In this paper, we study a firm's optimal lobby behavior and its effect on investment in pollution abatement capital. We develop a dynamic framework where a representative firm can invest in both abatement and lobby capital in response to a possible future increase in pollution tax. We show that...

We develop the concept of aggregate emission targets, which are goals for national emissions but do not dictate the forms of regulation used to achieve the goals. We compare aggregate emission intensity, quantity, and price targets adopted at the national level but implemented cost effectively...

Developing countries in Asia face a variety of environmental challenges. Although environmental economics grew mostly out of the experience of developed countries, decades of environmental economics research offer important and useful lessons for environmental regulation in developing countries...

An important channel through which globalization affects poverty is introducing new technologies to developing countries. Adoption of new technologies can be hindered by uncertainties about their efficiency. This paper studies the role of information exchange between adopters and others about a...

We compare the instantaneous and the long run effects of environmental reform in closed and open economies. Harmonization upward (decreasing distortions where they are most severe) or harmonization downward (increasing distortions where they are less severe), both tend to increase instantaneous...

Superfund cleanup has been extremely slow. Traditional analysis has centred around reducing the heavy negotiation and litigation to expedite the cleanup process. This paper investigates other factors which provide possible incentives for the PRPs to delay the cleanup, namely discounting, risk...

We compare taxes and quotas when firms and the regulator have asymmetric information about abatement costs. Damages are caused by a stock pollutant. Uncertainty enters multiplicatively, i.e. it affects the slope rather than the intercept of abatement costs. We calibrate the model using cost and...

Increased population pressure and political decisions have led to more intensive agricultural practices in China. As in other regions of the world, these practices can damage natural capital. We use the Kalman filter and Chinese panel data to estimate an index of environmental productivity...

Non-strategic firms with rational expectations make investment and emissions decisions. The investment rule depends on firms' beliefs about future emissions policies. We compare emissions taxes and quotas when the (strategic) regulator and (nonstrategic) firms have asymmetric information about...

We estimate a structural model of OECD countries in which GDP and CO2 emissions are endogenous. We use the estimated model to simulate the price of tradable CO2 permits and the efficiency gains from trade. Our estimated prices are high, relative to previous estimates, and the efficiency gains...