future biodiesel policy designs and consumption patterns in latvia a system dynamics model abstract decarbonisation of transport has become central to european union policy biofuels are expected to represent a substantial part of the overall strategy towards diversifying europe s energy supplies and curbing greenhouse gas emissions in a cost effective way this research deals with the dynamic simulation modeling of a biodiesel market as a part of transportation fuel market and analyses of various policy support instruments on increasing the proportion of biofuel in total transport fuel demand the study is carried out for latvia s road transport sector after it had experienced generous financial support from the government allowing the industry to develop support was abruptly stopped creating stagnation in both biodiesel supply and demand this threatened the national transport policy goals the goal of this research is to find the most effective policy strategies for achieving the national transport policy goals by applying system dynamics modeling to the current market conditions of transport fuels specifically the primary focus of this paper is an attempt to gain insight into the long term dynamic behavior of the biodiesel market in latvia the principal policy tools and mechanisms implemented can be summarized as i state subsidies at different levels and stages i e the biodiesel production sector the agricultural sector and the end consumer sectors ii increasing the excise taxes on fossil fuels iii increasing the share of the biodiesel in the transportation fuel blend the results obtained from model simulations confirm that promoting biofuel acceptance among end users is the primary key issue

a model for the interaction of migration and commuting this paper presents a simultaneous equations model for the interaction of migration with changes in commuting employment and housing stocks and applies the model to census data for greater london england different spatial frames of reference are used intra metropolitan intra regional and national the results suggest an interdependence of migration and commuting with the decentralisation of employment within greater london migration is influenced by tenure structure and turnover in the existing housing stock as well as by the availability of new housing excerpt

transport and low carbon fuel a study of public preferences in spain abstract transport is essential for the control of future greenhouse gas ghg emissions and thus a target for active policy intervention in the future yet social preferences for policies are likely to play an important role in this paper we first review the existing literature on preferences regarding low ghg car fuels but also covering policy instruments and strategies in this area we then present the results of a survey of spanish households aimed at measuring preferences for climate change policies we find a positive willingness to pay wtp in the form of higher car fuel prices for a policy to reduce ghg emissions through biofuels there is however significant heterogeneity in public preferences due to personal motivations accounted for via factor analysis of responses to attitudinal questions and to socio demographic variables

choice modeling at the market stall individual versus collective interest in environmental valuation the market stall or valuation workshop has recently been proposed as a way of addressing some of the limitations of conventional stated preference analysis in this paper we attempt to combine a participatory technique similar to the citizens jury with choice modelling a stated preference technique increasingly being applied in environmental economics our focus is on how changes in the context of decision making between choices made in isolation and those made in a group setting and between choices made on individual well being versus collective criteria produce differences in estimated welfare measures the empirical context used is that of water quality improvements under the water framework directive the most significant reform in water legislation in the european union for many years we find that the choice experiment format can be successfully implemented in a valuation workshop and that moving from individual to collective choice produces in this instance a rather interesting change in both values and preferences which depends on the respondent s interests

are biofuels a feasible option abstract recently a number of objections have been raised against the use of ethanol produced from agricultural products such as maize sugarcane wheat or sugar beets as a replacement for gasoline despite some of their advantages such as being cleaner and to some extent renewable we address these objections in this paper topics discussed include the corn connection which was theorized to be a cause of deforestation in the amazonia the rise of food prices due to ethanol production and the real possibilities of ethanol in reducing greenhouse gas emissions it has been shown that such concerns are grossly exaggerated and that ethanol from sugarcane as produced in brazil is the preferred option for the production of fuel not only in terms of cost but also as a favourable energy balance finally the possibility of expanding ethanol production to other sugar producing countries is also discussed

the quest for eco social efficiency in biofuels production in brazil equating eco efficiency with the business link to sustainable development is clearly limited especially with the new paradigms brought up by corporate social responsibility which has shown that the private sector s contribution to sustainable development can go far beyond the sphere of pollution control it is necessary to give eco efficiency a broader meaning so that it can support the quest for sustainable development this requires the inclusion of social aspects leading to a kind of eco social efficiency the present paper illustrates this idea by comparing brazilian production and use of ethanol from sugarcane in the context of the national alcohol program proalcool with biodiesel production and use in the context of the biodiesel national program pnpb despite the problems presented pnpb was designed to encourage companies to align productivity concerns with social ones what could be the beginning of the here called eco social efficiency

can new legislation in importing countries represent new barriers to the development of an international ethanol market the use of ethanol as a fuel has been attracting increasing attention in countries that are interested in reducing their dependence on imported oil and lowering their greenhouse gas emissions despite this growing interest the global ethanol market is still incipient because of the small number of producing countries the lack of technical standardization and the existence of tariff and non tariff trade barriers new laws have taken effect in 2010 in the united states and the european union imposing domestic requirements for sustainable production of ethanol although these are generally positive developments they can create greater difficulties for the development of an international ethanol market this work examines the technical barriers posed by these new laws and how they can be resolved under the auspices of the world trade organization in addition this work analyses the brazilian and caribbean cases discussing to what extent these new technical barriers will affect ethanol production and exports arising from these countries

