Energy intensity has declined significantly in four Chinese industries -- pulp and paper; cement; iron and steel; and aluminum. While previous studies have identified technological change within an industry to be an important influence on energy intensity, few have examined how industry-specific...

There is a low but uncertain probability that climate change could trigger "mega-catastrophes," severe and at least partly irreversible adverse effects across broad regions. This paper first discusses the state of current knowledge and the defining characteristics of potential climate change...

The concept of "Green Growth" is a focus of much interest and considerable debate among decision makers concerned with enhancing both nearer-term economic progress and longer-term environmental sustainability. Proponents of Green Growth emphasize not only the need to protect various forms of...

What major insights have emerged from development economics in the past decade, and how do they matter for the World Bank? This challenging question was recently posed by World Bank Group President David Malpass to the staff of the Development Research Group. This paper assembles a set of 13...

This paper reports on electronically-monitored improved use of the "Mirt" biomass stove in Ethiopia over a relatively long period of three-and-a-half years, using stove use data collected at five points in time. The results show that 62 percent of the households surveyed still retained their...

This study uses a computable general equilibrium model to analyze various policy scenarios for a carbon tax on greenhouse gas emissions from petroleum fuels and kerosene in Ethiopia. The carbon tax starts at USD 5 per ton of carbon dioxide in 2018 and rises to USD 30 per ton in 2030. Different...

There is a growing effort in the non-market valuation literature toward better understanding of the stability and evolution of preferences over time. The study uses a novel approach combining a repeated choice experiment with a randomized controlled trial on stove adoption in Ethiopia to analyze...

This paper presents the three-year impacts of an improved biomass cookstove on child and adult health in rural Ethiopia. After near complete stove adoption during an initial one-year randomized controlled trial, 60 percent of treatment households continued to use the improved stoves three-years...

Improved biomass cookstoves have been promoted as important intermediate technologies to reduce fuelwood consumption and possibly cut household air pollution in low-income countries. This study uses a randomized controlled trial to examine household air pollution reductions from an improved...