The initial distribution of emissions allowances is usually thought to be independent of the emissions outcome, but free allocation can affect the efficiency and fairness of allowance trading. Inefficiency may result from thin allowance markets, poor price discovery, and regulatory or...

A variety of recent policy measures have been advanced to promote interregional power transmission investment in the United States; among these are the designation of corridors on federal lands in western states and the identification of national interest electric transmission corridors across...

Recent policy debates suggest that geologic carbon sequestration (GS) likely will play an important role in a carbon-constrained future. As GS evolves from the analogous technologies and practices of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations to a long-term, dedicated emissions mitigation option,...

This paper examines the hypothesis that changes have been brought about in the forest industry that allow it to participate fully in globalization. The forest industry has undergone profound changes in recent years in large part by new technologies. Whereas traditionally it was primarily an...

The gender dimensions of spatial exclusion are important components of social marginalization and vulnerability. Transport infrastructure and services play a critical role in supporting mobility and access to basic services vital to achieving poverty reduction, gender equality, and sustainable...

On July 20, 2006, in New York City, Resources for the Future convened a workshop of stakeholders and state officials engaged in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) together with experts on various aspects of using auctions. The workshop provided technical assistance to states for the...

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, touching off an economic, financial, diplomatic, and military crisis associated with a tremendous spike in oil prices and recession in OECD and oil-importing developing countries. But was the Gulf Crisis a disruption? Did it affect the fabric of oil trade? To...

At the request of managers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, this paper describes frameworks for and illustrates societal benefits associated with Earth observations from an experimental satellite known as the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). MISR is a unique...

Policies to cap emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the U.S. economy could pose significant costs on the electricity sector, which contributes roughly 40 percent of total CO2 emissions in the U.S. Using a detailed simulation model of the electricity sector, we evaluate alternative ways that...

Policies to cap emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), such as the recently announced agreement among seven northeastern states, are expected to have important effects on the electricity industry and on the market value of firms that own electricity generation assets. The economics literature finds...