deliberative monetary valuation in search of a democratic and value plural approach to environmental policy the use of deliberative methods to assess environmental values in monetary terms has been motivated by the potential for small group discussion to help with preference formation and the inclusion of non economic values in this review two broad approaches are identified preference economisation and preference moralisation the former is analytical concentrates upon issues of poor respondent cognition and produces a narrow conception of value linked to utilitarianism the latter emphasises political legitimacy appeals to community values and tends to privilege arguments made in the public interest both approaches are shown to embrace forms of value convergence which undermine the prospects for value pluralism as a result exclusion and predefinition of values dominates current practice in order to maintain democratic credentials the importance attributed to monetary value needs to be left as an open question to be addressed as part of a process determining an agreement to pay to this end we identify a discourse based approach as a third way consistent with the democratic and value plural potential of deliberative monetary valuation

improving the process of valuing non market benefits combining citizens juries with choice modelling we attempt a first combination of the participatory technique known as the citizens jury with choice modelling a stated preference technique increasingly favored by environmental economists our application is conducted in the context of water quality improvements under the water framework directive the most significant reform in water legislation in the european union for many years we compare results with those of a conventional choice experiment we find that the choice experiment format can be successfully implemented in a jury setting and that moving from an individual to a collective choice setting produces a change in both values and preferences

financial incentives to mobilise local citizens as investors in low carbon technologies a systematic literature review abstract mobilising greater levels of private finance through local citizen investment in low carbon technologies can help bridge the capital shortfall to meeting climate objectives while also building societal support for the low carbon transition within this context we undertake a systematic review of literature assessing the impact of technology specific economic and financial incentives promoting greater levels of investment in low carbon technologies from local citizen investors both individuals and community groups we focus in particular on the impact of feed in tariffs compared to quota schemes grants tax incentives and soft loans the analysis suggests that local citizen investors do not necessarily act in an economically rational manner in response to these incentives it underscores the importance of understanding the preferences of target demographics the local context as well as the characteristics of the technologies in question and suggests interventions should be considered as part of wider policy packages while identifying challenges to be overcome through instrument design we find that feed in tariffs grants and tax incentives can be successful in mobilising greater levels of investment from local citizen investors but that soft loans tend to be less effective as a stand alone instrument the review identifies areas meriting further exploration in this emerging field of research

international trade in biofuels an introduction to the special issue abstract currently many countries are establishing goals for substituting biofuels for fossil fuels these goals usually foresee 5 10 substitution while today s production in most countries is far below 2 evidently many countries will seek to meet their ambitious biofuel targets through imports this global trade in biofuels which is to some extent already taking place will have a major impact not only on other commodity markets like vegetable oils or animal fodder but also on the global land use change and on environmental impacts this special issue focuses on the relation between trading policy making and sustainability impacts of biofuels it demonstrates the strong but complex link between biofuels production and the global food market it unveils policy measures as the main drivers for production and use of biofuels and it analyzes various sustainability indicators and certification schemes for biofuels with respect to minimizing the adverse effects of biofuels while maximizing the benefits of the future use of biofuels

job search and the effect of urban structure on unemployment and married female participation rates a model of urban job search is presented concentrating on the skill level of the seeker the implications for the effect of urban structure on intra urban unemployment and married female participation rate differentials are examined it is found using census data for greater london that urban structure represented by the intra urban distribution of jobs per worker as derived from the job search model has the predicted effects on unemployment and participation rates after allowing for other determinants of these rates the paper concludes with some implications for urban manpower policy

a framework for scaling and framing policy problems in sustainability abstract it is argued that a necessary but lacking component of our approach in seeking policy responses to sustainability issues is some repeatable means whereby the relative magnitude and characteristics of these various policy problems faced in a given context can be analysed and described to this end a simple and tentative framework is constructed based on the definition of the key attributes which shape policy problems pertaining to environmental change these are spatial scale of cause and effect magnitude timing and longevity of possible impacts reversibility mensurability complexity and connectivity nature of cause s relevance to the given polity tractability availability and acceptability of means public concern and existence of goals these attributes inform a general taxonomy of micro meso and macro problems the attributes and the taxonomy are described with supporting examples to illustrate possible application of the framework it is discussed briefly in the contexts of operationalising the precautionary principle and policy instrument choice it is concluded that the framework can help focus debate and operationalise vague principles introduce relativity into the notion of sustainability and make policy choice more efficient

participatory environmental education and willingness to pay for river basin management empirical evidence from nigeria this paper examines the role of participation as a tool for improving individuals perceptions and environmental values using a test retest experiment conducted in south eastern nigeria two identical contingent valuation experiments were interspersed by participatory workshops designed to involve respondents in framing and forming the valuation scenario econometric analyses found that participatory education significantly developed individuals perceptions of pollution problems and increased the magnitude and precision of their wtp for a river basin management scheme the extent of changes in perceptions declined with increasing levels of formal education suggesting that less educated respondents are more likely to hold weakly formed preferences

