An ideal Kyoto protocol: emissions trading, redistributive transfers and global participation

We demonstrate that an interregional policy scheme featuringtrading of carbon dioxide emissions, redistributive resourcetransfers and global participation, a scheme which we call ‘IdealKyoto Protocol’, yields an efficient equilibrium allocationfor a global economy. An altruistic international agency—say,the Global Environment Facility—should operate the resourcetransfer mechanism. In addition, regional governments shouldbe able to make independent policy commitments regarding howto control regional emissions of carbon dioxide in anticipationof the redistributive transfers. Our efficiency result suggeststhat the USA should be ‘bribed’ to reverse its decisionof not participating in the Kyoto Protocol.     

Evaluating the effectiveness of monetary reforms

Using a monthly model of the economy, containing a detailed financial sector, various monetary reforms are evaluated in a stochastic setting. The setting is stochastic because parameters must be estimated from finite data sets and because unexplained residuals exist. The objective function is a single-period, simple quadratic function in income. The problem then reduces to finding the opportunity locus (mean-variance curve) corresponding to each reform; the more effective the reform the more favorable the mean-variance tradeoff. The general finding is that most of the reforms considered are effective, but their impact is not very significant.     

Genetic Algorithms and Public Economics

To address common limitations of traditional economic models while maintaining a convenient mathematical framework, some economists have begun to employ genetic algorithms (GAs). GA optimization occurs in a way that may resemble the dynamics of actual decision making. It also alleviates any need for a closed form to the policy problem and can 'decide' between alternative optima. This paper provides a tutorial on the use of GAs in economics and constructs an example application in the area of tax policy formation. It also critically surveys the landscape of current uses, focusing on both the advantages and disadvantages of GAs in public economics contexts.