely follows the development of new insights with respect to institutions in this literature. This implies a transition from the benevolent planners model to the polar opposite benchmark of open access in the 1990s. Currently the pendulum is swinging back towards management and regulation, but institutions are treated as endogenous. We discuss and compare various key models in some detail and search for common ground between protagonists and antagonists of free trade. Paper based on Keynote address by Erwin Bulte, 12th Annual Conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, Bilbao (Spain), June 28–30, 2003.     

Sustainable Development,Renewable Resources and Technological Progress

Conflicts between optimality and sustainability are typical in the literature on sustainable development. Using the capital-resource growth model, Pezzey and Withagen (1998, Scandinavian Journal of Economics 100 (2), 513–527) have proved that if natural resources are exhaustible, the time-path of consumption is single-peaked, declining from some point in time onwards. This paper extends the model to include technical progress, resource renewability, extraction costs and population growth. The main result is that, for any constant returns to scale technology, optimal paths can be sustainable only if the social discount rate does not exceed the sum of the rates of resource regeneration and augmentation. The development of resource-saving techniques is crucial for sustaining consumption per capita in the long run, whereas capital depreciation and extraction costs are neutral with respect to this sustainability condition.     

Property Rights, Renewable Resources and Economic Development

This paper analyzes the role of endogenous property rights in the development of an open resource-based economy. I incorporate renewable resources and endogenous decisions on property rights into a convex growth model with the formal and informal sectors. I find that along the transition path to steady state, property rights enforcement is not constant but improves with time as well as involves intermediate property rights specification (between open access and perfect property rights). International trade and labor market are driving these endogenous changes. Property rights improve with favorable terms of trade when the economy exports resource services and stronger property rights help maintain the resource stock by deterring illegal harvest. This pushes labor away from the informal harvest sector toward greater participation in the formal sector of the economy. In turn, more labor participation in the formal sector along with capital formation increase the country’s output and consumption. Overall, with an open economy and well-functioning institutions, renewable resources have a positive impact on economic growth.     

A Stackelberg Game Model of Trade in Renewable Resources with Competitive Sellers*

We model international trade in renewable resources between a single buyer and competitive sellers as a Stackelberg differential game. The buyer uses unit and ad valorem tariffs to indirectly encourage conservation of the renewable resource under study. First, we show that the efficacy of these trade policy instruments in promoting conservation depends fundamentally on whether harvesting costs are stock dependent or independent. When harvesting costs are stock independent, the optimal open‐loop tariffs are dynamically consistent. In contrast, when harvesting costs are stock dependent, the optimal open‐loop tariffs are dynamically inconsistent. Secondly, we point out that whether the terminal value of the resource stock is higher with the stock independent or the stock dependent cost function cannot be resolved unambiguously. Thirdly, we show that it does not make sense for the buyer to use both tariffs simultaneously. Finally, we discuss the implications of these and other findings for renewable resource conservation in general.     

Trade,Transboundary Pollution,and Foreign Lobbying

In this paper, we explore the use of trade policy in addressing transboundary stock pollution problems such as acid rain and water pollution. We show that a tariff determined by the current level of accumulated pollution can induce the time path of emissions optimal for the downstream (polluted) country. But if the upstream (polluting) country can lobby the downstream government to impose lower tariffs, distortions brought by corruption and foreign lobbying lead to a rise in the upstream country’s social welfare, and to a decrease in social welfare in the downstream country. Thus, the usefulness of trade policy as a tool for encouraging cooperation and internalizing transboundary externalities depends critically on the degree of governments’ susceptibility to foreign political influence.     

Trade,Strategic Environmental Policy,and Global Pollution

This paper examines the effects of international trade in a model with global pollution that accumulates over time because of production emissions in each country. If countries cooperatively determine their environmental policies, autarky and free trade in the absence of trade costs generate the same optimal solution. By contrast, if environmental policies are determined noncooperatively, the effects of trade on global pollution and welfare are ambiguous because policy games can result in multiple equilibria. Although trade increases both the lower and upper bounds of the pollution stock, whether trade expands the range of possible steady‐state pollution levels is ambiguous. The analysis then extends to consider trade costs.     