unwanted effects of european union environmental policy to promote a post carbon industry the case of energy in the european ceramic tile sector global warming combined with low carbon transition plans is threatening the future of high energy consumption industry sectors in the european union eu the need to respond to environmental challenges is demonstrated by support for international level energy policies and legal requirements such as the kyoto protocol which the eu supports and increased eu level environmental legislation and energy policies the effect of these initiatives is gradually transforming industrial activities in the eu however since not all countries have adopted these policies evaluation of their net effect needs to take account also of side effects such as delocalization of industry activity and the legal environmental frameworks in the countries where companies have chosen to relocate this paper analyses eu energy policy and its impact on a particular energy intensive industry the european ceramic tile sector the discussion in this paper is not about the purpose of eu legislation but about its effects on a specific industry the effect of policy on industry is not a new topic but the question of the unwanted effects of environmental and energy policy on european industry is becoming more relevant as the struggle to achieve a post carbon europe increases in focussing on a specific set of eu legislation on a particular industry this article adds to the debate by showing the negative effects of policy mechanisms the need for a scientific evaluation of the systemic changes required for a transition to a resource efficient green and competitive low carbon economy outlined in the 7th environment action programme is highlighted it is suggested that the eu should periodically re evaluate its emissions trading scheme legislation to include specific actions and a follow up system which would prevent the best performing environmental companies from delocalizing or shutting down

brazilian biofuels and social exclusion established and concentrated ethanol versus emerging and dispersed biodiesel increasing interest in biofuels trade between developed and developing countries has spurred worldwide discussions on issues such as subsidies and the food for fuel crisis one issue missing in recent discourse is the pressure exerted on developing countries to adopt large scale mechanized farming practices to increase economic efficiencies such approaches often exclude small scale farmers from participating in the emerging biofuels market thus exacerbating poverty and social exclusion drawing on both qualitative and technical data we discuss such pressures using brazilian ethanol and biodiesel production pressure from international markets to become more economically efficient may contribute towards the erosion of recent schemes to encourage social benefits for small farmers in biodiesel production we conclude with trade and policy implications

public acceptance of biofuels abstract the public acceptance of biofuels in greece is examined in this work the analysis of 571 face to face interviews shows that 90 7 of the respondents believe that climatic changes are related to fossil fuel consumption while only 23 8 know the difference between biodiesel and bioethanol 76 1 believe that energy saving should precede the use of an alternative source of energy only 27 3 believe that priority must be given to biofuels over other renewable energy sources only 49 9 think that the use of biofuels can be an effective solution against climatic changes and 53 9 believe that the use of biofuels can be an effective solution for the energy problem finally 80 9 of the car owners are willing to use biofuels 44 8 are willing to pay the supplementary amount of 0 06 l of the fuel market price while the average amount reported as willing to pay was 0 079 l on top of the fuel market price furthermore eight models correlating the eight main responses with several socioeconomic variables are developed and analyzed those findings heave important policy implications related to the use and promotion of biofuels

import demand for brazilian ethanol a cross country analysis abstract this study presents an empirical analysis of the import demand for brazilian ethanol by its six major foreign buyers the primary objectives of this study were to identify the economic factors affecting the demand for ethanol imports and to derive long run price and income elasticities of import demand these elasticities could be used to analyze the impact of government policies such as mandatory gasoline ethanol blends and import tariffs import demand models were estimated with ordinary least squares ols using quarterly time series data for the 1997 2007 time period the results suggest that the factors influencing the import demand for ethanol vary across countries markets adopting mandatory blends of renewable fuels tend to have less price elastic import demand schedules ethanol imports were found to be price elastic and statistically significant in the caribbean region 1 66 mexico 2 08 japan 1 44 and nigeria 1 38 while import demand was price inelastic and not statistically different from zero in the us 0 76 and europe 0 21 the regression results could not determine the impacts of import tariffs for the united states mexico and nigeria on the quantity of imports because tariffs did not vary during the time period studied results show that mandatory gasoline ethanol blends have been an important determinant of ethanol imports

promoting renewable energy sources for heating and cooling in eu 27 countries abstract in addition to public policies aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings eu authorities have also promoted the use of renewable energy sources for heating and cooling uses res h c this paper analyses the main policy measures implemented in eu 27 countries up to 2009 i e subsidies tax incentives financial support and feed in tariffs twenty three member states mss have developed some of these policy measures the most widespread measure is the subsidy 22 mss have implemented these because from a political point of view subsidies provide a straightforward approach to promote the use of res h c secondly tax incentives have been used for reducing investment costs and making renewable energy profitable thirdly financial incentives and feed in tariffs have been used sparingly while financial incentives might be used more extensively for promoting res h c if they are accompanied by other policy measures feed in tariffs are not likely to be implemented significantly in the future because this measure is not designed for household heat producers

the price for biofuels sustainability abstract the production and usage of biofuels has increased worldwide seeking goals of energy security low carbon energy and rural development as biofuels trade increased the european union introduced sustainability regulations in an attempt to reduce the risks associated with biofuels producers were then confronted with costs of sustainability certification in order to access the eu market hopes were that sustainably produced biofuels would be rewarded with higher prices in the eu based on a review of recent literature interviews with traders and price data from platts this paper explores whether sustainability premiums emerged and if so did they represent an attracting feature in the market for sustainable biofuels this article finds that premiums for ethanol and biodiesel evolved differently between 2011 and 2012 but have been in general very small or inexistent with certified fuels becoming the new norm in the market for different reasons there has been an apparent convergence between biofuel policies in the eu and the us as market operators perceive a long term trend for full certification in the biofuels market producers in developing countries are likely to face additional challenges in terms of finance and capacity to cope with the sustainability requirements

a regional analysis of the distribution of married women s labour force participation rates in the uk molho i i 1983 an analysis of the regional distribution of married women s labour force participation rates in the uk reg studies 17 125 134 a model analysing and conceptually simplifying the possible causes of regional variation in participation rates is constructed and contrasted with previous models of regional participation rates the model is implemented using quarterly data for married women derived from the family expenditure survey 1968 77 the major influences are found to be the unemployment rate of their husbands wage rates family structure and age structure an analysis of the causes of regional convergence in participation rates over time indicated that the trend was due to regional convergence in the unemployment rate of married males and the wage rate of married women

the new competition for land food energy and climate change abstract the paper addresses the new competition for land arising from growing and changing demand for food when combined with increasing global demand for transport energy under conditions of declining petro chemical resources and the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions the paper starts from the premise of a food energy and environment trilemma tilman et al 2009 where all demands to expand the area of cultivated land present high risks of increasing the carbon footprint of agriculture having reviewed the main drivers of demand for food and for liquid transport fuels the paper weighs the controversies surrounding biofuels arising from food price spikes the demand for land and consequent direct and indirect land use change it suggests that we need a more complex and geographically differentiated analysis of the interactions between direct and indirect land use change the paper then reviews evidence of land availability and suggests that in addition to technical availability in terms of soil water and climate political social and technological factors have significantly shaped the competition for land in different global regions particularly the three major biofuel producing ones of the usa brazil and europe this point is further developed by reviewing the different innovation pathways for biofuels in these three regions the main conclusion of this review is firstly that any analysis requires an integrated approach to the food energy environment trilemma and secondly that strategic political direction of innovation and sustainability regulation are required to bring about major shifts in agriculture leading to sustainable intensification of cultivation royal society 2009 rather than the continued expansion of cultivated area the consequent perspective is one of considerable global variety in technologies agricultural productive systems and use of natural resources this contrasts sharply with the world of a dominant global and integrated technology platform based on petro chemicals to which we have become accustomed

innovation diffusion public policy and local initiative the case of wood fuelled district heating systems in austria abstract this paper comprises a three level study on wood fuel utilisation for district heating in austria first we discuss the framework conditions for the diffusion in austria of rural biomass district heating bdh plants an energy conversion plant type which constituted a real innovation in the 1980s second we describe the diffusion of bdh systems in the austrian province of vorarlberg where a variety of biomass energy systems have been promoted by capital grants since 1993 as part of a dedicated bioenergy promotion programme third the paper contains a case study of a 2 mw bdh plant put into operation in 2000 in rankweil a small market town located in vorarlberg on the east side of the rhine valley analysis of the plant history reveals that an oversupply of forest residues caused by devastating storms and forest diseases together with the more general need to rejuvenate severely over aged forest stands created strong incentives to form local actor networks and initiatives to push for the adoption and diffusion of centralised biomass heating systems in rural areas in addition intensive lobbying and strong political and public support were necessary to successfully combat interventions by both the natural gas industry and influential gas supplied industrial enterprises finally a capital grant of 45 of eligible investment costs as well as careful capacity expansion and other planning significantly improved and safeguarded the economic viability of the plant these considerations combined with a dedicated forest restructuring programme render the plant one of the most successful integrated forestry and bdh projects in vorarlberg and an important model for later adopters overall the analysis sheds some light on the role of public policy local actors and economic and other framework conditions on the market diffusion dynamics of bdh in austria

tax incentives to promote green electricity an overview of eu 27 countries this paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main tax incentives used in the eu 27 member states mss to promote green electricity sixteen mss use tax incentives to promote green electricity simultaneously with other promotion measures especially quota obligations and price regulation however not all available technologies are promoted for example six mss germany romania slovak republic denmark sweden and poland have included an exemption on the payments of excise duties for electricity when the electricity is generated from renewable energy sources res this tax incentive is the most widely used limited tax incentives in personal income tax are available in belgium france czech republic and luxembourg in corporate tax tax incentives consist mainly of a deduction in the taxable profit belgium greece czech republic and spain lower tax rates in vat are applied in three mss france italy and portugal only spain and italy use effective tax incentives in property tax as a great diversity of tax incentives has been used to promote green electricity this adds another difficulty to the eu objective of providing a renewable energy policy framework but also it offers a useful set of case studies which can be used to inform eu policy development