Trade Restrictiveness and Pollution

This paper proposes a trade restrictiveness indicator that explicitly incorporates environmental externalities. The index employs directional distance functions and uses indicators (i.e., differences rather than ratios) modified to account for and evaluate efficiency changes in the face of simultaneous and multidimensional trade and environmental policy reforms. The index is made up of two components, one for production and one for consumption. Our overall trade restrictiveness indicator is accordingly the difference of the two. The properties of the indicator are developed and discussed together with its estimation.     

Cross-Border Pollution,Terms of Trade,and Welfare

We construct a two-good general equilibrium model of international trade for two small open economies where pollution from production is transmitted across borders. Governments in both countries impose emission taxes non-cooperatively. Within this framework, we examine the effect of changes in the degree of cross-border pollution on Nash emission taxes, emission levels and welfare. We do so under two scenarios: when changes in cross-border pollution do not affect domestic pollution (non-strategic) and when they do (strategic). We also examine the effect of changes in international terms of trade on pollution and welfare when cross-border pollution is non-strategic.      

Environmental Policy, Intra-Industry Trade and Transfrontier Pollution

The paper discusses effects of domestic environmental policy on foreignemissions and on transboundary pollution. We use a Dixit-Stiglitz typemodel of monopolistic competition with an endogenous number of firms.Production generates environmental externalities which spill over to theother country. It is shown that environmental policy has an impact onmarket structure at home and abroad. These market structure effectsinduce changes in emissions abroad. In contrast to what has been derivedin earlier contributions, it turns out to be possible that tighterenvironmental standards at home lead to less emissions abroad. The paperderives these results and provides the economic intuition behind them.Finally, conditions for optimal environmental policies are derived.     

Environmental Preservation, Sectoral Unemployment, and Trade in Resources

This paper develops a general equilibrium model to examine the optimal level of environmental preservation in terms of its costs and benefits for a closed as well as an open economy. The optimal preservation policy for a closed economy is to tax the general population and use the tax revenue to compensate affected workers. Furthermore, for a small open economy, free trade in resources can meet whatever shortage of domestic productive resources that may occur, thereby leading to a higher optimal level of environmental preservation.     

我国可再生能源发展问题研究

可再生能源作为替代能源的重要组成部分备受关注。我国可再生能源发展的政府支持体系及企业的技术水平相对落后,限制了可再生能源事业的快速发展。因此,政府要科学制定发展可再生能源的规划,进一步完善相关的政策与法律支持体系,通过科技创新,大力推动可再生能源的发展,以缓解日益紧张的能源供给。     

Trade Structure, Transboundary Pollution and Multilateral Trade Liberalization: The Effects on Environmental Taxes and Welfare

This paper considers a trade situation where the production activities of potentially heterogeneous countries generate pollution which can cross borders and harm the well-being of all the countries involved. In each of those countries the policy maker levies pollution taxes on the polluting firms and a tariff on imports in order to correct that distortion. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the effect of a reduction in the tariff on equilibrium pollution taxes and welfare. The existing literature has investigated this problem for trade between two identical countries. This paper analyzes the problem in the more realistic context where countries are not necessarily identical and trade can be multilateral. It becomes possible to show what bias is introduced when those two realities are neglected. I find that a tariff reduction can actually lower output; it can also lower welfare even if pollution is purely local.     