discursive ethics in ecosystems valuation and environmental policy abstract discursive ethics has its origin in the frankfurt school of critical theory as an applied ethic it is also associated with practical philosophy in this paper discursive ethics is discussed as a conceptual and practical framework for ecosystems valuation and environmental policy the discussion focuses on three main strengths of discursive ethics 1 it offers an integrated process for ecosystems valuation 2 it offers a decision making framework for responding to uncertainty and risk and the reality of action in indeterminacy 3 it offers a process for deconstructing common valuation concepts and identifying conditions for their critical reconstruction the theoretical discussion is followed by a case study example which illustrates the usefulness of discursive ethics in identifying valuation biases hidden behind disciplinary assumptions and conceptual norms these include cultural norms of rationality information biases which consider hard facts over soft values and disciplinary valuation biases which distinguish between hard and soft expert contributions as the case study illustrates a successful application of discursive ethics in ecosystems valuation and environmental policy demands sensitivity to such underlying biases beyond its policy relevance discursive ethics may also offer a framework for an extended peer discourse through which new foci in research and education can be identified

external governance and the eu policy for sustainable biofuels the case of mozambique growing demand for transport biofuels in the eu is driving an expansion of the industry in developing countries large scale production of energy crops for biofuel if mismanaged could cause detrimental environmental and social impacts the aim of this study is to examine whether the newly adopted eu directive 2009 28 ec and its sustainability certification system can effectively ensure sustainable production of biofuels outside the eu mozambique a least developed country with biofuels ambitions is selected as empirical case the effectiveness of the eu policy in analysed employing ideal models of external governance hierarchical market and network governance as analytical framework the findings show that the eu attempts to impose its rules and values on sustainable biofuels using its leverage through trade the market approach adopted by the eu is expected to produce only unstable subject to abrupt changes of market prices and demand and thin limited to climate and biodiversity issues policy results stronger emphasis on a network oriented approach based on substantial involvement of foreign actors and on international policy legitimacy is suggested as a way forward

determinants of households space heating type a discrete choice analysis for german households abstract considering the increasing attention on efficient use of energy it becomes vitally important to understand the energy related behavior of households this article presents empirical evidence on the determinants of the space heating technology applied by a household three sets of variables are examined as potential influences building socio economic and regional characteristics to highlight both the differences and similarities the results are obtained from a sample of house owners and from a sample including all households the influence of socio economic factors is similar across these groups income is found to exert only a minor impact on the system choice dwelling features are significant in determining the heating type particularly in the sample including all households regional effects are important clear differences prevail between east and west germany

valuing the non market benefits of wild goose conservation a comparison of interview and group based approaches wild geese graze on improved pastures and young cereal crops and hence can cause considerable damage to agriculture particularly in areas close to roosting sites this study uses contingent valuation cv to establish whether government compensation payments currently made to farmers represent value for money by estimating the value placed on goose conservation by the general public benefit estimates from a conventional interview approach are compared with a group based approach called the market stall ms this involves two 1 h meetings held 1 week apart and differs from conventional interviews in that participants are given more time to consider their preferences and to discuss their wtp question with other household members we argue that this type of group based approach to environmental valuation offers important advantages over individual interview approaches especially for unfamiliar and or complex environmental goods

choices without prices without apologies valuing is usually regarded as a process of compressing information about attributes into a single metric armed with this reduced form of compact information the consumer can consider a particular object with a particular price attached or implied and make an informed decision but the process of valuing is less straightforward than we ordinarily suppose when environmental goods and services become the object of information compaction it is possible that important information is lost we comment on the choice problem germane to environmental goods and services and challenge the presumption that environmental choices made without explicit pricing are inferior to those in which hypothetical valuation studies are undertaken

biofuel support policies in europe lessons learnt for the long way ahead biofuel consumption in the eu is growing rapidly but major efforts will need to be undertaken if the eu s objectives for 2010 and beyond are to be achieved this article analyses the strengths and weaknesses of different biofuel support policies based on the experiences gained in pioneering countries and explores scenarios for their possible impacts in the long term it comes to the conclusion that important pre conditions such as fuel standards and compatibility with engines are in place or being introduced on an eu wide basis current and future policy support therefore focuses on creating favourable economic or legal frameworks to accelerate the market penetration of biofuels the ambitious targets endorsed in terms of biofuel market shares require the implementation of efficient policy instruments at the same time large consumption volumes and the advent of innovative production technologies make it possible for member states to promote specific types of biofuels depending on their main objectives and natural potentials this will require complementary instruments such as subsidies for production facilities user incentives or feedstock subsidies

aggregation and deliberation in valuing environmental public goods starting from a distinction between kantian principle based and utilitarian preference based approaches in political theory this essay argues that we may understand normative judgments individuals make about policy to express principled views of the public interest or purpose not private preferences about their own consumption opportunities these judgments in other words state opinions about what we ought to do as a society rather than report preferences about what i want as a utility maximizer this essay then argues that contingent valuation can take into account these kinds of judgments which dominate public discourse about the environment only if it moves toward a deliberative discursive jury like research method emphasizing informed discussion leading toward a consensus based on an argument about the public interest

environmental valuation and rationality economic valuation of the envi structuring the empirical model or adding ronment is disputed in part due to the number auxiliary hypotheses the presumption is of anomalies reactions to these anomalies have that consistent preferences are there just included adding new auxiliary hypotheses to the to be uncovered thus errors are mea core model or dismissing the whole undertaking surement this paper takes a third route and uses observa biases to be corrected by retions made in valuation studies to improve choice fined methods mitchell and carson theory the paper covers the information prob 1989 certainly many studies can be critlem the issue of preference formation and under icized for being of low quality still the lines the role of the social sphere in defining what development of concepts like starting becomes individually rational while the findings point bias posit ion bias question ormay not simplify theory they may help us be der bias yea saying protest bids come more realistic and to understand errors pro and part whole bias all seem very ad duced by illegitimate simplifications

sugar rush prospects for a global ethanol market in 2005 the major economies of the world including the g8 and 5 developing nations mexico india brazil china and south africa along with the united nations the international energy agency and the european union launched the global bioenergy partnership to discuss ways to promote the sustained use and production of biofuels around the globe reflecting growing concerns for finding economically viable substitutes for petroleum this paper examines whether and if a vibrant global market in biofuels based on sugarcane based ethanol is economically feasible the paper finds that while there is already international trading in biofuels it is highly limited compared with its potential in the current climate of accelerating fossil fuel prices biofuels represent an increasingly attractive displacement for some of our fossil fuel addiction not only do they substitute for petrol but they also produce lower emissions the paper finds that sugarcane ethanol could make an important contribution to substituting for a portion of petroleum and also offer potential benefits for international development

the influence of decision making rules on individual preferences for ecological restoration evidence from an experimental survey abstract we conduct an experimental survey to analyze how rules for collective decision making influence individual preferences regarding nature restoration plans our study compares two decision making rules a consensus rule and a majority rule wherein participants decide on a plan regarding nature restoration in the kushiro wetland japan our main finding is that the difference between the individual preferences and collective decision making is less significant under the consensus rule than the majority rule furthermore there is a larger disparity with regard to the marginal willingness to pay between collective and individual decisions when participants are unsatisfied with the results of collective choice

women in the labour markets of the london region a model of dependence and constraint this paper uses a simultaneous equations model of labour and housing market relationships in the london metropolitan region in order to illuminate some of the specific characteristics of female labour markets in an explicitly spatial context in addition to restricted female commuting fields two significant sets of spatial constraint were identified firstly the residential location of married women tended to depend on access to male not female employment opportunities and secondly limited access to owner occupation tended to restrict the residential mobility of non married women nevertheless responsiveness to local demand conditions of married women s participation rates on the one hand and non married women s migration on the other rendered local female unemployment comparatively less sensitive to employment change

incentives to promote solar thermal energy in spain abstract the growth in the use of renewable energies in spain has been remarkable among these energies is solar thermal energy however there are barriers which impede citizens from deciding to install the technologies that use this type of energy in their homes over recent years various measures have been adopted to enhance and promote the use of solar thermal energy these measures have been developed at all administrative levels central regional and local one of the most used measures has been the adoption of legislative regulations that force the use of this type of energy in construction another alternative route is promotion by means of incentives in three aspects tax incentives non refundable grants and favourable lines of finance however the measures applied have been found to be insufficient and alternative stimuli are needed

evaluating the effects of employment changes on local unemployment gordon i 1988 evaluating the effects of employment changes on local unemployment reg studies 22 135 147 this paper outlines a general methodology for estimation of the effects of employment

re regulating district heating in sweden abstract the electricity market reform in sweden has had great but little discussed consequences for the district heating industry formerly regulated municipal district heating companies are now obliged to operate in a commercial manner and pricing previously regulated by the local authority act is now free the swedish competition authority has on several occasions mentioned to the government that a price regulation ought to be reinstated since district heating is a natural monopoly and in many cases in a dominant market position on local heating markets the competition authority also believes that cross subsidies occur in multi service utilities i e between monopolistic district heating and competitive electricity production and sales municipal district heating is often organised together with electricity sales and production in a municipally owned limited company many municipalities have recently sold their energy utilities to private or state owned commercial actors thus creating private monopolies exempt from price regulations in 1999 the national energy administration stem was given the task to monitor the district heating market and to suggest means to come to terms with these issues stem does not favour a price regulation as the first measure stem also has an operative goal of increasing the use of district heating as a means of reducing electricity dependence in the heating of premises here an interesting conflict of interest exists between the two government authorities we argue that the differences in opinion go beyond the actual tasks given to the authorities but rather depend on perspectives economics and consumer perspective versus an engineering environmental and production perspective we would also like to encourage a broad discussion about the state of district heating and its regulatory condition and that neither economical models nor energy models are taken for granted