所有权性质、商业信用与信贷资源配置效率

商业信用的再分配理论认为,易于获得银行信用的企业会将这些信用以商业信用的形式再分配给难以获得银行信用的下游企业。本文以2004～2007年中国工业企业数据库为样本,检验国有企业和私有企业的信用再分配功能,结果发现,尽管国有企业获得的银行信用显著多于私有企业,但提供的商业信用净额却显著少于私有企业。而且,国有企业获得的银行信用与提供的商业信用不相关,而私有企业获得的银行信用与提供的商业信用显著正相关。这些结果说明,国有企业获得更多的银行信用但并没有发挥信用再分配功能,而私有企业尽管只获得少量的银行信用却较好地发挥了信用再分配功能。这些结果意味着,如果银行体系适当增加对私有企业的信用配置,同时减少对国有企业的信用配置,可以充分发挥私有企业的信用再分配功能,提高银行体系的资源配置效率。     

对外贸易、FDI的经济增长效应与环境污染效应实证研究

外贸与FDI都在整体上促进了中国经济增长,其中,进口对经济增长的作用较小;出口与FDI加剧了中国环境污染;进口贸易可抑制环境污染,但作用比较小;人力资本具有显著的促进经济增长与抑制环境污染的双重功能。     

可再生自然资源持续利用策略研究

可再生的自然资源是发展经济的重要物质基础.近年来,由于人类大量地开发利用可再生的自然资源,使其数量急剧减少,可再生能力降低.本文运用非线性理论建立了可再生自然资源二次非线性利用的动力模式,研究了可再生自然资源数量(资源量)增长与增长率和利用强度的关系.     

从人口、资源与环境的视点看中美食品贸易

食品贸易不仅仅是保障各国食品安全,利用不同国家比较优势获得经济利益的经济活动,也是与人类健康与安全、生态环境保护和生物资源可持续利用紧密相关的一个全球性社会问题.本文从人口、资源与环境的视点,利用国际贸易的比较优势理论分析了中美食品贸易的意义,得出以下主要结论:首先,应充分利用中国的人力资源成本优势和美国的机械费用优势,发展食品贸易,提高两国人民的福利;其次,为老龄人提供营养丰富的健康食品应成为中美食品贸易发展的机会之一;再次,应充分发挥两国的自然资源禀赋优势,发展食品贸易;最后,中国将成为美国食品贸易的巨大市场,但两国间对食品质量问题有较大的认识差距,因此应在食品贸易的过程中,不断培育绿色食品理念,加强政府间交流与沟通,构建食品安全控制机制.     

我国再生资源产业发展的思路与对策

我国再生资源产业发展初具规模,回收体系发生很大变化,形成一些区域性集散地和交易市场,技术水平有所提高。但也存在监管不到位,市场秩序混乱,回收环节多,企业规模小等问题。本文讨论了政府如何适应变化了的回收体系的管理和服务需要、国际通行的“废物丢弃付费“制度为什么在我国难以实行、如何改变利废企业技术水平低和二次污染等问题,并提出整顿和规范回收体系,发展二手货市场,加大再生资源加工利用技术开发的投入力度,制定优惠政策激励再生资源产业发展,对进口废料实行园区化管理,完善法律法规和标准,做好基础性工作,加强能力建设,提高公众意识和参与能力等建议。     

从人口、资源与环境的视点看中美食品贸易

食品贸易不仅仅是保障各国食品安全,利用不同国家比较优势获得经济利益的经济活动,也是与人类健康与安全、生态环境保护和生物资源可持续利用紧密相关的一个全球性社会问题。本文从人口、资源与环境的视点,利用国际贸易的比较优势理论分析了中美食品贸易的意义,得出以下主要结论：首先,应充分利用中国的人力资源成本优势和美国的机械费用优势,发展食品贸易,提高两国人民的福利;其次,为老龄人提供营养丰富的健康食品应成为中美食品贸易发展的机会之一;再次,应充分发挥两国的自然资源禀赋优势,发展食品贸易;最后,中国将成为美国食品贸易的巨大市场,但两国间对食品质量问题有较大的认识差距,因此应在食品贸易的过程中,不断培育绿色食品理念,加强政府间交流与沟通,构建食品安全控制机制。