coordinating employment transport and housing in cities an institutional perspective this paper outlines a reconceptualisation of the relationship between employment housing and transport in cities that draws upon insights drawn from structuration theory and institutional sociology it identifies the need for a new focus one that lies between the structural and the individual the institution as well as the need for the integration of time space into analyses institutions are embedded social action the unique formations of institutional matrices households labour markets housing markets and transport systems are identified as sites for further research and policy development the paper calls for future research to identify who gains and who loses within the current and future configurations of institutions in cities changes in individual behaviour and the policies to enable or to constrain such behaviour should be evaluated in this light

a theoretical approach to deliberative valuation aggregation by mutual consent in deliberative valuation a small group of selected persons explores the values that should guide collective decisions through a process of reasoned discourse proponents argue that deliberative techniques enhance the effectiveness and perceived legitimacy of policy making by facilitating public participation this paper outlines an approach to deliberative valuation that is grounded in democratic theory social psychology and cooperative game theory emphasizing applications to the monetary valuation of environmental services the analysis suggests that deliberative groups that employ consent based choice rules may aggregate individual values in a manner that systematically departs from the additive aggregation procedures of standard cost benefit analysis

the cyclical sensitivity of regional employment and unemployment differentials gordon i r 1985 the cyclical sensitivity of regional employment and unemployment differentials reg studies 19 95 110 this paper examines inter regional variations in the cyclical sensitivity of employment and unemployment in the uk over the past thirty years it shows that the patterns for employment and for unemployment are quite different the cyclical sensitivity of unemployment is greatest in the high unemployment regions while that for employment is greatest in the more industrial regions it is argued that the primary reason for differences in the sensitivity of unemployment is not demand side factors but cyclical variations in labour mobility between regions lower mobility in periods of high unemployment reduces the effectiveness of inter regional supply adjustments and increases the variance of unemployment rates

bio energy policies in a global context abstract against the background of an increasing global demand for bio energy the need for sustainability standards and a certification system ensuring sustainable production and trade has grown rapidly nevertheless there is currently no specific forum for discussions on how to deal with biomass trade at the multilateral level distortions in agricultural and energy trade regimes the myriad of standards and the lack of a clear biomass classification in the multilateral trade regime suggest that bio energy products may not deliver sustainable development gains for all trading partners this paper analyses then the global impact of bio energy policies on biomass production and trade paying particular attention to sustainable development in the bio energy sector it examines how a possible reduction and elimination of trade barriers as well as a phasing out of trade distorting support measures would contribute to the development of a global sustainable bio energy market

the values jury to aid natural resource decisions congressional legislation emphasizes that public resource allocation should reflect the values citizens assign to those resources yet information about assigned values and preferences of members of the public including economic measures of value required by decision makers is often incomplete or unavailable existing sources of information about the public s values for use in resource allocation decisions and damage assessment include existing markets public surveys including contingent valuation and public involvement each of these sources has serious limitations

governance and legitimacy aspects of the uk biofuel carbon and sustainability reporting system biofuel policy has become highly contentious in europe in this paper we discuss the governance and legitimacy aspects of the carbon and sustainability system of the uk renewable transport fuel obligation rtfo both before and after implementation of the renewable energy directive rtfo certification is of a meta type being built upon existing certification and labelling schemes each of which are more or less contested by ngos despite the rtfo being based on these non state initiatives so far the concerns of environment and development ngos and others have not been given serious expression in regulatory terms indeed biofuel policy development in the uk has arguably been unduly non responsive to critical opinion given the limited scientific base on biofuel impacts and the reliance of rtfo sustainability certification on non state actors and schemes drawing on documentary evidence interviews and three sets of literatures co production of regulation post normal science and legitimacy of non state certification and labelling processes we suggest that until concerned voices are given a stronger expression in uk and ec biofuel policy development the policy cannot yet be said to have achieved a wide social mandate

energy consumption for space heating of west german households empirical evidence scenario projections and policy implications abstract both the technical characteristics of buildings e g insulation standards and the utilisation patterns of households are important determinants of the space heating demand of private households therefore this paper examines to what extent socio economic characteristics of households household size social position income etc are suitable to explain household s behaviour concerning space heating given technical building characteristics on the other hand energy efficiency factors derived from technical simulation models are scrutinised the empirical basis of this analysis is the official household survey 1988 for west germany containing about 44 000 data sets therefrom it turns out that the german insulation standards of buildings have been less effective in the past than assumed on the basis of technical simulations by means of scenario calculations projections of the heating energy demand for space heating in the future are obtained sketching the effect of different possible socio economic developments on the space heating consumption and analysing different political options concerning building insulation standards for new buildings and the existing building stock

fiscal and tax policy support for energy efficiency retrofit for existing residential buildings in china s northern heating region energy efficiency retrofit for existing residential buildings eererb in china s northern heating region is an important component of the national energy strategy the main content and related subject in eererb performance is the basis of understanding and developing targeted policies so this paper designed the content system of eererb and then provided a cost benefit analysis on related subjects assessed the government s function in eererb and come to the conclusion that the chinese government should increase fiscal fund investment and implement more fiscal and tax incentive policies moreover in view of china s current policy which lacks long term mechanism and flexibility this paper proposed specific policy recommendations including clarifying the government s corresponding responsibilities at all levels and increasing the intensity of the central government s transfer payments it further proposed targeted financial and tax policies for supporting and encouraging heating enterprises and owners as well as policies to cultivate energy saving service markets and to support the esco

deliberative monetary valuation and the evidence for a new value theory economists concerned with validity are combining stated preference methods with participatory deliberation to address on going criticism deliberative monetary valuation dmv uses formal methods of deliberation to express values for environmental change in monetary terms however the results have begun to define different realms of value reflecting pluralism in public concern over environmental change reviewing empirical dmv studies evidences a range of issues regarded as external to economics and the validity of its methods issues which are typically kept at arms length by most environmental economists namely multiple values incommensurability and lexicographic preferences social justice fairness and non human values

european union leadership in biofuels regulation europe as a normative power the rapid emergence of the european union eu as a leader in global environmental politics has led many scholars to argue in favour of the eu being a normative power in international relations this paper critically examines the eu s biofuels policy and evaluates whether its attempts to lead by example and shape international practice in this field could support such arguments europe s biofuel policies are evaluated through a sustainable development lens so as to determine the extent to which it has embraced a holistic approach to sustainability while not dismissing that the identity of the eu is indeed an explanatory factor and that normative intentions may well be regarded as a motivating force this study argues that an interest based perspective on international environmental regulation offers a supplementary view of how an actor s preferences for an international regime are shaped by erecting barriers aimed at shielding its own inefficient domestic biofuels production the eu is in essence placing trade competitiveness and economic growth above environmental protection thus permitting sustainability concerns to be addressed only in part

opportunity preference and constraint an approach to the analysis of metropolitan migration the paper aims to consider how the fragmentation in the literature on migration may be overcome and to develop an integrated model of migration which can be applied to all types of population flow in the london metropolitan region the need for such an approach follows from the complexity of flows observed at the 112 zone level of disaggregation as well as the unresolved problems of the literature despite this catholicity of aim the theoretical basis of the model is essentially economic drawing on aspects of human capital and search and spatial choice theories with an emphasis on the interaction between three concepts opportunities preference and constraints in determining observed levels of migration

promotion of biofuel consumption in the transport sector an eu 27 perspective abstract the european union s eu directive 2003 30 ec 1 set an objective of reaching a 5 75 share of renewable energy as a proportion of the total energy consumption of the transport sector by 2010 as all the member states mss of the eu 27 were obliged to comply with this directive different public policy measures were developed and implemented to promote the use of biofuels in transport biofuels being the main renewable energy source res in this sector in this article we review the public measures undertaken in the eu 27 and show how these measures primarily involve tax incentives and biofuel blending mandates on fuel sales all countries with the exception of finland introduced tax incentives of various types to promote the use of biofuels while 18 mss also implemented biofuel blending mandates through the passing of legislation relating to this matter

a review of social sustainability considerations among eu approved voluntary schemes for biofuels with implications for rural livelihoods the rapid expansion of biofuel production and consumption has raised concerns over the social and environmental sustainability of biofuel feedstock production processing and trade the european union eu has thus balanced its commitment to biofuels as one option for meeting its renewable energy targets with sustainability criteria for economic operators supplying biofuels to member states seven voluntary eu sustainability schemes were approved in july 2011 as a means to verify compliance while mandated sustainability criteria have a strong environmental focus a number of these voluntary schemes have social sustainability as a significant component of the requirements put forward for achieving certification as several of these voluntary schemes are incipient thereby limiting evidence on their effectiveness in practice this analysis is based on a comparative analysis of the substantive content or scope of these schemes and the likely procedural effectiveness of the same findings show that while some schemes have considerable coverage of social sustainability concerns poor coverage of some critical issues the presence of schemes lacking any social sustainability requirements and gaps in procedural rules are likely to undermine the likelihood that social sustainability is achieved through these schemes or the eu sustainability policies lending credibility to them

opportunities and barriers for international bioenergy trade recently the international trade of various bioenergy commodities has grown rapidly yet this growth is also hampered by some barriers the aim of this paper is to obtain an overview of what market actors currently perceive as major opportunities and barriers for the development of international bioenergy trade the work focuses on three bioenergy commodities bioethanol biodiesel and wood pellets data were collected through an internet based questionnaire the majority of the 141 respondents had an industrial background geographically two thirds were from mainly western europe with other minor contributions from all other continents results show that import tariffs and the implementation of sustainability certification systems are perceived as potentially major barriers for the trade of bioethanol and biodiesel while logistics are seen mainly as an obstacle for wood pellets development of technical standards was deemed more as an opportunity than a barrier for all commodities most important drivers were high fossil fuel prices and climate change mitigation policies concluding to overcome some of the barriers specific actions will be required by market parties and policy makers import tariffs for biofuels could be reduced or abolished linked to multinational trade agreements and harmonization including provisions on technical standards and sustainability requirements